Electronics on the 2016 Ducati XDiavel
Like so many motorcycle now-a-day, the new Ducati Xdiavel is bristling with new technology. There are three riding modes: Sport with full power, the most direct throttle, reduced traction control (level 2), and cornering ABS at level 2. Touring gives full power but with a softer delivery of the torque. Traction control is at level 4, and ABS level 3. Urban resticts the Ducati Xdiavel to 100 horsepower, traction control to level 6, and ABS to level 3.All the parameters can be adjusted to suit your own riding, and stored in memory or reset to the defaults. The traction control has eight levels, with 1 and 2 for sports riding, 3 up 6 for dry road riding, and 7 and 8 for wet roads. The ABS has three levels, or can be switched off entirely. Rear wheel lift detection is enabled at level 3 to prevent stoppies but it's disabled at levels 1 and 2. Level 1 is for sports riding,and activates the ABS on the front wheel only, though disables the cornering function. Level 2 is still for sports riding, but brings in the cornering ABS made possible by the Inertial Measurement Unit. Level 3 has full cornering ABS and rear-wheel lift prevention with the algorithms programmed for maximum safety.
There's also Ducati Power Launch, which works with the Inertial Measurement Unit to adjust the fueling and traction control for optimum standing starts. A button behind the kill switch turns it on, then with the clutch in and in first gear, simply wind the throttle fully open before letting out the clutch. It automatically disengages at 120km/h, or when third gear is selected, or once slowing down to below 5km/h. You can only make three consecutive launches, but riding normally resets the counter.
Unfortunately, during the pre-ride briefing, we were told that there was nowhere safe for us to test it. Despite many of us trying to grab time as the city traffic lights, we didn't manage to get a full power run. We did a few near launches, and we have the feeling it works quite well.
More pratical for everyday riding is the superb cruise control – a single three-way switch on the left handlebar makes it easy to activate, reset and adjust. The DPL will not doubt be fun, but this is a real benefit, particularly on the long touring rides from South to North Thailand.Tag: Ducati XDiavel V-Twin Cruiser 1262cc ABS Traction-Control Cornering-ABS
