EICMA 2015: First Look At the 2016 Ducati XDiavel

File this under the least surprising new thing from Ducati—an up-rated, DVT-equipped Diavel. Now Bologna has taken the wraps off the new Diavel today at the 2015 EICMA show, which features the Ducati Variable Timing system that bowed on the Multistrada earlier this year along with a host of updates to make the firm's straight-line demon even more formidable.

Of course that starts with power, coming from a 1,262cc version of the Testastretta engine, the increase coming by way of a longer stroke (71.5mm vs 67.9mm in the 1200) with the same 106mm bore. More compression, now at 13.0:1 (up half a point), along with a recalibrated version of Ducati’s variable valve timing scheme and ride-by-wire electronics. Claimed power is a stout 156 at 9,500 rpm, but the real news is the torque, which is now 94.8 pound-feet at just 5,000 rpm. The engine has other tweaks, including Ducati’s moving the water pump from the exterior engine case to a location inside the Vee, which reduces visual clutter from exposed coolant lines.

As you would expect, the XDiavel comes with the full suite of now-familiar Bosch-sourced electronics, including RBW with three ride modes (Sport, Touring, and Urban), a Bosch IMU that keeps track of the bike’s position in space to better inform the traction control and ABS settings, and a new launch control called DPL. (Ducati Power Launch, natch.) DPL can be set to any of three levels, and once activated allows the rider to simply grab the clutch, select first, wind the throttle full open, and then release the clutch for largely automated launches. The system disengages once the bike hits 75 mph or when it slows again to less than 3 mph; also, the system is designed to provide only a limited number of consecutive DPL launches to preserve the clutch.

There’s much more to the new XDiavel than the engine and electronics, though. The updated chassis now carries a single-sided swingarm with a belt final drive, a Ducati first. Revised ergonomics (aimed at making the XDiavel more cruiser like) allow for four different footpeg positions, and through these the XDiavel has even more cornering clearance than before. You can also buy five different seats and three different handlebars to further tailor your riding experience.

Three “personalization packages” are also available. A Sport Pack adds “further forward” handlebars and an appearance set; a Touring Pack adds a more comfortable seat, passenger backrest, tankbag, and windscreen; and an Urban Pack adds a number of aluminum accent covers along with a “Roadster nose fairing.”

US prices have not been set.