In Searcb of The... World's Best Streetbike
In searcb of the... World's Best Streetbike
Ten for the road
DAVID EDWARDS
CW COMPARISON
UP AHEAD, A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. Ten good riders on 10 good motorcycles, nose-to-tail, fanning through a series of ess-turns alongside the Kern River. An 80mph conga line, bathed in the purple-orange light of a setting sun. Is this a great job, or what?
Several years ago, some carping moto-journalist (I'm pretty sure it was me) prattled on about the poor state of the American streetbike. Bar-hopping cruiser or Sundaymorning repli-racer—both posers in their own way—with little in between for those of us in search of a modern, high-performance allaround roadster.
Times have changed. Standardstyle bikes now have some spunk, cruisers can do more than troll Main Street and virtually every bikemaker has at least one sporting streetbike in the lineup for which knee-sliders and a gunslinger mentality are not required wear.
Itis those bikes that bring us together today.
We picked what we thought was the best all-around streetbike from each of nine different manufacturers, added the top-rated 600 for some middleweight perspective, and hit the road. Lot's of `em, actually. Our two-day, 600-mile route included a little of everything from HOV lanes to stop-n-go Malibu beach traffic, from lane-splitting to running well into three figures across the deserted Mojave, from some of SoCal's best canyon roads to stretches of Interstate 5. We also lived with the bikes day-to-day for the better part of a month, and in addition to his usual barrage of performance checks, Road Test Editor Don Canet laid on a street-specific handling course. At the end, there were no real losers-in fact, as you'll read, we almost didn't have a winner...
The players, then, in alphabetical order:
“A terrific all-around motorcycle,” said Editorial Director Paul Dean of the ApPilid FlltUPS, our Ten Best Bikes pick as last year’s number-one sport-tourer. “It has a superb ergonomic package, including one of the best seats I’ve ever plopped onto, along with excellent
susper~ crisp steering, confidence-inspiring handling, strong, linear power and powerful, predictable brakes. I found it a good companion on the interstates and open road, and enjoyed it immensely on the backroads, my only com plaint being that it ran out of cornering clearance a smidgen earlier than I expected-though I doubt many people will ride the bike through the twisties as hard as we did."
Not many other complaints, though a few thought the flat black Stealth Fighter theme a little over the top, and at least two of us felt the front tire was going away as the miles Lpiled on. Not Paul, though.
"I was comfortable on the Futura at all times, even after Don and David talked about the wearing front tire making them feel a little uneasy. I guess there's just a big difference in our riding styles. Either that or I'm totally insensitive (a claim made by both of my ex-wives) to subtleties in han dling. For quite a while, I was prepared to vote the Futura as my choice for World's Best Streetbike. But a few things kept getting in the way. For one, although I was pleased that the bike had integrated detachable hard saddlebags, the bags
th~tnselves are a pain in the ass to deal with. They're awk ward to install, especially in the dark, and they sometimes are reluctant to come off without some heavy yanking, push ing and swearing. The latches are clunky, too, and can allow you to Lock the lock and think the bag door is secure when it is not. I had one bag fall open while on the freeway-thank ftilly, its priceless contents (dirty underwear, rancid socks and numerous used paper towels loaded with bug guts) were restrained by the interior straps and didn't fall out.
“Still, I liked this motorcycle very, very much. It offered plenty of‘sport’ forme, with good ‘touring’ accommodations when needed, and seemed a perfectly capable daily rider or weekend explorer.”
Next, the BMW IU1bUll~, uprated this year with a bigger motor and slicker-shifting overdrive transmission. As integrat ed as ever and still a great traveling companion, but we were expecting a little more from Munich for their flagship sport tourer. Rumors abound of a new motor and a restyle in the near future-let us also suggest solidly mounted handlebars. "Could we never have another bike with rubber-mounted
handlehars?'~ asked Contributing Editor Steve Anderson. `SEven the small movement in the RS bars telegraphs impre cision and uncertainty. Also, vibration in the upper-rpm reaches (the reason for the rubber bars) is annoying. But the engine is torquey and will propel the Beemer through the twisties in the company of bikes that should be quicker. The power brakes (linked front-to-rear, but thankfully not rearto-front) work well, but they are sudden-no problem for me, but then Canet claims all my inputs are sudden. The antilock doesn't cycle as smoothly and unobtrusively as the Honda system, but it will save your butt when you do some thing stupid and/or panicked. The Telelever fork gives very good compliance and little dive-it really is the best alterna tive front suspension system yet seen, and arguably works better than conventional forks.
