Derbi Mulhacen Cafe 659

NOT SO MUCH

OVERVIEW
One of the world's oldest motorcycle manufacturers, Derbi is celebrating its 86th year in business in 2009. During that time the Spanish factory has amassed a rich history, particularly in the racing arena where its small-capacity machines, known affectionately as the Balas Rojas (Red Bullets) have won a swag of Grand Prix world championships in the hands of legends such as Angel Nieto.

Trouble is, for all its history and tradition Derbi has never had much of a profile here in Australia. And that goes a long way to explaining why so many people felt the need to look, stare, poke, prod and generally ogle the Mulhacen Café 659 wherever it was parked.

Double-takes and curious glances were definitely the order of the day while the Mulhacen was in my care, but to be fair, it was as much due to the bike's unusual and distinctive styling as it was to the unfamiliar red name badges on the panels.

Like the Ducati Monster, the Mulhacen is from the minimalist school of motorcycle design. Longish and low, the scrambler look of the original Mulhacen (which featured 18-inch spoked wheels with dual-purpose rubber) has been refined on the Café, which is Derbi's response to calls for a Mulhacen that has been designed purely for the street.

For what it's worth, I reckon the Café looks less bitty and more coherent in its all-black colour scheme than the original Mulhacen.

Interestingly small bikes are really Derbi's forte, and the company produces a wide range of scooters and motorcycles in the 50-250cc bracket. When it was released in Europe in 2006, the Mulhacen was the largest bike Derbi had ever built - and it remains so.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
Derbi is a member of the Piaggio Group - along with Aprilia and Moto Guzzi - so it should come as no surprise to learn that the Mulhacen's engine is the same as the one used in Aprilia's Pegaso 650.

Made by Italian firm Minarelli, the four-stroke 659cc single-cylinder engine is also found in Yamaha's XT660 dual-purpose machine.

It's a fairly modern powerplant, with four valves controlled by a single overhead camshaft, liquid-cooling and Nippon Denso electronic fuel-injection through a 44mm throttle body that helps the engine meet the Euro3 emissions standards. Not unusually for a big single, this motor runs a dry sump with the oil stored in the steel-tube frame.

The bore and stroke is 100mm x 84mm and the engine is good for a claimed 35kW at 6000rpm and 55Nm at 5500rpm, with redline kicking in at 7250rpm.

As mentioned, the engine is held in a steel-tube perimeter-style frame, which was finished in smart textured black on our test machine that helped it 'disappear' somewhat between the engine and the black bodywork.

The chunky alloy swingarm out the back was nowhere near as discreet, especially as it has the Sachs monoshock mounted on the right-hand side in a position that makes the spring preload and rebound damping adjusters super easy to reach.

The front end is dominated by a pair of gold-finished 43mm inverted forks (alas, with no adjustment facilities), while the 17-inch wheels will look familiar to anyone's who's owned an Aprilia in recent years.

Braking hardware is top-class, with a single radial-mount four-piston Brembo caliper grabbing a 320mm disc at the front end, and a single-piston caliper and 245mm disc combination out back.

In keeping with its minimalist look, the Mulhacen weighs in at a handy 165kg dry. It also packs a number of interesting styling touches, such as the tiny LCD instrument panel, and a prominent scrambler-style high side-mounted exhaust system.

The muffler on the test bike was an aftermarket job, with quite a fruity (but legal, I'm told) note, while the standard can is usually hidden behind extensive black-finished heatshields. Which one Australian-delivered bikes will come with is still under review by the local distributor.

All up, the Mulhacen Café 659 will set you back $12,999 plus on-road costs.

ON THE ROAD
I picked up the Mulhacen in the inner Brisbane suburb of Milton, and it didn't take me long to settle into the Spanish single's vibe. The riding position has that old-style scrambler feel and is perfect for slicing the bike through suburban and city traffic.

With your arms comfortably extended to a wide, flat handlebar, your back straight, your bum perched on a compact, 810mm-high dirt-tracker seat and your legs in a relaxed bend between the winged plastic fuel tank and lowish, slightly forward footpegs, there's a great feeling of being involved and in control, but without any unnatural stretching.

Like most big singles, the Minarelli-built engine delivers a few vibes, but it also offers plenty of punch down low that helps the Mulhacen slot into that fast disappearing gap in the traffic, or fire out of a corner.

I tended to spend most of my time in the 3000-4000rpm band, occasionally reaching up to the 6000rpm mark when playing up, but not bothering to go far past that as the power shuts down fairly quickly from about 6500rpm.

Overall, the Mulhacen is a honest enough performer, but it does display some hesitation when the throttle is cracked open quickly and some hunting on a constant throttle at highway speeds - about 100-110km/h, or around 4000rpm on the snazzy LCD bar graph tacho - which shows that fuel-injection hasn't quite eradicated some of those traditional big single traits.

Fuel economy is impressive: I got an average of 3.82l/100km, giving a range of more than 300km from the 13-litre tank.

While the Mulhacen's suspension looks the goods, it's not always the case in practice. Derbi's test rider must be the size of Dani Pedrosa because the Mulhacen is too lightly sprung for your average Aussie bloke.

The result was a bike that was beautiful to ride on smooth roads, but tended towards unpleasant in the bumps as the suspension struggled. The forks were a little better than the rear shock, but they got flustered over mid-corner bumps. It was a shame because the Mulhacen flicks into a corner with excellent ease and precision. The forks also dive a bit too much under the influence of the powerful Brembo front brake.

The Sachs shock regularly bottomed out over speed humps and larger bumps out on the backroads. It never got out of hand, but it was nothing like the purposeful squat I'd get from the back end when I'd screw on the power on the exit of a smoothly paved corner.

I found the trick-looking LCD dash to be easy to read on the fly, but some of the coloured indicator lights can't be seen in direct sunlight, and while the seat (and pillion cowl) are easy to remove, there's no storage space underneath. On the upside, the headlight has a very accessible angle adjustment screw.

As a weekday commuter and weekend short-haul fun bike, the Mulhacen Café 659 is easy to like. It looks great, goes hard enough, and despite the undersprung suspension and some lack of practicality, it has that all-important grin factor.