BMW R1150 R vs Ducati Monster vs Moto Guzzi Scura vs Triumph Speed Triple

It was winter, we were on Nakedbikes, the planned route was taking us high into the mountains, and my travelling companions included the same duo of snivellin', whingin', legal-action mutineers who had recently kept me company on AMCN's infamous Dumb & Dumber soiree into the Aussie Alps. Thankfully they weren't the only ones tagging along...

I'm not sure who the glutton for punishment was this time around. Myself, for risking another staff mutiny, or the likes of Russell 'talk to my lawyer' Malley, who was risking another face-to-face confrontation with white snow and black ice.

Truth be known, this Nakedbike shootout had initially been pencilled in as AMCN's 2002 Dumb & Dumber trip, but when our 1000cc big-bore sportsbike shootout (Vol 52 No 2) turned into AMCN's own version of Disney's Escapades On Ice, there was really no need to do it all again.

But what the heck, we have, and on bikes with the minimal amount of weather protection possible. Nothing like a bit of hardship to toughen the soul.

NAKED FUN
Big-bore Nakedbikes are fun. Of that there can be no doubt. Big, brawny, muscular and with a sit-up-and-beg riding position that makes them a hoot around town, as well as a hoot in the twisties. Luv 'em.

In fact I've got two of my own - a 1979 Kawasaki Z1000 MkII and a 1992 Honda CB Seven Fifty. The former is my old Superbike from the early '80s, complete with a stove-hot 1170cc powerplant and handling that can best be described as, errr, interesting.

The latter on the other hand is the ex-AMCN Project CB750R from 1994, a distinctive red and yellow bike that serves as my everyday roadbike when the testbike cupboard is bare.

'Ronald McDonald', as it's affectionately called by my Horror HQ colleagues, is the exact opposite of my Z1000 MkII - the CB's engine is dead stock, other than a Megacycle four-into-one, but the chassis has copped some tweaks via some Progressive springs in the forks and a set of Ohlins shocks at the rear. It handles, while the big Kwaka doesn't.

So what's all this got to do with 2002? Well, despite misleading appearances in some cases, current Nakedbikes aren't like my 1979 Z1000 MkII, and current big-bore Nakeds aren't like middleweight Fazers and 550cc Zephyrs. No siree, current Nakeds have both power and handling!

BUT WHY?
Why Nakedbikes don't sell better Down Under leaves me perplexed. This mag, and most others in Oz for that matter, have championed the cause of Nakedbikes. But that's meant little to the Australian buying public, who tend to like either knobs on their tyres, or their roadbikes coated in plastic bodywork. The sales charts prove that.

Even Yamaha's FZ1, which puts a 'proper' YZF-R1 engine (ie not detuned to buggery!) in a Nakebike chassis, has failed to make a big impression on the Aussie sales charts. And I'm not sure why.

We had a ball on last year's D&D trip on the big Jap Nakeds -- Kawasaki ZRX1200, Suzuki Bandit and Yamaha's XJR1300SP and FZ1 - and this time our mid-year trip was shaping up to be just as enjoyable. But this time we decided to go European, with a side serve of good ol' US of A.

Occupying the front row of the grid for this year's shootout were BMW's $15,950 R1150 R, Ducati's $18,495 S4 Monster, Moto Guzzi's $22,999 Scura and Triumph's $15,995 Speed Triple, while riding shotgun on row two was AMCN's long-term Harley-Davidson FXDX, at $24,995 the dearest of the quintet. A Harley? Read on...

DRAWING THE LINE
Okay, but what about some of the other Nakeds on the Aussie market? We tried to get hold of a Cagiva Raptor ($14,990), but with supply from the factory down to a mere trickle and presumably a new model on the way, the Australian distributor couldn't help out on this occasion.

What about Aprilia's $19,569 Falco? With a frame-mounted three-quarter fairing we decided it was outside our Naked 'rules' for this shootout - otherwise we'd have BMW's $17,950 R1100 S, Triumph's $14,990 Sprint RS, Ducati's $14,995 900S, et al joining the line-up as well.

Furthermore, Moto Guzzi has a number of Naked and part-faired models in its line-up other than the top-of-the-line Scura on test here.

