Before we get down to discovering what it is like to ride, let’s just soak in the visuals, shall we? If the Ducati Diavel V4’s looks could kill, it’ll leave a trail of dead bodies in its wake. I find it hard to find words to describe how special the Diavel looks because from whichever angle you look at it, the bike looks extra special.

Everything – from the headlight with C-shaped DRLs to the muscular fuel tank, or the fat, 240-section tyre to the floating effect of the tail section – proclaims to the world that the Diavel isn’t someone to mess with. It looks sinister and has a personality that I find increasingly hard to find in motorcycles these days.

The attention to detail, too, is on simply another level. You can see it in the machined finish on the alloys, with the single-sided swingarm putting the big rear wheel on full display. The handlebar-mounted turn indicators are positioned as the devil’s horns and I like the honeycomb effect of the taillight that’ll look intimidating to those following the Diavel.

The star of the Diavel show is undoubtedly the Granturismo V4 engine. It makes 165bhp and 123Nm of torque. It is paired with a six-speed gearbox and as expected it comes with a bi-directional quick-shifter. There’s a plethora of electronics as is the norm with any big Ducati these days. There are ride modes, multiple traction control settings, wheelie control and even a launch control system. The latter allows you to safely deploy all of the horses that the engine makes without you frying the clutch, smoking the tyres, or worse, losing control and wrapping yourself around a tree.

All of the settings can be accessed via menus on the colour TFT display. The only gripe, as I’d mentioned is with the non-intuitive switches that make it a task to jog through the menus and adjust the settings as per preference. Nevertheless, I made my peace with this because the ride experience is simply astonishing for anything else to be of bother.

The Ducati Diavel V4 turned out to be a lot, lot better than I’d expected and in every way imaginable. I liked it for the way it looks, the ballistic performance of the engine and the way it rides. Over and above this, it’s that special feeling that the Diavel stoked within me that has remained even as I type this review. Come to think of it, isn’t that how a motorcycle should make you feel?

I guess, it is ok then that the asking price is Rs 32 lakh and that the Diavel is nowhere near as practical as an equally priced superbike or ADV. Because the Diavel V4 manages to tug at your heartstrings and I think sometimes it is better to listen to your heart rather than your head.