MOTRPWNAGE!! Official FZ6-Forum.com Sport-Touring/Adventure Touring Shootout!!

[lonesoldier84]

Ok gentlemen, the hour of judgement is upon us. Billions of dollars have been spent over many decades by thousands of trained professionals working countless hours in cramped (yet exotically furnished) offices to bring us these modern marvels of motrpwnage. Motorscoots....stand (at a slight angle to the left anyway) and be recognized!!

Every bike here is a winner. What I hope to do is gauge (directly through the personal experience or just the understanding of motor-theory of our membership here) each of these machines for their strengths and weaknesses...and overall appeal.

I will be editing this original post with ALL of your feedback, so ANYTHING is appreciated as it will help make this thorough. If someone else has posted on a certain bike, feel free to post MORE about it!

If there are empty spaces I will put in my own noobish take on things and that may be inaccurate, but my own points will be marked as added by myself. This started out as a Sport-Touring Shootout, but there are some machines which blur the lines between sport-touring and adventure touring so I threw in adventure touring as well.

I am looking for (1) pros; (2) cons; (3); general unique appeal.

The Competitors:

Yamaha

Lightweight Contenders

FZ6
Pros-It's a Yamaha!!!! Rarely needs valve adjustment, upright riding position, reliable, durable, cult following??, easy to work on (if it ever needs it), does what I want it to do.....
Cons-Suspension, buzzy, seat
General Unique Appeal-It was different from everything else around here.

YZF600R
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Middleweight Contenders

V-Max (no I'm not crazy)
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

FZ1 (hp based)
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

FJR1300
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Honda

Lightweight Contenders

n/a

Middleweight Contenders

VFR800 Interceptor
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

STI1300
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Kawasaki

Lightweight Contenders

ZZR600
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Ninja 650R
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Ninja 500R
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Middleweight Contenders

n/a

Heavyweight Contenders

Concours
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

ZX-14 (comfy enough)
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Suzuki

Lightweight Contenders

SV650
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Katana 750/600
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

GS500F
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Bandit 650
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

V-Strom 650
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Middleweight Contenders

GSX-750F
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

V-Strom 1000
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Bandit 1250
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

SV1000
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

GSX1300R Hayabusa (again, comfy enough)
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Triumph

Lightweight Contenders

n/a

Middleweight Contenders

Tiger 1050
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

Sprint ST
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Moto Guzzi

Lightweight Contenders

n/a

Middleweight Contenders

n/a

Heavyweight Contenders

Norge 1200
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Ducati

Lightweight Contenders

n/a

Middleweight Contenders

1100 Multistrada
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

ST3
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Buell

Lightweight Contenders

Blast
Pros-Used prices: $2200 last year for a bike with 1100 miles, plastic bodywork and tank for beginner riders, fuel economy has been between 51mpg all city and 63mpg with about 50% country roads, two available seat heights 27.5in or 25.5in, belt drive, automatic choke, capable of expressway riding
Cons-New purchase price: it is a good little bike but $4695 may be a little steep, but you can find used ones, tires: you can't go up a size in the back without cutting the swingarm and really the only decent set I have found to put on are Avon Roadriders which will go on her bike in about a month, it's a 500cc thumper so it eats up the rear tire pretty quick, it's a 500cc thumper so riding requires a steep clutch contol learning curve or else you'll stall a lot, only a 2.8 gal tank, but I guess the mileage makes up for some of that, for someone over 6' the bike feels like a scooter, it vibrates enough that someone new to motorcycling may be scared at first, the gas cap does not lock on with a key, Harley dealer prices: they wanted $70 a wheel to mount new tires-get them somewhere else
General Unique Appeal-If there is a smaller person or lady who wants to get into riding, the Blast offers a low seat height and comfortable riding position. It has a belt drive for low maintinance. It has plastic bodywork so when you drop it you're only buying new turn signals which are about $30. If you plan on moving up to a Harley or bigger Buell later, learning to ride on this will make it seem like you're moving to something smoother and more refined once you make the switch. It is a small bike with no fairing which would make it capable and manuverable in a large urban area.

Middleweight Contenders

XB12X Ulysses
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

1125R
Pros-American made, great motor, very unique design philosophy, most comfortable 1000cc Super Sport in the world. Beautiful bike, large fairing bubble = comfort, smooth transmission, butt load of torque, very quick steering, excellent value. Ignored by Harley riders.
Cons-Not a fully developed design at 90% - needs refinement, FI not totally on - good for track, jerky for street, butt ass ugly muffler, low state of tune 146hp stock - should be at 155 to 160 hp, brakes need more initial grab and less fade for track use - very good for street, could be lighter 430 lbs or so, advertised was 375 lbs, radiator pods are large = ugly in my book, very little aftermarket to date. Very quick steering. Buell owned by Harley.
General Unique Appeal-American made (ok is has an Austrian motor - we'll ignore that), best American mass produced sport bike ever, cool Buell engineering, not a Japanese clone.

