Ducati Xdiavel 2021 dark

The beating heart of the XDiavel Dark is none other than Ducati’s Testastretta DVT 1262. A 90-degree V-Twin, or L-Twin if you like, delivers the goods with 160 ponies at 9,500 rpm and 93.7 pound-feet that tops out at five grand. To help you control that great power, the Dark Devil rolls with Ducati’s Power Launch feature and Traction Control system with Power Modes and Riding Mode setting bundles for ease of operation. Seriously oversquare, the engine runs a 106 mm bore and 71.5 mm stroke that gives it a way-hot 13-to-1 compression ratio that will demand the highest octane you can find, but that’s the trade off for all that get up and go. Dual 56 mm ride-by-wire throttle bodies manage the induction and run with elliptical bores that help improve volumetric efficiency a tad by reducing resistance in the intake. As you’d expect, it runs a Desmodromic valvetrain that trades the usual valve springs with a pull-closed cam that provides positive valve closure and prevents harmonic valve float at the top of the RPM range. A slipper clutch and six-speed transmixxer sends power to the rear wheel via an all-new, belt-type final drive, and it’s worth mentioning that the XDiavel family is the first to use this technology. Time will tell if it can handle the strain this engine can place on it. After the final-drive ratio is factored in, the XDiavel Dark turns in a top speed right around 150 mph 241 kmh.