Yep, there's a fair selection of large-capacity Nakeds on the local market, and that's before you take into account the Japanese alternatives or the eight-bike Harley Sportster range - from the $10,995 XL883B through to the $16,995 XL1200C Sportster Custom.

Honda has its CB900 Hornet ($13,990), Kawasaki has its ZRX1200R ($14,390) and ZRX1200S ($15,390), Suzuki its Bandit 1200 ($12,990) and GSX1400F ($14,390), while Yamaha offers an XJR1300SP ($13,699) and FZ1 ($15,799). You could arguably throw in the $14,999 Yamaha TDM900 as well. Phew.

DECIDEDLY CHILLY
It wasn't "Phew" on my mind as we departed from Maccas at 7.30am though, but rather "Brrrrr". Nakedbikes by definition don't have much in the way of weather protection, and at that time of the morning things were decidedly chilly. Decidedly...

I was aboard the Scura as we headed north from Melbourne via Kinglake West to Mansfield, but the bike I really wanted to be aboard was the Beemer.

You see, I was wearing a borrowed BMW electric waistcoat under my riding jacket, but for it to work I had to be aboard the Bavarian, not the V-twin Guzzi.

My travelling companions had twigged to this, and it was with some disbelief that I realised my famed Bike Rotation System (BRS) had been hijacked - the order would read Guzzi, Ducati, Triumph, Harley, then BMW. I either had to find a bloody long extension cord, or else bide my time.

By the time we hit Yea for a much needed hot coffee my chin felt like it had been snap-frozen, and my nose throbbed incessantly from the cold.

We'd already had a couple of bike swaps, and Simon had taken time out to put a strip of duct-tape inside his helmet to cover his nose - not just to keep it warm, but stop his visor fogging.

The guttural scream of pain as he peeled off a layer of skin in the Yea bakery was blood-curdling. I'm sure there must be far easier ways to exfoliate.

Must remember to lend the bloke a breath guard for his helmet next time, or else by cheaper-quality duct-tape. If you find a piece of genuine US-made Gaffa tape with half a nose attached to it in a Yea gutter, can you drop it in the mail to Horror HQ...

BODY NUMBING
Those who'd ridden the Beemer had enjoyed the luxury of the heated handgrips, but even they were battling to cope with the near-zero temperatures through the soupy fog.

We'd all worn quality riding kit, but the wind-chill factor at, errr, let's say 100kmh, was body-numbing. Nakedbikes do have some drawbacks.

The one suffering the most though was Russell.

"The weather forecast looked good, so I only brought my summer gloves," he moaned. "And I left my neckwarmer at home as well..."

"But Russell, we're heading inland and into the mountains - and it is still winter you realise," I diplomatically suggested.

When I heard his teeth begin to grind and his eyes take on that 'if looks could kill' stare I decided that it was probably a good move to cease any future conversation.

I know how cold my toes and fingers were in my top-notch winter gear, so I can't even begin to imagine how Russell felt in his lighter-weight clobber. Looks like I could have another legal case brewing, this one over frostbite...

A shopping stopover in Mansfield quickly had Russell sporting some inner gloves, and a new neckwarmer covered half his face - and muffled any expletives directed my way!

By now the bikes were falling into distinct groups - the Duke and the Triumph as the sporty hoon bikes (Sam was suffering his usual lack of clutch control on both!), the BMW as the deceptively capable longer-haul option, and the Guzzi somewhere in between.

Meanwhile, the Harley, which had tagged along as photographer Phil's packhorse, was surprising all with its amazing grunt.

Bring on those mountains...

RECOMMENDED ROUTES
If you're heading to Phillip Island for the Oz GP (October 18-20) you could do a lot worse than take in the road that runs between Mansfield and Whitfield via Powers Lookout in Victoria's high country. And while you're at it, try the loop from Mansfield to Jamieson, then Jamieson to Eildon, each of them around 50km.

The latter section is the pick of the two and has some 14km of good gravel, but the slight inconvenience if you don't like the dirty stuff is well worth the never-ending bitumen sinews. And I mean never-ending.

The Mansfield to Whitfield road is around 65km in length, with sensational views along the way and good food at the Whitfield pub if the body needs refuelling.