BMW

Lightweight Contenders

n/a

Middleweight Contenders

n/a

Heavyweight Contenders

K1200
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

R1200GS
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

R1200ST
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

KTM

Lightweight Contenders

n/a

Middleweight Contenders

990 Adventure
Pros-
Cons-
General Unique Appeal-

Heavyweight Contenders

n/a

 

[lonesoldier84]

explanation? It's raining outside.

Plus in 2-4 years I will be buying another bike. I am heavily favoring the Interceptor as a sports-tourer. Concours is also high up there. Wondering what everyone thinks about every possible option.

 

[reiobard]

I have ridden entirely too many bikes, this could take a WHILE!!!

 

[Gosling1]

Lightweight Contenders

FZ6
Pros- It's a Yamaha!!!! Rarely needs valve adjustment, upright riding position, reliable, durable, cult following??, easy to work on (if it ever needs it), does what I want it to do.....

Cons-Suspension, buzzy, seat

General Unique Appeal-It was different from everything else around here.

 

[dako81]

I just bought a bike mag, can't exactly remember which one but they did a 0-180 shootout with a bunch of liter bikes and a busa and zx-14 and they rode them on the street in stock form and on a 3 mile long runway and a track. I'll write up what the magazine said about each one and post it when I get home and get around to it.

 

[dako81]

Oh and I would add the Buell Blast to the lightweight contender because it is sort of an adventure/tourer and a great first bike especially for ladies. (got one for my girlfriend)

Pros: Used prices: $2200 last year for a bike with 1100 miles, plastic bodywork and tank for beginner riders, fuel economy has been between 51mpg all city and 63mpg with about 50% country roads, two available seat heights 27.5in or 25.5in, belt drive, automatic choke, capable of expressway riding

Cons: New purchase price: it is a good little bike but $4695 may be a little steep, but you can find used ones, tires: you can't go up a size in the back without cutting the swingarm and really the only decent set I have found to put on are Avon Roadriders which will go on her bike in about a month, it's a 500cc thumper so it eats up the rear tire pretty quick, it's a 500cc thumper so riding requires a steep clutch contol learning curve or else you'll stall a lot, only a 2.8 gal tank, but I guess the mileage makes up for some of that, for someone over 6' the bike feels like a scooter, it vibrates enough that someone new to motorcycling may be scared at first, the gas cap does not lock on with a key, Harley dealer prices: they wanted $70 a wheel to mount new tires-get them somewhere else

General Unique Appeal: If there is a smaller person or lady who wants to get into riding, the Blast offers a low seat height and comfortable riding position. It has a belt drive for low maintinance. It has plastic bodywork so when you drop it you're only buying new turn signals which are about $30. If you plan on moving up to a Harley or bigger Buell later, learning to ride on this will make it seem like you're moving to something smoother and more refined once you make the switch. It is a small bike with no fairing which would make it capable and manuverable in a large urban area.

 

[lonesoldier84]

ill add it wheni gett back home.

and reio, a little bit a day has moved mountains

 

[Hellgate]

Buell Heavyweight - 1125R

Pros: American made, great motor, very unique design philosophy, most comfortable 1000cc Super Sport in the world. Beautiful bike, large fairing bubble = comfort, smooth transmission, butt load of torque, very quick steering, excellent value. Ignored by Harley riders.


Cons: Not a fully developed design at 90% - needs refinement, FI not totally on - good for track, jerky for street, butt ass ugly muffler, low state of tune 146hp stock - should be at 155 to 160 hp, brakes need more initial grab and less fade for track use - very good for street, could be lighter 430 lbs or so, advertised was 375 lbs, radiator pods are large = ugly in my book, very little aftermarket to date. Very quick steering. Buell owned by Harley.

Unique Appeal: American made (ok is has an Austrian motor - we'll ignore that), best American mass produced sport bike ever, cool Buell engineering, not a Japanese clone.

That said, I really want one.

 

[lonesoldier84]

the 1125R is a supersport machine isnt it?

is it rly comfortable enough to be considered a sport-tourer?

either way I added it. I'm just moving everything into the appropriate fields without passing judgement at all. what the people want the people get.

Woot!!

Also, if someone else has posted something on a certain bike feel free to post more about it.

 

[Hellgate]

the 1125R is a supersport machine isnt it?

is it rly comfortable enough to be considered a sport-tourer?

either way I added it. I'm just moving everything into the appropriate fields without passing judgement at all. what the people want the people get.

Woot!!

Well yes and no. It was designed a street bike from the beginning with no intention of factory backed racing. Since then it has done pretty well for new machine on the track with privateers.

