2014 boasts the hottest collection of super-nakeds ever – so which one is best?
Essentially a naked S1000RR superbike BMW’s new £9990 S1000R promises to be the most bonkers of all super nakeds – and this year, with the new KTM Super Duke, Ducati Monster 1200 and Kawasaki Z1000, not forgetting the mighty Aprilia Tuono and Triumph Speed Triple R, the class is more competitive than ever. So which is best? We ride them on road and track to find out.
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the music really really sucks.
Remember when naked bikes were sexy?
I was a naked (or “standard”, as we used to call them) bike guy for over 20
years. Speed Triple, Monster, RD400, heck, even a Honda Nighthawk … all
of which looked far more like actual motorcycles than this lot does. Even
Ducati has managed to overwreak the Monster. Kawasaki especially deserves
to walk the plank of shame.
I hate to say this, but … perhaps it’s time for women to take over
motorcycle design departments—they don’t so often use Halo (etc.) for
their inspiration.
I never agree with this guy. He always says all bikes have snatchy
throttle. In almost all reviews.
I still think that Tuono is not a true naked bike.
Hell. Yes. This was the group test I was looking forward to 😀 Very
interesting result, but great to see the new bikes being well received too.
Also kudos for stepping up the production quality MCN, it shows :)
Did anyone not notice that the Z1000 has the best acceleration and braking
and is the most fuel efficient? Personally I love the way it looks, and you
have to get up and close to see how attention to detail this bike is. I
picked this bike because I was looking for a hooligan street fighter that
is reliable yet aggressive, something that I can ride daily and get the
most enjoyment out of even if it’s a 10 minutes commute. I don’t need all
the electronics (ABS is a welcoming addition however), and I don’t canyon
carve or do track days all the time, nor will I ever spend much time going
150+ mph, so the slight lack of top end doesn’t bother me at all. This bike
stands out anywhere you put it and it’s a blast to ride. And I got a great
deal and purchased the bike brand new for 9,000 USD (that’s 5k cheaper than
all the others on average). Here in the US the European motorcycles have a
much smaller dealership network and it costs $1,500 to service a European
bike and less than $500 for a kawasaki.
All in all, although I love the European super nakeds (almost went with the
Ducati or the triumph), I think I found the bike that is best suited for
myself. Everyone will pick the bike that’s most appealing to themselves
based on whatever they are looking for, and I applaud it all because these
are all awesome machines. But don’t let these online reviews and
comparisons make your decision for you. Really think about what you need,
then go get the bike that appeals to you the most. Unless you ride bikes
for a living, these minor specs’ differences are unnoticeable and you’ll
absolutely enjoy any of these beasts!
What’s with the rap music…so stupid
You should have had the same tires on all the bikes! Not doing that sounds
like a budget choice and it will be hard to compare the bikes! Well, in
overall, you are doing quite nice reviews, not much of a biased ones at
least :-)!
Testride it and just ride the bike that’s the best suited to your
ridingstyle..
Nice review. Good job MCN!
you missed the best one of the lot CB1000r looks good and does everything
you want it to do. Wont say no to a streetfighter though
Love the video! Please MCN remove the music, we want to listen to the
bikes!
and the winner of the super naked test is… not a super naked
I like the TUONO but it’s simply always been too UGLY!
Super duke R every day! the ape and Beemer are hideous…and I’m an s1000rr
owner
zelfde test langs binnen wegen dat is test voor die modelen
Can some one please tell me the name and model of micheals helmet thank you
BMW, KTM and Aprilia are called as SUPER NAKEDS. Taking the fairing of
Super Sports off doesn’t mean that they are naked and this is what happens
to BMW,Aprilia and KTM. They are brilliant bikes, but I can’t fell any
soul in these 3 “Super Nakeds”. In my opinion, they are still SUPER SPORTS
and the true naked bikes are Monster, Triumph and maybe the z1000, although
I would never pick up the Z1000 (fucking ugly). So, If you want to compare,
don’t compare all together because they are not in the same group.
Want that super duke
how much are these things , average people are now truly priced out of the
hobbies we always used to do, what the hell is it with motorcycle and
mountain bike prices .. rich boys toys now
Can someone tell me where they are testing the bikes on the street, please.
I can confirm that the Tuono (even without the electronics package) is a
lot of fun to ride!
Selling my tuono in nyc!
Great video!
