Let There Be Rock!
LET THERE BE ROCK!
CW COMPARISON
2011 Honda CB1000R vs. Kawasaki Z1000 vs. Triumph Speed Triple
DON CANET
BEING THE PERVERSE, HARD-ROCKIN' LOT WE HERE AT Cycle World tend to be, the introduction of a new sport naked always provides a perfect excuse for ditching our daily editorial duties and hitting the highway for a raw-'n'-raunchy backroad flog. Triumph's newly revised Speed Triple 1050 was the year's first such temptress ("Eyecon," April), seducing us with its bodacious twin headlamps, upgraded chassis and titillating torque delivery. Now, with the highly anticipated stateside arrival of the Honda CB1000R causing our pulses to race, we acquired a 2011 Kawasaki Z1000, spooned new tires on that same Speed Triple testbike and promptly indulged in a bit of three-way naked nirvana.
While the CB1000R is new to the U.S., its arrival here is three years removed from its 2008 European debut. In our October, 2009, issue, Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer raved about the CB 1000R in “Forbidden Fun,” a story that recounted his romp through the Alps aboard a bike he deemed “The Best Honda You Can’t Buy.. .Yet!” According to an American Honda spokesman, that very CW feature played no small role in its decision to import the stylish, practical iteration of its flagship CBR1000RR. Honda is betting on American buyers being more sport-standard savvy than they were several years ago when it imported the Hornet, another Euro-market model sold here as the 919.
Equating this edgy sport naked to the 919’s ultra-conservative UJM theme, however, is an apples-to-oranges comparison; the CB1000R appears to have been plucked from the same tree as the two other fire-breathers gathered here. It’s endowed with a CBRIOOORR-derived engine and brakes, is built on a unique gravity-die-cast mono-backbone aluminum frame, has a single-sided cast aluminum swingarm and a fully adjustable inverted cartridge fork, all of which suggests a winning formula. But how does it hold up in a street fight?
Well, at 998cc, the CBR’s inline-Four spots Kawasaki’s similar dohc, 16-valve mill a 45cc displacement advantage, and the Triumph inline-Triple packs another 7cc over the Kawi. But all three engines share a common tuning philosophy that favors broad and flat torque delivery over peak power. Runs on the Cycle World dyno showed that the Triumph holds court through the bottom rev range before being overtaken
by the Kawasaki at 7000 rpm. Upper revs are clearly the Z1000’s domain, where it maintains a good 15 ponies over the Honda and leaves the Triumph tripping on its 9500-rpm rev limiter thanks to the Z-bike’s additional 1500 rpm of sizzling top-end performance.
But don’t let this discussion of dyno runs and peak power numbers lead you to believe that these three can’t serve as day-to-day commuters. They perform those duties quite well, with the Honda proving to be our hands-down favorite for winging around town; its light steering and handling finesse allow the CBR to slice through city traffic with uncanny ease. Combine that with perfect fueling and a less-aggressive initial hit of power than on the others, along with super-fluid clutch actuation and light shift action, and the CBR is unmatched as a smooth operator. There is, however, a bit of buzz in the grips that grows in intensity as the revs climb.
On the Z1000, vibration-damping material cleverly concealed in the handlebar mount allows the bike to maintain a direct steering feel while effectively isolating the rider’s digits from the moderate engine buzz felt through the pegs and frame. The Z’s mirrors are the most functional, being blur-free and the least obstructed by the rider’s arms and shoulders. The growling Triumph, meanwhile, possesses a more-coarse, lower-frequency flavor of mechanical vibe that many riders may find rich in character and even therapeutic.
Top-gear cruising at an indicated 70 mph registers 5000 rpm on either of the two inline-Fours while the Triple drones at 1000 fewer rpm. So, it really comes down to where you prefer feeling the vibes—in the hands on the Honda, in your feet and crotch on the Kawi or all of the above aboard the British take on a full-monty sportbike.
From the saddle of these three nakeds, you get an unobstructed view of the road that imparts a sense of flight through clean, non-turbulent air. That airflow also provides upper-body support that complements each bike’s slightly forward-canted, moderate-reach riding position. This results in a superb degree of comfort at speeds up to about 90 mph, at which point the windblast can become fatiguing.
On the Kawasaki and Triumph, the rear tire is a fat, 190-section on a wider rim than that of the Honda, which carries 180-series rubber. This perhaps contributes to those two feeling a bit less agile than the Honda but also a hint more planted in fast turns.