"This is a very comfy bike, and has by far the most effec tive windscreen. A lot of that is how close it comes to the rider, breaking most of the windblast without throwing up a massive vortex to rattle the faceshield. And the Beemer's saddlebags set the standard for everyone else."
From the Harley/Buell camp came the new flP~bC~1I ,tój, wearing a beefed-up drivebelt and bigger, better-looking belt-tension er wheel than the pre-prod bikes at the Las Vegas press intro. Steering is still a little heavier than expected, given the frame geometry. and apex-sniffing trail-brakers like Canet don't like the way the Buell wants to stand up in such situations. According to Anderson, the need to meet Harley's stringent high-speed stability standards resulted in more front-wheel trail than Erik Buell originally specified. Never mind. On the right road the XB9R is pure magic.
"What a delightful surprise' `enthused Contributing Editor Allan Girdler. "I was expecting a joke-you know, `Fill the frame with high-test and check that the swingarm is topped up will ya, bud...' And we needn't mention the build-quality of previous examples. But, wow, it's like the whole machine is carved from billet! Solid, compact, no lag, no hesitation, motor pulls from all over, hits hard enough to yank my feet off the pegs, no kiddin'.
"Okay, so the riding posture isn't suitable for a family mag azine; likewise the, umm, posi tion of one's lady friend. And, sure, cruising at 90 plus, espe cially into a headwind, will give you a ne* likE t1w~ 1-Tulk and arms like Plasticman. But for the fan who sees this I and wants a canyon commando or urban streetfighter, w could put up with the low bars, high pegs and a seat as giving as your mother-in-law, well, this might be the pic
Anderson amplified Girdler’s opinions: “Handling is unlike anything else I’ve ridden. The bike requires a definite input, but can be placed anywhere on the road. A quick, hard roll-in doesn’t upset it, and it will flick from hard-left to
APRILIA RSTIOOO FUTURA
$12,999
APPS Rumbly, raspy engine sound Seat foam like fresh bread Last year's too-daring styling now looks right
bowns v Weirdly shaped mirrors v Surprisingly, not as refined as the Ducati v Details a little fetishistic, like the rear wheel
BMW R1150RS
$15,490
Paralever works wonderfully BMW has ergonomics dialed Quality toolkit, heated grips A 3-year/36,000-mi. warranty
`~owns V Feels Gumby-ish V Briggs & Stratton engine note V Already expensive, now add $630 for saddlebags
hard-right with total control and solidity. It's the best bike Buell has done by far, and probably the most advanced chassis in sport motorcycling."
Paul Dean runs a Givi-bagged Honda VFR75O, so he was naturally drawn to the sport-tourers. First the Aprilia, then the DZ3tI ST4S.
"No matter what you do with the ST4S, it never seems to lose its composure," he observed. "It never does anything spectacular, either, but instead just keeps on keepin' on. As I chased the loony Mark Cernicky and his even loonier girlfriend along
Highway 33 all the way to Lockwood Valley Road, he was charging hard enough to make the Kawasaki ZZ-R1200 squirm entering some corners and lay down black marks exiting others, yet the ST4S just happily tagged along on his tail, never giving the slightest indication that it was anywhere near the edge. I had to muscle it ever so slightly in really tight corners, but not enough so to turn me against the bike.
"What's more, the motor is responsive and power ful. It doesn't pull on the very bottom as well as an ST2 two-valver, but it still storms out of corners force fully and revs out impressively. I didn't like the seat or the ergonomics as well as the Aprilia's; my wrists and forearms got uncomfortable and my butt approached the threshold of numb sooner than on the Futura. "Anyway, a nice combination of assuring stability, unflappable handling, strong, relentless power, con siderable comfort and great versatility."
But maybe not for those on a budget, as new Contributing Editor John Burns pointed out. "I can't imagine owning one," he said. "I just got off the phone with the service manager at Pro Italia, a local Duc shop. Seems Ducati is offering a "service program" (!) that covers the first three desmo valve adjustments-for a mere $1299-at 6000, 12K and 18K miles. After that, you're looking at 6 shop hours every 6000 miles if you want your valves set to Ducati spec; 8 hours if you want them set to Pro Italia's tighter recommended clearances. PT gets $73 an hour; that's more than $500 every 6000 miles. I average about 500 miles a week, so I'd be m four times a year If you're a trust fund baby, why not9 If you're me, you'd rather have ayacht" Our 600-class representative was the HOPIIa CBHBOOF4I, a two time Ten Best Bikes winner.
