Outrageously fast, quick and nimble, or stable and polite?
The VTR1000 acquitted itself well in this group, despite the overall package not quite fitting the mold of the two streetfighters in this group. The sticklers among you might point out that we should've put a Tuono in the Super Hawk's place, but that would be missing the point, which is investigating which type of liter-sized powerplant is best for a real-world-usable sporting machine while keeping a price cap.
Unlike its Honda teammate, the racier, peakier, higher-geared RC51, the Super Hawk is always in the meat of its sirloin V-Twin powerband. A twist of the throttle translates immediately to twist at the rear axle, and that means less toe-tapping on the shifter. But the VTR's motor is almost too linear, sacrificing a character-rich hit for all-over goodness.
Considering its eight-year-old design has already paid for itself, we'd like to see Honda perform some minor re-engineering on the VTR. If we get our wish, the Super Hawk will be turned into a Japanese Tuono, with a stronger fuel-injected motor, a bigger fuel tank and a tubular handlebar. Honda's milquetoast 919 can't cut it in a streetfight, but a Tuono-ed VTR might've won this comparison.
Kawasaki's steel-framed Z1000 is the least costly and has a powerful slug up top the others can't match, but it falls short in two significant areas. The Z's major flaw is its unbalanced suspension. We'd like to recommend the Kawi boys recruit some Honda engineers to show them how some careful R&D can result in balanced suspension settings, even with budget-level suspenders. Better yet, just bolt on the good stuff, like the fully adjustable bits on the Triumph.
A dominating aspect of the Z, both good and bad, is its vibration. On the plus side is its visceral quality that fits the hooligan personality of the bike, and complaining about vibration almost seems like a grizzly bear owner whining that his pet won't play fetch. But it must be said that the Z's vibes will intrude on your riding experience. Still, we're guessing most Z1000 prospects aren't intending to enter the Iron Butt rally anytime soon, so we're willing to forgive its delirium tremens.
But the clincher to the Z's second-place finish is it weakness at lower revs. Frankly, we expect a bulgier midrange from an engine of this size, and the Kawi's power advantage over the others only begins above 7000 rpm. We're usually quite willing to spin it up, but there are times when we'd like a bit more grunt instead of it requiring a downshift. As the green machine is one of MCUSA's project bikes, we'll be looking for ways to fill that midrange respite in the coming months.
Let's go play!
So that leaves the Speed Triple as the winner of 4-3-2-Won! Back in 2003, the Speed Triple's MSRP was $10,899, putting it in a different league than the Asian bikes. But for 2004, Triumph lowered the price by a whopping $2000, making the somewhat exotic Speed Triple attainable even by K-Mart shoppers, and clearly the bargain of the bunch.
Though its clothes are getting a bit dated, its bad-ass-ness still cuts through as clear as ever. It fully looks the part of a streetfighter, but its beauty is deeper than fashion. Also worthy of note is its top-ranked suspension.
But the real splendor of the Speed Triple lies in its name, for we are huge fans of Triumph's three-cylinder lump. It's not just the distinctiveness of the Triple's wail that makes it so intoxicating to our ears, though we're sure that is part of the appeal; it's in the way its torque and horsepower curves interweave as the revs rise, hurtling the bike forward while sending forth a mellifluous crescendo of an exhaust note.
It not only has the best engine in this group, it's the best bike too.
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