To gain a sense of the sporting capabilities of all three, I was joined by the cerebral John Burns and rabid-riding Mark Cernicky for a full day of semilaw-abiding backroad behavior. It didn’t take long for MC to exhibit enough of his tricks aboard the Honda for us to ascertain that even the most refined and gentlemanly bike of the bunch packs plenty of stuntin’ spunk. “Skid” Mark’s mischievous antics only escalated as he rotated onto the remaining pair of bikes.
“Tippy, tall and hauling balls, the Triumph makes stoppies and wheelies almost too easy,” exclaimed our hyperactive 5-foot-8, fireplug-proportioned staffer. “What’s not easy for me is touching the ground. Neither is easy handling at gas-pump/parking-lot speeds the Triple’s forte. Near tripledigits is where this bike finds its legs and feels relaxed.. .maybe where it got the name ‘Speed Triple,’ no?”
Burns and I instead focused on other areas of each bike’s performance. “I love the noise the Triumph makes and that torquey power delivery,” offered JB following a 30-mile stretch of curves that saw him leaving a chicken strip on the rear tire’s edge, thus freeing his mind to contemplate such matters as the authenticity of President Obama’s longsought birth cert. “Compared to the others,” he opined, “the Triumph all of a sudden feels a little porky between the thighs like it never did before, also a little taller and top-heavier than I recall.” Although the Triumph’s seat is .3-inch lower than the Honda’s, it actually feels notably taller at stops due to its shape and added width. This, along with the Trip having less steering lock than the others, accounts for it feeling more cumbersome when ridden at a crawl.
But all is forgiven when putting the Speed Triple’s chassis to good use on Twinding road, exploiting its precise steering feel, powerful Brembo brakes, near telepathic suspension feedback and seemingly limitless cornering clearance. This is essentially a naked sportbike, offering the sharpest edge and most allout chassis performance.
“I can see how really fast riders will also like the Kawasaki—the grunt, the steering feel, the taut-but-not-too-taut suspension,” offered Burns. “To me, it’s almost a little too ‘direct feeling.’”
At the more fevered pace in which Cernicky and I attacked twisties, the “directness” Burns experienced on the Kawi proved advantageous as it maintains chassis composure beyond the point at which the more softly suspended Honda begins to run off its rails as the suspension compresses enough to ground its exhaust.
In the Honda’s favor, its softer setup leads to greater comfort (and it does carry an impressive backroad pace), while the Kawi’s firmer seat foam and more sporting suspension deliver a harsher ride.
HONDA
CB1000R
KAWASAKI
Z1000
TRIUMPH
SPEED TRIPLE
$10,999
$10,599
$11,799
The Z1000 does, however, succeed in filling the middle ground between the plush Honda and narrow sport-focused Triumph chassis.
At the end of the day (or ride), these naked sportbikes not only represent a more practical, comfortable alternative to track-bred supersports, they may well be the only streetbike residing in your garage. And for that, you have to decide which attributes will serve you best.
While the CB 1000R has nearly achieved naked perfection, the Honda lacks the high-voltage power output of its peers. And for all of the bike’s refinement and attention to detail (the only one here with helmet hooks, something every standard should include), its all-LCD instrument display is very difficult to read when shaded during the day and is virtually useless during twilight hours. In the big picture, that is probably a small concern; overall, the CB 1000R is such a capable and refined bike that practical-minded buyers are not likely to regret the purchase, despite it finishing third here.
Next comes the Speed Triple, which sells for $800 more than the Honda and is $1200 north of the Kawasaki. Despite that, track-day types will probably love the Triumph’s stiff chassis, trackready suspension and stout brakes. And when you factor in the engine’s soulstirring musical performance, that’s barely more out-of-pocket cash than a pair of front-row tickets to a sold-out AC/DC concert.
Which takes us to the winner here, the Z1000. Observant readers may be confused by our picking what is essentially an unfaired Ninja 1000, the bike that got edged out by the Suzuki 1250FA in last month’s standard-bike comparison. But there is an entirely different mindset at play when comfort takes a back seat to outright performance, when versatility steps aside for a bit of hooliganism. So, if you combine the trouncing the Kawasaki doled out at the dragstrip, its solid backroad handling, its fair degree of everyday civility and its overall performance value, the Z would be an easy choice if it were my wallet cracking open at the register. And with those savings, you can look into some aftermarket slip-ons—or catch up with Angus and the boys on tour. □
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