Roadster – Comparison test Diavel, B-King and Vmax: watts and show off! – Cafe terraces or traffic jams?

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Comparative test Diavel, B-King and Vmax: watts and show off !

Roadster - Comparison test Diavel, B-King and Vmax: watts and show off! - Cafe terraces or traffic jams?

As exuberant as the Yamaha Vmax but claiming the behavior of a roadster, the Ducati Diavel shakes up the muscle bike category … Site pits it against the Yamaha monster and the virile Suzuki B-King: comparative test 100% testosterone !

Cafe terraces or traffic jams ?

These three muscle bikes are not really equipped to tackle everyday life. With its more roadster definition, the B-King is the one that does the best: you can slip a tiny U under its passenger seat and attach a bag to the hooks provided for this purpose..

On the other two, no locks and the backpack is mandatory to carry anything. For essentially urban use, the Suzuki literally humiliates its two competitors of the day. Its flexible and torquey 4-cylinder offers a smoothness and a pleasure that its rivals cannot boast. It is also ideally supported by a gearbox that is both smooth, precise and fast..

As imposing to look at as it is easy to handle, the B-King surprises with its obviousness for a motorcycle of this capacity and over 250 kg in running order. The front axle is healthy, relatively light and can be placed without resistance. As for the other two, you really have to stuff them in town…

For its part, the Diavel could do well if it weren’t for this hoarse, jerky and almost intimidating noise that comes from its exhausts: but how could the Italians manage to approve this thing (100 dB at 4,500 rpm according to the registration document) ?

At least we are safe because even the least attentive motorists can hear you coming! On the other hand, in city centers or quiet places, we feel guilty of annoying the neighborhood with such a mess….

A dynamically evil Diavel !

Apart from the furious growls of its mechanics, the Diavel circulates well in the city: surprisingly, its long chassis (1590 mm of wheelbase!) And its huge rear tire 240 mm wide manage to do roughly forget.

It is still necessary to compose with a precise but rough gearbox and a twin cylinder which, although flexible, does not like to go too much under 2000 rpm. Fortunately, the hydraulic clutch shows a smoothness and an appreciable progressiveness.

On the Vmax, it’s not the same story … It is possible to drive in town, but beware of its size and its liner agility! The nose gear is heavy and falls at low speed. With nearly 330 kg in running order, be careful not to get carried away !

More than on the other two, a solid experience of the motorcycle is essential not to drool too much. As for its engine, if the V4 is nasty in its turns, it also knows how to be gentle and very well behaved..

To express themselves, these three exceptional mechanics need a lot more space … but take it easy, because the speed limits are very, very quickly exceeded! In particular on the B-King, thanks to the considerable breath and lengthening of its 4-cylinder, even with a bridle !

You can take more advantage of the other two without necessarily driving too fast, enjoying the powerful piston strokes of the Japanese V4 and the Italian "L2": yes, the twin cylinder of the Diavel is open at 90 ° !

Efficiency without fuss

With its air of not touching it, the B-King shows impressive efficiency. Even when picking up at 130 km / h in sixth gear, it holds the Diavel (which nevertheless turns faster: 4,800 rpm against 4,200 for the Suzuki) on the first meters before taking advantage of its reach from 6,000 rpm mn to slip away.

Behind, the Vmax (in 5th and last report at 4,300 rpm) pulls hard, but it is irreparably dropped because of its overweight. The deal would undoubtedly be different in full power … And when the virolos get closer, the B-King remains in front because of its greater sportiness.

Good braking machine and rather intuitive for a motorcycle of this displacement, the B-King just requires to pay attention to its rather high center of gravity and its weight. On the other hand, we encountered some traction problems during clear acceleration, with nice – but short, phew! – rear glides at the key !

A problem never encountered with the big Japanese roadster, and which is certainly explained by the pronounced wear and tear of its rear Dunlop Qualifier: fined in just 4,000 km by the truck couple of the Suz ‘, the rear rubber reminds that in case of zeal on the gas, the budget "tire" quickly exploded! And to think that this is a restricted model…

Behind, if the Diavel driver really spits in the gloves, he can almost keep pace with the Suzuki. Almost, because with its rear tire of 240 mm and its ground clearance much more limited than on the B-King (but significantly less than on the Vmax), the Italian is – not surprisingly – more difficult to lead in the winding.

With its wheelbase of 1,590 mm, the Ducati is obviously more stable than agile. On the other hand, apart from an understandable heaviness at low speed, its front end is much easier to place than the measurements of the beast let it fear. In this regard, the Reds of Bologna have achieved a real tour de force: bravissimo !

Wait for the stretches

In 106 hp, firmly planted on its excellent Pirelli XXL format, the traction of the Diavel is difficult to fault despite the wicked couple of the twin … And if an onset of skating occurs, the DTC keeps watch with formidable efficiency without being frustrating or intrusive.

Also, the Ducati’s braking is just terrible … up front! Devilishly powerful but perfectly dosable, it is on the other hand a little too discreet at the rear: a shame, because we would have liked to be able to count on it a little more when the inertia of the whole tends to widen the trajectories..

Inordinate wheelbase (no less than 1,700 mm, or 110 more than the Diavel), hyper open caster angle (31 ° for a 148 mm caster), substantial weight … with these custom dimensions, the Vmax does not is not really cut for the attack in the mountain passes.

If we force its nature, it becomes blurry without being really dangerous, because of the consequent mass transfers and suspensions which promote comfort to sportiness. His thing is rather the playful ride than the improvised arsenal: but given its dimensions, who really doubted it ?

We always take pleasure in soldering the right grip in the stretches to make the monster roar. Much more efficient and transparent than on the old model (from 1985!), The assisted braking of the ABS also makes it possible to make up for excess optimism.

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