"Is this the world's best sportbike, or what?" asked Managing
Editor Matthew Miles. "Maybe a little too high-strung in this crowd, but its do-no-wrong chassis makes it a personal favorite. Braking and steering inputs are answered with immediacy, con trols are velvety smooth."
"This is a fabulous motorcycle," Paul concurred. "It's wickedly fast, handles almost telepathically, slices and dices backroads like a 150-mph Vegematic, and yet isn't prohibitively uncomfortable for general riding. But not the best streetbike, if only for the fact that spending a week-long sport-tour revving the thing to 14,000 rpm would get old pretty fast." - . -
No such provisos about our second Honda, the IJIteI'~øptOP 800. (Actually, we had two Interceptors on the ride, the other our long termer, now pushing 4000 miles-which is why there's a total of 11 riders.) For some reason, American Honda has dropped the
BUELL FIREBOLT
$9995
A Was this engine really born in 1952? A Rubber mounts kill vibration A Zero driveline lash A Simple-to-maintain drivebelt needs no adjustment A Feels quicker than it is
owns v Not for the one-bike owner v Front brake needs better feel y Useless mirrors v Drop swingarm, replace drivebelt at 15,000 miles v Slower than it feels
VFR model designation for this bike; sorry, but to us a sporting Honda V-Four is still a VFR.
"The definitive Honda," noted Steve Anderson. "The VFR is as smooth and slick as an Acura, with light control efforts at every rider interface. Also, the howl/growl at 7000 rpm as the VTEC kicks over from two valves to four is inspiring. The brakes are strong and idiotproof, even if the linked setup (the foot pedal works two of three rear pucks and one of six front pucks; the hand lever cues one rear puck and the remaining five up front) is still too intrusive for some riders. The optional anti lock cycles very quickly and smoothly if you want to stop at a full-g without any skill beyond mashing the controls. The bike feels lighter than it weighs. Suspension is smooth and well-controlled. The VFR is a solid citizen of a sportbike, a grown-up that pays taxes and
serves jury duty, but still likes to have some fun." Assistant Editor Mark Cernicky put it well: "This bike
DUCATI ST4S
$15,195
APPS Only bike with anti-theft (chip in key, underseat U-lock) Owner's manual available online!
owns v Foam-mounted instruments shudder at low rpm v None of the 916's style-not ugly, but bland V Sidestand ignition cut-outeven in neutral-a real bitch
doesn't feel like it's made up of different parts but moves as one. You feel like it's your bike the instant you get on it." Holding down the big road• burner end of the streethike spectrum was the Kawasaki 11R1200, new for `02, though basically a rebodied and more refined ZX-l 1 running a hotted-up (though still heavily flywheeled) inlineFour from the ZRX1200 super-standard. Among these 10, it's king of the dyno, quarter-mile and top-speed run, but it's also the heaviest, pushing past 600 pounds with a full load of fuel.
i~JU,I.j ..?I I~4~1. "The best ZX11 ever made," stated Anderson. "It includes what made so many people love the big ZX: midrange with thrilling top-end, in a big, comfortable bike. This would be my choice for sport-tourer, the bike to ride two-up or singly to : Monterey, for instance. On a curvy road, you can go fast by taking cor ners moderately then using the tremendous accelera tion between. You don't need to rev it to redline. Ridden so, steering is surprisingly light for the bike's size and weight. The riding position, the fairing, the effective windscreen and the midrange all make this a very good sporty streetbike that will cover miles easily."
MARC URBANO
HONDA CBRGOOF4i
$8199
AAPPS A World-class chassis A Suspension calibration of the Gods A Nimbleandstable
owns v Almost 10 bhp down from last year v Get familiar with the shift lever v Clutch cable still blocks gauges
HONDA INTERCEPTOR ABS
$10,999
A Slick shifting action A VTEC like an aural tachometer A Great gauges md. air temp
owns v Forget dragging rear brake v VTEC crossover can be annoying v Hiked-up exhaust overdone v Good luck bleeding brakes v Add ABS and bags, you're closing in on $1 2K
Not so for our man Bums, who stands (a claimed) 5-foot7, and maybe should have taken Steve's riding advice.
