8 underrated motorcycles of the last decade

Ducati GT 1000 Sport
A victim of being before its time, Ducati’s old-school cool Classic series was a handful of years too soon to extract its full sales potential. Following on from the MH900E tribute to Mike Hailwood, the Italian firm had all the proof it needed that retro-styled classics were a winner. And while there was a series of modern classics released, and with some success, the fact remains that if Ducati was able to foresee the future, and the spike in popularity of retro-styled finery, then the early-noughties Sport Classic range could have been perfectly timed sales hit. And, in my opinion, none more than the 1000cc GT Sport, whose upright ergonomics, subtle but old-school styling and top-shelf componentry was the recipe for success.

Honda CB400
In an era when learner and learned riders alike were lamenting the loss of the inline four-cylinder 250cc screamers, in lobbed Honda’s genius solution — a bigger, more practical machine still boasting a relatively small, high-revving four-cylinder engine. Honda’s CB400 came when the learner market was growing at a fast rate, when riders were looking for a bike they wouldn’t have to upgrade immediately after being promoted to an unrestricted licence and in a time when Hornets, Z750s and SV nakedbikes ruled. But for whatever reason the perfect-on-paper CB400 failed to gain the traction in the Australian market it deserved.

Yamaha TMAX
Too often dismissed as ‘only a scooter’, Yamaha’s pioneering maxi-scoot is so much more. In fact I’d go as far as to say the 530cc scooter boasts more sporting prowess than many similar-capacity machines which purport to be sportsbikes. The CVT engine aside, its spec sheet doesn’t read like your regular maxi-scoot. It’s got a ride-by-wire throttle, a lightweight aluminium frame and swingarm, traction control, radial-mounted calipers, an upside-down front fork, cruise control and 120- and 160-section sports rubber. If you’ve never stepped through a TMAX, you really should give it a whirl.

Moto Guzzi 1200 Griso
Moto Guzzi’s Griso has character in spades. It’s exotic, it boasts top-shelf componentry, it’ll take on the Speed Triples and MT-10s of the world and it’ll do it with head-turning style. The 1200cc transverse-mounted engine has a huge personality and, matched to the bike’s shaft drive, makes no bones about its heritage. In fact, it’s probably fair to say the entire Moto Guzzi range is often overlooked and underrated but, for a brand which has gone to great lengths to shake its now-unfair reputation of unreliability, there’s no reason why it, too, shouldn’t be basking in the resurgence that many other brands its age are. And the Grass is the perfect example of why it should.

Honda Deauville
Okay, I’ll admit Honda didn’t help the situation by naming this bike what it did, nor did it take even the slightest steps towards giving mid-sized touring bike any kind of personality or pep. But if it set out to produce a practical, reliable, unintimidating and inexpensive touring bike then it wholeheartedly succeeded. And let’s face it, not every rider looking to tour wants the extra weight (and price) that comes with big-bore luxury tourers, so there was really no reason the predictable and well-equipped V-twin shouldn’t have received better reception (except, of course, for its Dough-ville badge).

BMW S 1000 XR
Though hugely successful in other markets around the world, BMW’s superbike-engined all-roads tourer didn’t manage to capture the hearts of Australian buyers like it should have. Released at a time when both the once-dormant superbike segment was waking from its slumber and when the bulging adventure bike market was hitting its straps, the long-legged BMW should have been a hit. Instead, during the 12 months to the end of 2016, the same year the Australian motorcycle segment enjoyed its most successful sales result in seven years, BMW sold 158 examples of the all-new inline-four cylinder adventure tourer. That’s five more than what Kawasaki’s 650cc Versys managed in the same period, and 582 less than Honda’s equally new and exciting Africa Twin.

Suzuki 1200 Bandit
Creamy turbine-like power from a inline-four cylinder 1200cc engine shoe-horned into a light nakedbike package says one thing: muscle. And while Yamaha’s Bandit rival was regarded as a bulging-bicep (and to a lesser extent Kawasaki’s ZRX1200), the Suzuki Bandit’s soft and conservative styling destined it to be overlooked by many who would have otherwise bought it and loved it. In many ways, Suzuki’s extravagant 1300cc Hayabusa-powered B-King was a stark overcompensation for the ballsy but bland Bandit, which too, somewhat missed the sales mark. Perhaps somewhere in the middle would have ben the perfect compromise.

Triumph America
British brand Triumph was always going to be pushing it uphill with a cruiser. In fact, any brand one willing to take on the might of The Motor Company and its compatriots concedes from the beginning that, despite how capable and well-executed a motorcycle is, there's a good chunk of buyers you simply won’t be able to sway to ‘go your own way’. The Triumph America (and its Speedmaster stablemate) was one such machine and a big that in reality was far more capable than its take-up might suggest. It was powered by the Bonneville-based 900cc oil-cooled parallel twin engine that arguably has as much personality than a 60-degree V-Twin, and with beaut ground clearance and a price no would-be owner could argue with, it should have been more.