Ducati Diavel V4 RS 2026 — Specifications

This isn’t a motorcycle or its rider who will fear the master of the underworld! It will be the other way around. With the Diavel V4 RS, Ducati wants to unleash its power and give a taste of apocalypse at the handlebars of this cannon. While the Panigale dominate the track, this Diavel takes the side of Fast & Furious.

With its RS label, Ducati has found a new way to blow minds. Do you remember the “R” lettering? The kind of emblem that gave the Monster 1200 160 horsepower? This time, it’s a step above. To give the Diavel a demonic scope, the “Granturismo” V4 engine is gently removed to make way for the more spirited “Stradale,” coming directly from the Panigale and Streetfighter.

It now boasts an engine that feels like superior performance, violence in overdrive, and the stopwatch for breakfast. Just in terms of power, the gain is evident with 14 more horsepower than the standard Diavel V4. This brings the RS to 182 horsepower, achieved at 11,750 rpm. Torque is somewhat reduced, a logical consequence of the smaller displacement. With 120 Nm, there’s still plenty to work with.

But it’s not just the power that characterizes this engine. It’s more sporty, revs higher, delivers less force in the low and mid-range than the Granturismo, but sends more punch in the upper revs. A much more fitting character for the overactive dynamics that the Diavel V4 RS claims. Purists will smile to learn that a desmodromic distribution lives within and that the clutch is dry. With its less delicate sound, its gravelly song, its more direct engagement, and the small power gain passing through the transmission.

The tachometer of the Diavel V4 begins to redden around 10,600 rpm. While the RS hasn’t yet unleashed all its sauce, delivers all its charge at 11,750 rpm and can still growl at 13,500 rpm; except in first gear where Ducati allows 14,000 rpm. Nice over-rev, and enough to crack 400 DA of madness. With the STM EVO-SBK clutch (from the Panigale V4R) installed as standard, a Spintfilter P08 air filter, a specific final ratio, a new DQS 2.0 shifter, and a recalibrated Ducati Power Launch (DPL), this beast can devour 0 to 100 km/h in two and a half seconds. It is simply the Ducati with the best acceleration in the range and in the history of the brand (except in competition).

This places it in the top 5 of road-approved motorcycles in terms of acceleration. To boast of its catapult-like launches, the RS displays and records the performance of 0-to-100 and 0-to-200. Alongside it, the electronics are loaded as they should be, with 4 Riding Modes, 3 power modes, traction and wheelie controls, cornering ABS, a cruise control, automatic rear cylinder deactivation, adaptive cornering headlights, a multimedia system to pilot the smartphone and have turn-by-turn navigation, a keyless system, a USB port, and a 5-inch color TFT screen (with new graphics and an exclusive startup animation).

Stunning figures, tires that are going to suffer, helmets that are going to stick to your nose... The Diavel V4 RS shows it before even starting. Its racing décor, its all-black exhaust line, the saddle with red stitching, the more aggressive silencer (still with 4 outlets), and the red-painted brake calipers attest to this. A selection of carbon fiber parts accompany the style: the front and rear mudguards, the clutch cover, the upper fairing, the tank cap, the saddle cover, and the air intake ducts.

The RS philosophy does not apply only to high wattage and a ferocious design. It is also translated into noble lineage parts. The Brembo stylema calipers and their 330 mm floating discs provide the same effective braking as on the standard Diavel V4 - then a lighter 3 kg lithium-ion battery, forged aluminum rims, and Öhlins suspension are added. Oh, satisfaction, these are not semi-active elements. This allows for the same behavior as the personality of the machine.

The calibration of the 48 mm NIX30 inverted fork and the STX46 shock absorber is firmer than on the other Diavel, to reduce load transfer. Both elements are adjustable in every way, to adapt the efficiency to your convenience. With suspension of this level, it’s impossible to be disappointed...... unless you do something stupid, which its clientele wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

A few years later, Ducati offers its own version of the V-Max. A mixture of cruiser and roadster, with a huge rear tire, a devastating face, and a V4 capable of exploding your sensations. The Yamaha came out with more horsepower and torque but cubed 600 cm3 more; and weighed 100 kilos extra. The price of the 1700 V-Max was quite hefty – 10 years later, it would almost make you laugh compared to that of the Diavel V4 RS. Equivalent to that of a Multistrada V4... Plus a Monster SP. And you still have enough to buy a riding suit, a helmet, and a set of tires.

But with this kind of machine, the clientele no longer really reasons in terms of price or sensations but in acquiring a panoply of desires above the common world. The "super-Diavel" is conceived with a set of desires above the common world.

M.B. - Photo constructeur