"This thing feels like it was built for Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox to ride two-up," he complained. "The stretch to the bars is too far for me, and that huge motor is just too much. When I got the thing wound out on Lockwood Valley, it felt like a MiG fighter-all power, no chassis, pilot expendable. You want a fast, nice-handling sport-touring Kawasaki? Two words: ZX-9R. Or is that one word?"
Paul lamented that the optional saddlebags were unavail able for our ride: "As with the Interceptor, I'd liked to have experienced the bike with its promised saddlebags, but the Japanese companies evidently have more trouble engineer ing a set of integrated bags than they do building the fastest, most technically sophisticated motorcycles imaginable." - -~ . l~4llflflHflL..
From Suzuki we ordered up anew al ODD VSh'OIN, taking a pass on the highly competent but hardly exciting Katana 750. Girdler had come back from the Strom's press intro all abuzz, so we added the quirky-looking urban enduro to our band of 10. Of course, the man does spend a lot of seat time aboard an old iron XR Harley street-tracker, which can't be good for you...
"Conceptually different from every other machine in this comparison, the V-Strom argues the wisdom of a dirtbike riding position," Anderson noted. "Evolved for ultimate machine control, putting your torso muscles in control of steering, the dirtbike position invites you to toss a bike around. Also, it doesn't hurt that most of us grew up riding dirtbikes; familiarity is worth a lot. In any case, even though
its tires (Bridgestone Trail j Wings, the front a skinny 1 9-incher!) offer slightly less ultimate traction than th others here, the V-Strom JI~LI%.~I~ II~I¼~ III~ V L)II~Ji1i allows you to get closer to the tr o~tge comfortably. Everyone was riding the Suzuki quickly on every type of road. Perhaps the best all-around functioning bike of this group, but without much of Peter Egan's famous `garage appeal."
Second that, said Corey Eastman: "When I first sat atop the mighty Strom, my thought was, gee this thing feels plasticky, sort of cheap. Given my PR degree, I mentally corrected myself to think, `less refined.' Sure, at $8899 it's a pretty good deal, but a little more refinement would seem to be in the budget at that price.
KAWASAKI ZZ-R1200
$10,499
Apps A Owns the open road A Some of us like symmetrical exhausts, one per side
owns Suddenly, it's 1991 Sometimes feels a foot too long Suspension firm for the freeway 7500-mile valve adjust A
SUZUKI V-STROM
$8899
Handles like a big, over grown dirtbike i Great corner-to-corner squirt Has luggage rack; bags and top trunk optional
`owns r Looks like a big, overgrown dirtbike Blustery for shorter riders (different height screens optional) Fuel-injection has a few rogue glitches Optional centerstand should be stock
"My styling and fiscal sensibili ties, though, were silenced two turns into my Strom stint as I found myself screaming yee-fuggen-haa!!! Stable? You could cut gems on it. Comfy? La-Z-Boys should be so lucky. Easy to ride? Motivational speakers should be so confidence inspiring. The V-Strom flat works. The TL-derived motor offers great power, bottom to top; the brakes are progressive; the suspension doesn't suffer from the pogo effect that some taller bikes do under braking."
Matthew Miles also fell under the Strom's spell: "On an unfamiliar backroad, it's practically cheating-upright ergos, lots of han dlebar leverage, tons o' torque, plush suspension."
Not eve one was as enamored with our I Sprint SI, named by CW as Best SportTourer in 1999.
"Fantastic suspension, cushy saddle, good bags, great for sport-touring," began Burns. "But marred by insipid styling, and this one has a mushy gearbox, a sticky throttle and if those optional heated grips are the factory setup, somebody at Triumph needs to be executed-what's with the exposed wire on the twistgrip? Tacky. Also, did anybody figure how to turn the heat off? I couldn't. With a little owner involve ment, including a sump full of synthetic to make it shift bet ter (or maybe it already has that?), this could be a really sweet bike."
Still worthy of a fan following, especially if you like the howl of a revvy Triple on the boil, but Corey summed up the Sprint best: "I loved this bike three years ago when we named it Best Sport-Tourer, but time marches on."
Last of our players was the Yanialia FZ1, exactly the kind of non-dumbed-down standard we feared the factories would never make. Yamaha stepped up, though, trans planting the YZF-Rl motor into a tube-style frame and keeping most of the horsepower. Our pick last year as Best Open Streetbike.
