While the Honda (red) and Suzuki (yellow) are fairly evenly matched, with the Kawi (green) a little bit stronger, the rest of the bikes have their own distinct powerbands. The Ducati (black) comes in and signs off early, while the Yamaha (blue) waits till the end to show off. (Click to enlarge.)
Although the peak power of these bikes is within just a few ponies of each other, there are four distinct ways they get there. Hardest on newbies (and clutch plates) is the peaky R6. It makes less power than everything in this test until it's screamed past 13,400 rpm, and a flat spot at 7 grand only makes it feel more flaccid.
At the other end of the spectrum is the Ducati. Compared to the standard 749 we tested in 2004, the 749S pumps out a noticeable 6 extra horses, and it pulls strongly and steadily once past 5000 rpm. The Duc's only powerband flaw is a flat spot just past 4000 revs, otherwise it exceeds the rpm-to-rpm output from the rest of the machines. The only problem is that it hits its rev limiter a couple grand lower than the others at 11,200.
Flying above the Yamaha are the three other Japanese bikes. As you'd expect, the big-bore ZX is more muscular than the 599cc bikes, holding a slim advantage until 10,000 rpm when it pulls an even larger gap. Its power begins to taper off just past 13K revs while the Gixxer and R6 are just getting into their peaks. The CBR actually acquits itself quite well on the dyno, offering more grunt than the Suzi and Yamaha from 6500-11,000 rpm.
The Ducati clearly shows the torque advantage a larger cylinders provide while the R6's weak run demonstrates how it lags in street use. The Daytona splits the difference, proving to be much revvier than the Twin and more grunty than the Fours. (Click to enlarge.)
Most impressive is Triumph's 675cc Triple. It gives the Duc a pretty good run for its money down low yet offers a much longer powerband that eventually signs off at 13,200 revs. Splitting the displacement difference between the 748cc Twin and 600-and-some-cc Fours, Hinckley's Triple offers the most of both worlds.
Accel Excel
The sprint down the quarter-mile proved to be revealing, even if ETs varied by less than 0.3 second. A strong midrange and cooperative clutch had the Triumph ahead at the 60-foot mark, but it was only the Duc that got to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. While the Honda and Kawasaki could be reliably launched at 9500 rpm, the Yamaha needed to be spun north of 12K to achieve a quick getaway.
At 100 mph the 749S was beginning to lag while the ZX-636 was hitting its stride with the Daytona right behind. The Trumpet stayed close but was unable to match the Kawi.
That said, the Daytona should really be the quarter-mile king. After we'd finished our street, dyno and track testing, we'd heard about a simple trick that fools the ZX's ECU into defaulting to its racier Euro-spec map. In the interest of science, we hooked it up to test it on the street before the bike was returned. The mod unleashed a couple of extra ponies with a
The ZX and Daytona ran neck-and-neck down the quarter, with the Trumpet pulling a lead out of the hole while the Kawi made up ground the rest of the way. The R6's respectable time was the result of teeth-clenching high-rpm launches. (Click to enlarge.)
stronger over-rev, but we'd forgotten to put the bike back to stock prior to our performance testing. So, although we're confident the Kawi could lay a whuppin' to the Fours in stock trim, it wouldn't be able to best the Triumph's ET through the quarter that was just 0.04-second slower than the modded Kawi.
It's interesting to see the Daytona was beginning to peter out at the quarter-mile mark, as it had one of the lower trap speeds and was only the fourth quickest to 140 mph. Perhaps its ram-air induction isn't as efficient as the others.
One final note: The Gixxer is a better sprinter than our results demonstrate. As usual, we gave each bike four runs to post its best time, but the GSX-R's clutch only lasted through two passes before it gave up on its third. Its tardiest 60-foot time is an indication of its less-than-optimal run, and we predict it has the potential to run at least a tenth quicker through the quarter. Its respectable 12.88-second run to 140 mph was identical to the Yamaha's.
But Weight, There's More!
The Daytona not only looks skinny, it also weighs in as the lightest bike in the class. The Ducati's full-size superbike roots are apparent on the scales. We checked our figures twice, but, yes, the ZX has more weight on its rear wheel than its front. (Click to enlarge.)
I had to admit I was skeptical when a Triumph rep at the Daytona's American debut promised me the Daytona would scale in lighter than any of the Japanese 600s. Well, it turns out he was right, as its tank-empty weight of just 390 pounds makes it the lightest middleweight ever. That makes it 6 lbs less than the ZX and R6, and 8 less than the CBR. The new Gixxer suffered a weight gain of a half-dozen pounds to end up as the portliest Multi. To no ones surprise, the Duc was the heaviest at 435 lbs. All the bikes were scaled with identical Dunlop Qualifier tires, taking the various weights of different OEM tires out of the equation.
A weight-related factor in how a bike performs is how it is distributed between the wheels, and it's generally true that track bikes work better with a slightly forward weight bias. As such, Yamaha's racy R6 and new Gixxer carry 52.6% of its full-tank weight on their front wheels, the highest front bias among this group. The long-wheelbase Duc has its weight nearly 50/50, and we were surprised to see the Kawi has slightly less than half its mass on the front end.
Now, finally, here's what we discovered about the contenders. In alphabetical order...
