Speed Monsters..............................

Edge of the new Away from the bleeding are two class breed of super nakeds t fans galore… acts bound to attrac

These two bikes have been round the block a few times, but in 2014 they both appear to be in fine

2of Satan 014 has spawned two sons – the 1290 KTM Super Duke R and the BMW S 1000 R – to compete of the with the undoubted excellence utter nutters Aprilia Tuono V4R. These through corners rule in a race, offer culture and boast tech galore, but, strangely not everyone is after this pure focus. Sportiness in the naked class is nothing new, but these derobed superbikes have never sold well. No, the real money to be made is a step down from this madness. to find that two So it comes as no surprise bikes in the sector of the most successful have long and proud heritages. the class off in Ducati’s Monster kicked

bitsa creation 1993, with Angel Galuzzi’s becoming an instant hit – and spawning a Some of these legion of further models. have had real sporting intent, and the latest big boy of the range is equipped with in a sportsbike. everything you’d expect Except the Monster 1200 S isn’t quite as radical as some of its older relations. True, it’s laden with tech, power and dynamism, but Ducati has the sense to realise that its offerings need to work on the road, rather than be an expensive track hack... debut came A year after the Monster’s Triple. This the Triumph T309 Speed the marriage of machine was born from Triumph’s modular construction methods, but its aggressive café racer looks and indomitable grunt generated a following that would be called cult – if it weren’t for Triumph has kept the the fact it was so big. its two recipe the same throughout frames, decades, introducing new powerplants and looks to suit the age, and though this model is now three years old, it still offers everything you want in a 2014 style, a sporty naked – distinctive sided swingarm muscular motor, a single- and attitude by the bucketload. So we took these bikes to some of their stalking grounds, in town and country, to Italian see which side of the English/ divide you should stand on.