2004 4 3 2 Won Shootout Photo Gallery

2004 4 3 2 Won Shootout

The green bike easily dominates on top,sure enough, but it lags behind its lesser-cylindered competition below 7 grand. Note how the Speed Triple holds the advantage from 3700 rpm until 7000 rpm.

4-3-2-Won: And the winner is right smack dab in the middle.

We’d love to see a higher-mount muffler to expose the rear wheel. Oh wait, Triumph’s doing that for 2005!

Few would question the sexuality of a Z1000 rider – this thing looks tough.

The punchy midrange of the Speed Triple makes it the choice for antics on the rear wheel.

We were going to write an informative caption, but we think this picture says a lot about the Speed Triple and its bodacious midrange.

Check out how the Z’s lines are all nicely horizontal with the front wheel up. Coincidence? We think not!

The Z1000 offers something the VTR doesn’t: a distinct personality.

“Okay, but this is the last one.”

“Do I have to do another wheelie or did you get the shot?”

With its somewhat docile powerplant, we think the VTR’s pegs are too high and bars are too low to suit.

Who says you can’t be manly with flowers?

Shy types will want the black one.

Triple, Twin, Four face-off.

Initial bite from Triumph brakes is usually quite aggressive. We attribute our test model’s sloppiness to thousands of miles of abuse from motojournalists.

Triumph now includes its eyebrow mini fairing on the S3 as standard equipment for 2004.

Let's go play!

Simple but effective, the Speed Triple’s instruments are the best of the bunch.

It may not be pretty on the right side, but the Triumph’s single-sided swingarm sure makes the other side look cool.

With 4-piston Nissin calipers and 296mm discs, we expected more power from the Super Hawk’s setup.

Twin side-mounted radiators on the VTR allow for a shorter wheelbase than a single rad mounted in front of the engine.

Yeah, the front-and-center tach is easy to read, but those teeny numerals on the speedo aren’t, and we tend to look more often at a speedometer.

We expect a bit more from 300mm, 4-piston caliper brakes. Their bite is soft, and we hope to remedy that with aftermarket brake pads.

Yes, the Kawi’s tach is difficult to read in sunlight, but with the four-cylinder’s vibration, it’s kind of superfluous anyway.

Some love ‘em, some hate ‘em. You?

The Speed Triple’s top-rated suspension and steep rake allow it to be more willing when bending into corners - Just ask Dr. Ngo.

You can drag pegs on the Kawasaki, but there’s plenty of clearance for street conditions.

If this were a race, the Speed Triple would use its honking midrange to out-accelerate the Z out of the corner, but would eventually get overtaken if the road ahead was straight.

The Super Hawk can get its power down a bit earlier than the relatively peaky Z1000.

The VTR doesn’t turn as quick as the Z1000, but it can reach higher corner speeds.

Each member of our trio enjoys hunting down some deserted back roads.

It may be getting long in the tooth, but the VTR is still a stout bit of kit for attacking an open road.

2004 Honda VTR1000 Super Hawk

The Super Hawk works best at higher speeds where the other two become a bit nervous.

The 4-3-2-Won contenders.

The Z1000 cranks in quickly but feels a bit reluctant the further over it’s leaned.