It was on these roads that the Ducati began to show its Superbike heritage, the 916cc V-twin by far the most sporting of the quartet.

What the Speed Triple lacked in nimbleness compared to the Duke though, it made up with horsepower - and lots of it.

The Duke pumped out 101ps at the rear wheel on the Dynobike dyno, nothing to be sneezed at on a bike weighing in at 209kg (full tank). But the Speed Triple cranked out an impressive 117ps at 9600rpm, and from a bike weighing 223kg with a full load of Premium Unleaded.

The 247kg Beemer was good for 79ps, and the 244kg Scura for 78ps, but both of these bikes developed their maximum power much lower down the scale - at 6400rpm for the R1150 R and 7000rpm for the Guzzi.

And that's reflective of the way they have to be ridden to get the best out of their respective packages.

SHORT SHIFTERS
Whereas the Duke and the Triumph can be revved all the way through to redline, the other two respond best to short-shifting and riding the torque curve.

The R1150 R is an interesting case in point. Those used to riding high-revving Jap fours tended to find the BMW lacking in the ponies department.

But the truth is that up to around 6500rpm it fair poops on the others in both torque and horsepower. Just look at the accompanying dyno graphs. And with max torque developed at 5200rpm, you're better off keeping it between those zones. Rev it any harder and you'll activate the law of diminishing returns.

In that respect it's a bit like the FXDX - use the BMW's grunt out of turns, and you'll be surprised how quick it will accelerate. Try to rev it like a four, and all you'll do is guzzle petrol at a greater rate.

The Guzzi was a strange critter, in that it had nice, flat power and torque curves with none of the dips of the Speed Triple (we're blaming the Triumph's aftermarket pipe). But it didn't possess the lowdown grunt of the BMW, nor the up-top revs of the Ducati and Speed Triple, leaving it a bit in no-mans land between the other three.

STRANGE BUT TRUE
While my chin was being snap-frozen on that opening morning, I was having to change down gears on the Guzzi to maintain pace with the others up longer uphill stretches. Strange but true. This is after all an 1100cc motorcycle.

This is all relative of course, as on its lonesome the Guzzi was winning friends with every kilometre we travelled. It's by far the best Guzzi I've ever sampled, with build quality greatly improved since the Aprilia takeover.

Mind you, when we hit the downhill stretch to Eildon I had no such power 'problems', and those Ohlins front suspenders and top-notch Brembo stoppers made for some rapid progress. The lower-set bars compared to the others gave me the impression I had the Scura in a big bear-hug - a big black bear at that.

TREACHEROUS TRIP
Our destination that evening after our circuitous but extremely enjoyable route was Eildon's Golden Trout Hotel/Motel (tel 03 5774 2508), a regular stopover for the AMCN crew.

But before that first cleansing ale could be thrown down we first had to survive the remaining treacherous few kilometres to Eildon itself, 'treacherous' because the final section of the Jamieson-Eildon Road runs through thick forest, and the road surface had that awful mossy, lichen coating that sends shivers up the spine of any motorcyclist. Plus it was rapidly getting dark.

Mmm, didn't seem to slow Simon down much - maybe he thinks Aussie roads are built from green bitumen...

Mind you, he did slow rather rapidly when the Speed Triple's footpeg did another of its pivot turns. This isn't the first Triumph we've experienced this annoying problem on. Please take note Mr Bloor...

Still, the footpeg's an easy repair job. Pity the same can't be said for Simon's riding pants after he let them rest against the Harley's exhaust pipe. Ouch.

CLOSE CALL
So what's been proven. The bench-racing at the Golden Trout that evening resolved very little in the way of selecting an overall winner. The Second Thoughts comments reflect how close this comparo was.

In fact, I still can't decide which of the four I'd buy after a further week of sampling. Probably not the Guzzi, but only on price alone. It's a fair bit more expensive than the others, and the Ohlins suspension just isn't that exclusive.

I'd be happy with any of the others - the Duke is just so nimble and lithe, the Triumph looks and sounds horn, and the BMW is so easy to live with, and is a deceptively capable motorcycle.

Must be why I jumped on it the next morning to head to Winton Raceway for the V8 Supercar meeting. Not that the minus 2°C temperature had anything to do withe my choice...