HIT SINGLE
A redesigned KTM 690 Duke or something more? Husqvarna’s new simple single takes café futurism to the streets of Barcelona
Vitpilen as an object of desire
In Kiska’s Austrian HQ, a designer is penning straight lines at a drawing board. The brief he’s been given is simple: keep it simple. The paper in front of him shows two wheels and four lines. The first two are angled up and back from the wheels – fork and rear end. The third is horizontal above the wheels – the flat top of the bike. And a fourth cuts diagonally across from headstock to rear axle. The designer pauses, adds a fifth line and annotates it yellow. It’s his personal flair. ‘Done,’ he reports to his supervisor Gerald. All these lines are still visible on the production machine. The bike is simple, compact and nods a head to current custom trends. Shallow LED bulbs allow for compact head and brake lights, the dash is flattened to keep the top of the bike clean, and the tail ends sharply just behind the rear axle. It looks like a futuristic café racer. The 701 also makes an impact when you get close up. It isn’t splattered with branding like an Indian V-twin, but there are plenty of quality details. The deep bronzed engine casings are beautifully finished, as is the solid-feeling filler cap. ‘701’ is subtly painted on the tank, stamped into the rubber pillion seat and displayed underneath the subframe. Not that you’d ever notice the last one without bending over.
Vitpilen as brand engineering
Some say the Vitpilen 701 is just a KTM 690 Duke in disguise. But that’s not the way Husqvarna’s marketing crew see it. According to them it’s an antidote to the chaos of the modern world. Want to ride the chaos and discover freedom? It apparently does that too. Sure, the styling sets Vit and Duke apart, but focus on the detail and you can see Husqvarna distancing themselves in other ways. Take the standard-fit Easy Shift gear system. It’s a slick up-down
‘There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day for a lazy boulevard cruise, but instead the Vitpilen feels hyperactive’
quickshifter suspiciously similar to the one on KTM’S 790 Duke, but given a city-friendly name. And there’s also just one engine map. The 690 Duke has three with the optional Track Pack, but Husqvarna have kept the 701’s modern tech simple. A single map means no faff swapping options, and it’s so smooth on throttle openings you would never wish for a separate rain mode. They’ve made turning the traction control off easy too: just press on the lowest dash button, hold it for five seconds. No complex sub-menus, different degrees of engine braking, or editable power modes. Simple pleasures are much underrated these days.
Vitpilen as man about town
Barcelona’s coastal city blocks strafe your visor with reflected sunlight. It’s a comfortable 18°C and there’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day for a lazy boulevard cruise, but instead the Vitpilen feels hyperactive. It’s the way you’re sat: bum up, legs tucked in, weight onto tiny clip-on-style ’bars. And it’s the way KTM’S single is constantly begging to be thrashed. Yet the ‘Pilen is urban practical. There’s beautifully soft fuelling at small throttle openings, a slim figure for sliding between tightly-packed cars, and precise handling for swerving through crowds of cyclists. Forget KTM’S ‘The Scalpel’ ad campaign for the 790 Duke because the 701 is the sharper blade. It is the quickeststeering motorbike I’ve ever ridden. Initial clues to its impressive performance are the standard-fit Bridgestone Battlax S21 tyres.
‘Hypersport tyres on a city bike,’ I wonder at some traffic lights. Then we’re off again, doing 90° turns between Barcelona’s beachside blocks. I’m amazed at its agility.
Vitpilen as B-road accomplice
In the hills north of Barcelona, I discover that the racy riding position makes sense, the WP fork is underdamped, the gears are short and the thrust is immediate. Barely hidden by the steel trellis frame is the single-cylinder LC4 (liquid-cooled 4-valve) engine. Its 692.7cc comes from a massive 102mm bore coupled to an 80mm stroke. It sounds like the classiest of garden machinery, it shudders under load low in the rev range, and it roars to its peak 74bhp at 8500rpm. None of the bikes this engine powers can be called sensible, and this one is suitably bonkers too. Twist the throttle in first and the front will rise obligingly. Accelerate in second or third and the same thing happens on the smallest crest. It’s far more fun than the subtle silver-black Vitpilen paint scheme suggests. That urban-friendly Easy Shift system also works when pushing hard out of corners, braking hard into corners, and tapping up a gear for longer wheelies. It downshifts on part throttle openings too. I want more braking power though. There’s only one 320mm disc, so despite the super-light 166kg wet weight, braking has to begin far in advance for tight downhill bends. It’s like the brakes and engine performance are unbalanced. Another disc would help level things.
Vitpilen as irritant
Obviously there are irritations. The tall 830mm seat is also wide due to the airbox below. At 5ft 7in the reach to tarmac is manageable. The low clip-on-style handlebar gives me wrist ache whenever I’m not in a racing crouch. The dash is covered by a plastic screen that reflects the sun. Circular mirrors vibrate above 4000rpm. The engine response is lumpy below 4000rpm. Cruise at 50mph in sixth and it feels like the road surface is washboarded. Long distance journeys are out due to a 12-litre fuel tank and the firm seat. Brakes lack power. And all the while there’s the nagging sense that it costs £1000 than a 690 Duke, itself hardly a value option.
‘None of the bikes this engine powers can be called sensible, and this one is suitably bonkers too’
But the Vitpilen is such fun to ride, and looks so good, that you want to make allowances. Who needs mirrors when you’re as fast as any other bike in tight curves? Why fit another front disc and caliper when it would slow the turning speed? Who cares whether the single’s lumpy below 4000rpm when you keep the engine above it? Do you really need more than a 12 litre tank when it does 56mpg? And surely the flimsy grab handle stashed under the seat is good enough for the pillion? When you’re having so much fun it’s easy to see silver linings.
How does it make you feel?
Imagine riding a nervous 600cc sportsbike at 20mph through a city. Except that instead of gutless response when you open the throttle, the engine goes waaarp and the front end comes up. I feel on edge, rebellious even. Despite this, the soft fuelling and precise handling gives control. And when we’re waiting at a red, single idling away, I remember what the machine I’m riding actually looks like. Wacky, in an understated way. I realise I’m grinning. In one South Park episode, San Francisco is covered by a huge cloud of smug. The smug, emitted by drivers of hybrid vehicles, reaches critical density and destroys the city. The Vitpilen makes me emit smug, and it’s not even a hybrid. I’m glad it exists.
Nine grand? Really?
What else could you buy? Yamaha’s Tracer 900, Triumph’s Street Scrambler. Looked at one way it’s a lot of money for not much bike. But compared with some other style statements it’s not bad value. Indian Scout? Harley Sportster? Ducati Desert Sled? The Vitpilen is a comparable proposition.