DERBI MULHACEN 659 (2006 - on) Review

The Derbi Mulhacen 659 is Derbi's first stab at a motorcycle bigger than 125cc, and is a brazen, trend-setting joy. The combination of concept motorcycle styling, Yamaha XT660R mechanicals and funky. Top notch cycle parts adds up to a street-savvy, flat track styled city scalpel of a motorcycle. Outside Soho, however, the Derbi Mulhacen 659 is an irrelevant ornament…

True to its flat tracker inspiration the Derbi Mulhacen 659 is low, narrow and… hard. All of which makes it a rabid whippet of a motorcycle when hooning down nadgy B-roads or a darting jam-buster through town traffic. The Derbi Mulhacen 659 can get a bit flappy at speed, though, M-ways are, quite literally, a pain  and its horrible to ride this motorcycle for more than 15 minutes at a time.

The Derbi Mulhacen 658 uses Yamaha’s tried and tested four-valve 660 engine, which is pretty much the definitive modern thumper and rightly popular both with the public and industry (the Aprilia Pegaso uses the same engine) alike. The Derbi Mulhacen 659 haas impeccable manners and predictability, decent (rather than exactly thrilling) performance and utter reliability are the reasons why this motorycle is loved so much.

There’s little doubting much of the Derbi Mulhacen 659's quality but it’s too early to say how well the motorcycle hangs together – or whether they instead blow off into the wind. Derbi’s 125s aren't exactly the most robust motorcycles under the sun, after all. That said, Derbi Mulhacen 659 owners will surely pamper rather than pulverise their motorcycles…

At only a few hundred pounds more than the comparable (but much more lowly specced) Yamaha MT03 and Aprilia Pegaso Strada, there’s no doubting the Derbi Mulhacen 659 seems good value new. How durable it turns out to be, howevere, remains to be seen. Find a Derbi Mulhacen 659 for sale.

The Derbi Mulhacen 659 is a mouth-watering joy, from its funky instrument panel to its wavy discs and LED tail light. So well equipped, in fact, it makes any other sub-£6K rival motorcycle look like they’re made from scaffold poles and dustbin lids. That said, the Derbi Mulhacen 659 is a bit flimsy here and there. But as a glitzy ornament, there are few roadster motorcycles that are better…