While the Spanish island of Ibiza is a renowned destination
for electronic music, it has much more to offer than just the nightlife, more
even than day parties too. It’s snaking roads connecting one beach cove to the
next make it the perfect playground for exploring with a motorcycle. If you
happen to have one, the return ferry price from Valencia, for you and the bike,
is around €150. Don’t fret if not, you can hire one from the good folks at
Motosud, which is just what I did.
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| The KTM Duke 690 on the cliffs of Ibiza |
Firstly, riding on Ibiza requires special
attention. Not only do you have salt and sand making the roads extra slippery,
there might well be a few cars around with those at the wheel who didn’t follow
the sobriety aspect of being a designated driver. The former can make for entertainingly easy wheel-spin on corner
exit, the latter needs your utmost concentration, in built up areas especially.
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| An ultra luxurious Yacht, The Radiant, is 110m long and costs US $280 million |
When deciding on which bike to choose I couldn’t resist
going for KTM’s 690 Duke. It is the most powerful single cylinder production
motorbike available, with 52kW (70bhp) and 70Nm of torque providing more than
adequate power for a package that weighs just 150kg. It cost €70 to hire for a
24 hour period.
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| The perfect way to go beach hopping! |
The Duke feels meaty from low in the rev range, pulling
stronger than you expect a single cylinder ought to. It then starts to sing and
feel more aggressive as you approach the 8000rpm redline. Making the dash from
0-100kph in less than four seconds, it really is a spritely mover. What’s
surprising is how comfortable and planted it feels on the road at high speeds,
even with a pillion. It’s upright seating position and wide handlebars make it
agile like a fox, on tight twisting roads you’d be hard pressed keeping up on a
sports bike.
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| Aesthetically pleasing machines are not in short supply on Ibiza |
Aesthetically it’s a tidy package; it’s naked chassis, sharp
decals and finish of the exhaust header pipe maintain a sporty stance, even
when stationary. The electronic dash is also well finished, I only wish they’d
given more thought to the styling at the rear which looks a tad forgotten.
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| Oh yeah, we need brake lights and indicators at the back... Yep, stock standard will do! |
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| Modern electronic dash is crisp, but glare can be a problem. |
Looking at the development history of the Duke you can
understand why it’s such a sorted piece of kit. The 640cc Duke was KTM’s first
foray into road bikes in 1998, having previously dealt only with off-road and
racing machines. In Time, they’ve done a great job of translating the racing
technology into usable real world fun. The Duke range has expanded with the 125
offering up a sharp starter, right the way through to the 1290 Super Duke for
those particularly fond of speeding fines.
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| Finding yourself a quiet cove has never been so fun! |
As for great riding roads around Ibiza, it’s hard to go
wrong. You’re never far from an amazing backdrop around the next bend, with
turquoise views across the Mediterranean. It is worth looking around the port
where you can ogle the mega-yachts, and a particularly good vantage for viewing
the sunset is Cala d’Hort or try Portinatx too.
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| Sunset views at Cala d'Hort. |
Verdict:
It’s a tremendous machine that has scooter-like nimbleness
with sportsbike power. This was the perfect bike for beach-hopping around Ibiza;
my only complaint is that 24 hours with the Duke was not enough!
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| Great times were had! |
