CONCLUSION
Compared to the Euro bikes in part one of our mega test, the Jap steeds were all a little samey – what with their inline four, 1000(ish)cc motors and their entry level (if any level) electronics packages. In fact the Suzuki and the Kawasaki were very similar prospects indeed – both had peaky motors that were just dying to be revved and a lack of hi-tech gismos which gave the pairing a really raw feeling. Both felt a little bit basic but they sounded great when you wrung their necks and they were able to rock our worlds on the road and on the track – that said, the Suzuki’s ABS struggled when Dangerous really started to push on round Bruntingthorpe’s test track and the Kawasaki’s smooth engine proved a little bit too wheezy down the long straights at Brunters. But I think the two technophobic Japs had a real charm about them.
I’ll admit that good shifter and blipper systems do enhance the riding experience, as well as improve lap times (for the most part), but sometimes jumping on a bike that doesn’t come with all that fluff makes the ride that bit more involved and exciting.
Less technophobic, but just about as wheezy, was the Honda CB1000R+. Its dumbed down 2006 Fireblade engine delivered power with a smoothness unrivalled by anything in the sector and on the road it was comfortable, polite and smooth.
On the track, though, the thing just didn’t seem at home; it was just too soft, too slow and too practical. If you’re after something to bob about in style on the road on, and don’t mind paying a premium for it, the CB might be the bike for you, but don’t expect to go and win the fast group at a Cadwell Park trackday on it.
Supremacy in this test belonged to the mighty MT. It might have been a bit bulky and slightly cumbersome, and it might have had an ABS system that needs putting in the bin, but its incredible CP4 engine, stolen directly from the YZF-R1 assembly line gave the Yam more bottom end punch than its Japanese rivals could ever dream of having. Bottom end punch rivalled only by the Tuono and the Super Duke R. The Yam was the only sake-supping super naked to really take it to the Europeans, and we loved its wheelie powerful motor. The problem with the MT-10, though was that it wasn’t the complete package. For the complete package, you might want to look at something from Europe. Something from Italy. Something shaped like a Tuono.