I rode one of these in the 'test ride' area at the NEC bike show in 2012, I'd passed my test a year and asked the guy booking in the test rides, "I'm new to bikes, I have a 99 SV650, what would you recommend I rode today"? He came back with, "Why would you come here with all these nice bikes and ride the new SV? Try a Ducati Diavel, you'll be fine on that.........
I got all my gear on and walked over to the group of bikes waiting for us, as I had no idea what a Diavel was I waited till everyone had hopped onto their bikes, realised which was mine and just stood there staring at this beast!!
The rear tyre was huge!
It was a wet morning in Brum and I was advised to "ride like I had bald tyres, as it was a bit of a beast in the wet". Needless to say I was a little nervous, but after a while I got used to her, in a straight line! Roundabouts were a different story, I probably burnt that clutch right out!
I spent the next few months telling anyone who'd listen what I'd ridden, promptly followed by emails containing googled images of the beast.
Great experience if slightly scary!
11-Sep-2011, 22:39 
skidlids
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