MV Agusta Brutale 1090RR?
CRAP music!
The music isn’t needed…
KTM for an all day and every day bike
Why would you even waste your time with the Kawasaki, give us the Brutale
Corsa!!!
So the winner of your Super Naked Shootout is not a naked bike. Nice one,
guys…
Id have the KTM and just switch all the electronics off unless its wet.
Good video guys. Shame KTM won’t sort out those electronics, it would stop
me from buying it. Has the beemer got a steering damper as standard? A
great bunch of bikes though.
this test has some people confused. Naked bikes aren’t necessarily
streetfighters. However all streetfighters can be considered naked. Which
brings me to my next 2 questions: 1 Why use the monster when you could have
used Duc Streetfighter? 2 Why didn’t you use Yamaha’s MT-09 in this test?
I’m sure MT-09 would have made it in the top 3. As for the Tuono I won’t
really go into that cause its in a class of its own. Nor is it naked
neither fully faired, and it certainly doesn’t look like a true street
fighter.
Sif a bikini fairing makes it not a naked bike. You can see all the guts of
the bike as you can with the BMW. Why not just admit that the Tuono is so
good you are looking for things to pick on so you don’t sound like a
Fanboy. The Tuono really is that good. I owned one for 2.5 yrs and its
amazing and a well deserved winner.
I’m feeling sorry for the Japanese machine because apart from anything
else…………………..it looks f***kin’ hideous compared to the
Europeans. It looks like they designed it in a blind panic in a vague
attempt to compete. Sadly, no chance.
I’ve been looking around dealers a lot recently and I’ve noticed that quite
a lot of Kawasaki dealers also sell Ducati machines. My local dealer in
Norwich has a showroom divided for each brand and I can’t think of one time
where I may have even slightly been tempted to purchase green over red.
I know it’s a money thing but for me if I’d just walked into a Kwak/Duke
showroom and I couldn’t afford a Ducati, I think I’d rather walk away
without anything.
Saying that though, I went on a bike holiday with a mate and we swapped
bikes for the day. He on my 848 and me on his ’97 Kwak ZXR900 (something
with those alphanumerics anyway). He got off totally smitten and convinced
Ducati weren’t as bad as he had been led to believe and then two months
later went out and bought a new Fazer thou. Some people. We’re still mates
though.
Sorry about that rant…………
I know superbikes make great mag covers but could we have more middleweight
bike group tests that appeal to a broader group of people please? Thanks
The Tuono is not a naked bike and btw it really looks ugly…
these guys are way too hardcore, they really did ‘let them off the leash’.
I was anxious just watching.
So the winner of the super naked class is a bike with half fairings so its
not a naked bike hmmmmm
I was enjoying the review up until you started playing that rap crap over
the race track scenes. Let us hear the engines.
Poor KTM, they put out some of the best bikes and nobody will give them the
“winner” label. The 1190 adventure destroys the BMW GS in every category
and somehow ppl still pick the BMW.
Where is the MV Agusta Brutale 1090 RR??
How can a 1290 vtwin have a 4.16 second 0-60, that seems slow :/
This test is a little weird, I feel people that buy these kinds of bikes
would enjoy good long ride outs, in comfort, often with pillion passengers
and for that reason I would say the normal Speed Triple is the best bike in
terms of all round use and value.
The Bmw runs extremely hot, it causes it to become uncomfortable after a
short while, Aprillia is a hard bike, seat, suspension, engine, none of
which feel comfortable at low speeds, it’s an aggressive bike. The Duke is
beautiful, but Vtwins hate being at a constant low speed, they need to
accelerate. Maybe I’m confused on what a super naked should do but it seems
some of these are much close to a super sport than others.
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what about the honda cb 1000 thats much better than the z 1000
you have your opinion.
keep your aprila, i’ll take the superduke and keep an eye on you from my
mirrors. further more, many would take the z1000 over the triumph. got to
love these reviews at times.
further more, the actual track footage resembled a heard of arthritic
turtles. nut up men.
Why is there no MV Agusta? What a waste of a video…
Why didn’t you include a ducati streetfighter?
Sure it’s older but so is the speed triple.
Other than that great comparison.
Great test but horrible music….whatever happened to BIKER music –
Steppenwolf or Blue Oyster Cult, or even Chris Spedding. Do bikers listen
to rap???? If so, I’m way outta touch.