BIKETEST KTM 690 DUKE:RIDING a Royal Enfield from Delhi to Belfast, as I once did, gives you plenty of time to contemplate the stillness at the centre of your being.
As we all know, according to traditional Zen Buddhist thinking, this is one inch above your navel at a point called the Hara.
Which is about the only part of you that remains still on a motorcycle like the Enfield, with its series of rhythms designed to reduce your bones to marrow and your internal organs to jelly.
You see, whereas bikes from, say, Germany are built on the theory that they will last 1,000 years, old British bikes are constructed on the Zen principle that everything changes.
At rest on a single like the Enfield, there is the slow heartbeat of that hefty piston lolloping up and down; at cruising speed a thrumming purr like a lion after a satisfying wildebeest snack that slowly unscrews all the large nuts and bolts on the bike; and, at higher speeds, there is a finer, more subtle threnody, like the wind in telegraph wires, which loosens all the small ones.
Riding the Enfield across the vast plains of Persia, they sounded to me like the music of the stars, but I am sad to report that since the Enfield is currently in the garage gathering dust and looking at me with an air of betrayal every time I go in, I had not felt that unique symphony of good vibrations for some time.
Until yesterday, that is, when I started up the KTM 690 Duke, a bike so advanced that all it has in common with the Enfield is that it is a single, and it vibrates.
On the road, it’s almost hard to believe that it is a single, such is the surge of power from a mere 10.2cm piston as the engine spins freely all the way up to its redline of 7,800rpm, at which stage the speed in sixth gear is nudging 120mph.
Like all KTMs, of course, it’s pretty useless at anything below about 4,000rpm, but wind it up to 5,000 and beyond and there’s enough combination of power and light weight there to have you passing everything on four wheels with alacrity.
There’s even enough oomph under the tank for sustained motorway speeds, although I wouldn’t recommend planning your next blast around Europe on it for several reasons.
Firstly, you’ll get fairly windblown, especially with that upright seating position. Secondly, KTM’s dirt-bike heritage means that the seat is so firm and minimal that after about an hour in the saddle you’re going to start shifting from side to side and looking out for a bacon butty establishment. And thirdly, as you wind up the revs from 5,000 to the redline, a strange, tingling vibration makes its way from the back of your buttocks, through your family jewels to your inner thighs, as a result of which I fear my chances of having twins have been sadly diminished.
But then, high-speed cruising is not what the Duke is all about: it’s a machine for hurtling around A and B roads, flinging it into corners with pinpoint precision thanks to a combination of Brembo brakes, light weight and steep forks that cry out for aggressive counter-steering, then flinging it out the other end with a smile on your face and flies in your moustache.
If you’re an inexperienced biker or fear for your fertility, you can always tame the engine management with an adjuster under the seat to soften the throttle response and cut power by about a third.
To be honest, though, the Duke is so light, and the suspension from KTM-owned specialists WP so flawless, that you’d need to be trying very hard to get into trouble on it.
You can also use the adjuster for a more aggressive power delivery, but I reckon the standard setting is sharp enough to satisfy the majority of riders, particularly at the snatchy lower end of the rev range.
Verdict: more vibes than a bed in a cheap US motel, and loads of fun, if you don’t mind the steep price for a single.
Factfile KTM 690 Duke
Engine:654cc, single-cylinder fuel-injected four-stroke with four valves, 64bhp at 7,500rpm and 49lb ft of torque @ 5,500rpm
Transmission:six gears, chain final drive
Brakes:front – Brembo four-piston radially bolted caliper, brake disc 320mm; rear – Brembo single-piston floating caliper, brake disc 220mm
Fuel capacity:13.5 litres, 2.5 litres reserve
Dry weight:148.5kg
(There’s no KTM dealer in the Republic. UK price £7,395. Test bike supplied by Philip McCallen, tel: 028-92622 886, philipmccallen.com)