"Its combination of rational ergonomics and near-Ri power was pretty intoxicating," said Paul Dean. "I think it could be pretty hard to hang onto my license if! spent much time on this bike. The source of most of the fun is the engine, a powerful, snappy, quick-revving motor that really earns bonus points in the upper part of the rpm range. It's a capable handler, too, that's easy to flick into hard turns, aided by those high, wide bars."
TRIUMPH SPRINT ST
$10,899
Compliant ride Light steering
owns V Feels dated here V Stiff throttle v JC Whitney heated grips V Saddlebagsa~ $1000 extra
Some of us, including Paul, were wishing for a little more flywheel effect, though.
"I think the engine's lowto mid-rpm throttle response was a little deceiving," he explained. "When the throttle was just cracked open slightly from fully closed, the FZ1 would begin accelerating briskly, considering the small amount of throttle being applied. But as the throttle opening became larger, the rate of acceleration did not increase in proportion. The bot tom line: I don't think the engine's midrange is as strong as some people felt."
Anderson agreed, adding: "This is an issue I have with inline-Fours with light flywheels. On very tight roads, when you're running in first and second gear, the transition between throttle-on and throttle-off is very pronounced-you're either accelerating or you're slowing at about 0.2 g just from the
YAMAHA FZ1
$8499
A Wheelie king! A Adjust valves every 26,000 miles A Bunch of bike for the price
`~owns v Doesn't have Honda's fit and finish (what does?) v Some vibes in bars and pegs v Suspension a little soft V Tiny Ri engine seems too small for frame
engine, unless you've trained yourself to leave the throttle cracked just a bit. I'd rather not be think ing about this, and it's a big reason that reasonably flywheeled Twins and smallish two-strokes are so easy to nde on unfamiliar roads-they have little engine braking."
No such concerns when the road opened up, as Off-Road Editor Jimmy Lewis pointed out. "The Yamaha combined the best traits of all the bikes I liked and threw in a whopper of a motor," he said.
Matthew Miles put this spin on the FZ1: "Comfortable, fast, light-steering, great brakes, good looks and bargain price, etc. But might get overshadowed in this group, what with the ultra-refined Interceptor and super-surprising V Strom, which is too bad."
Matt's prognostication turned out to be spot-on. When our 11 test riders were asked to rank the bikes, one went for the FZ1, five picked the V-Strom, another five the Interceptor! All this and a tie?! Secondand third-place votes moved the Honda into the lead, but to be sure, we saddled up the three finalists for another day of riding, this time our usual 300-mile test loop to the Anza-Borrego Desert and back. Afterward, the Suzuki still had its fans, including Burns.
"It works better as a sportbike than you could ever imag ine," he argued. "Matter of fact, this is the best home Suzuki's excellent V-Twin has yet found. Styling is a bit origami pagoda-ish, but I could live with it. In general, the Suzuki most impresses me as the one with which I could
develop a long-term relationship-like it would become a horse you can trust."
But it was the Honda that carried the day with its all around goodness. High tech with high style, it also posted the third-quickest time on our handling course and was among the top bikes for rider/passenger comfort. Factor in the optional saddlebags for sport-touring stints, and you've got maybe the most versatile streetbike ever.
"Without a doubt, this is the most refined motorcycle of the bunch," Paul summed up. "It goes fast, steers impecca bly, corners brilliantly, stops remarkably well, rides comfort ably, is dead-stable andjust feels. ..well, it just feels right!
"I thought of the Interceptor asaJekyll-and-Hyde machine, At lower rpm and road speeds, it's as mild-mannered as a motorcycle can be, with light, easy steering and unintimidat ing throttle response, kind of like a high-end commuter spe cial. But when you start riding it harder, especially on back roads, it turns into a serious sport/performance machine. Once into the four-valve realm above 7000 rpm, it acceler ates like a motorcycle that means business. It earns the World's Best Streetbike title, no doubt."
So congratulations, Honda-in fact, kudos to everybody involved at all the factories. The sporting street rider has never had a better array of bikes from which to choose. And it's only going to get better. I happen to know that Buell is very interested in "Streetfighter" as a model name. An XB9R with lower footpegs, higher handlebars and a better seat? Could be tasty. And Ducati has its 2003 Multistrada, sort of a V-Strom on steroids, in final testing. Heck, maybe Yamaha will bring in its so-far Euro-only TDM900. Shall we all meet again next year?