Over on Bad Weather Bikers Buell Motorcycle Forums, Information, Tech Support, Photos, Performance Parts, & Advice - BadWeB it has been pretty well received as a street bike. Everyone has raved about how comfortable it is, great position and minumal wind blast.

A true sport/touring bike, not so much, but you can put down the miles on it. Two up would be a stretch however, the pillion seat is small.

 

[dako81]

You don't have to put these up if you don't want to but here's what Cycle World, July '08 has said about many bikes in an article about a test on the street, at NAS Neemore's Runway 32R and Miller Motorsports Park :

Ducati 1098:

Pro's: Affordable exotic, superpower twin, very stable
Con's: Slipper clutch costs extra, not as powerful as an I4, exhaust heat
Unique Appeal: 1098 was the slowest of the bunch. Cost: $15,995. They also tested a 1098R, cost: $39,995 Had 23 more horse (166 at the wheel), weighed 20 lbs less, but was still in the bottom 3 of the test.

Honda CBR1000RR:

Pro's: Mother of all midrange, lightest weight, light handling, sweet slipper clutch
Con's: cramped position for big guys, clutch grabby on drag launches, exhaust drone at 4K rpm
Unique Appeal: also recieved biggest corporate statement award in the magazine because of its redesign, 110mph power wheelies

Kawasaki ZX10-R

Pro's: Ruled the runway, civil road manners, quick steering
Con's: Still twitchy on track even with damper cranked, oddly shaped seat, missed shifts at track
Unique Appeal: only one to reach 150mph in the quarter with a 10.01et, fastest 100-150mph and fastest 0-180mph at 17.2 seconds in just over a half a mile, they got 42mpg with it when they had it on the street and it got 10.8mpg at 175mph according to the instant readout lol. Second fastest lap time at Miller Best bang for the buck for '08

Kawasaki ZX-14

Pro's: Comfort king, the sport tourer of the group, great clutch/easy to launch
Con's: hardly more power than a 10-R, more suspension damping please, only went 187mph
Unique Appeal: even at 7/10ths track pace it felt pushed, but if you had to choose a bike to ride on a trip on the street out of the group, this would be the one

MV Agusta F4 312 RR 1078

Pro's: One purpose!, best lap time, feels like a superbike, engine
Con's: One purpose!, everything is harsh, aggressive throttle response, hard seat edges
Unique Appeal: a bike that you must adapt to, hard to ride fast but rewarding when done correctly, makes the Ducauti seem refined

Suzuki GSX-R 1000

Pro's: Where would you like to shred today?, awesome balance, killer engine, swith power modes like ABC
Con's: last year's styling, pipes, you want to switch to less power?
Unique Appeal: topped the charts last year and came back unchanged, does well in every category, well rounded, only one of the 'big 4' to get under 10 in the quarter running a 9.98 @ 149.49mph

Suzuki Hayabusa

Pro's: Horsepower king!, handles like a jumbo Gixxer, effortless torque
Con's: much faster than you think, a lot more gravity than a 1000, harder to launch than the ZX-14
Unique Appeal: better suspension than the ZX-14 but obviously bigger than a 1000, if occasional track work is on the menu and you want a big bruiser, the busa is for you

Yamaha R1

Pro's: R1 looks, best mirrors, e-throttle and varo-intake issues sorted out for '08
Con's: needs more midrange, why do we need e-throttle and vario-intakes?, big four price leader
Unique Appeal: despite less power than the others still ran a 10.09 @ 147.02mph in the quarter, felt most stable at speed and on the track, does many things well

Hope that helped some and I hope I didn't leave anything out. Overall they still liked the Gixxer because it did more things well in more situations.

They also had their best bikes of '08:

Best Superbike: Ducati Demosedici RR: world's first street legal motoGP replica, 200 horses

Best open streetbike: Gixxer 1000: does everything very well

Best middleweight: CBR-600RR: lowest class weight and speed sensitive electronic steering damper

Best standard: Triumph Street Triple: this years biggest suprise

Best sport-tourer: Kawasaki concours 14: elevates class performance

Best cruiser: Star Raider: great engine, great handling

Best touring bike: Honda Gold Wing: I don't think I need to explain this one

Honorable mention: Ducati Hypermotard, Ninja 250, Suzuki B-King, Victory Vision Street

They also had an article where they had the Street Triple and they basically liked everything about it but the seat. What I found interesting was the more than twice as often valve adjustments (12,000 miles), only 176 mile average range including reserve, and high/low/average fuel mileage of 42/35/39. I think the bike might have better suspension than the FZ, but other than that it's got nothing else on it.

 

[lonesoldier84]

hey we could make this an all category except cruisers kind of deal? ill get to work on that at a later time

 

[bc8240]

hey we could make this an all category except cruisers kind of deal? ill get to work on that at a later time

What happen?

I was looking forward to more peoples comments.