Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128111
Kawasaki ZRX1200R VS. Suzuki GSP1200S Bandit VS. Yamaha FZ-1 Here's my idea of the perfect streetbike: It must deliver gobs of torque and exhibit decent sportbike-Iike handling, I want to be able to see what's "under the hood," and of course it must look good and be comfortable. As you can see, I pretty much described the "standard" motorcycle category and the three bikes in this comparison. Since all of these bikes fit my general streetriding preferences, I pretty much l[ked them all right off the bat. Of the three, I'm the most familiar with the Suzuki Bandit. We've had one in our possession for about a year now, and it's been my main source of transportation ever since we took delivery of it. Many times I've chosen the Bandit over more exotic machinery that has come our way. They just couldn't pry me away from the Bandit's torquey motor, good-handling chassis and roomy ergonomics - that is until the Kawasaki and Yamaha came along. I felt right at home on the classic-looking lRX1200R, which on the road r,eminds me a lot of the Bandit, though the bike felt noticeably heavier (despite the fact it weighs only a few pounds more than the Suzuki), and didn't offer as plush a ride as the Suzuki. Both bikes have strong motors and pull well off the bottom, so you don't need to rev them out to have fun. If you do, however, the Kawasaki will leave you with a bigger grin on your face. Both the Kawasaki and Suzuki handle well and are roomy and comfortable, though I like the seat on the Suzuki better for longer rides. But the Yamaha is the bike I want to ride now. The Yamaha simply feels lighter, feels more nimble at the controls, is very comfortable, and clearly out-accelerates them both, especially from midrange on up. But it's the way the Yamaha handles and rolls down the road that impresses me the most. The bike feels solid and stable, yet is very agile, which perhaps explains why I always felt the freshest on the Yamaha at the end of a long ride. Still, I could live quite happily with anyone of these three bikes: Just walking into the garage every day and seeing the Kawasaki's classic styling would keep me happy for a long time; the smooth-running Bandit would keep my daily commute as pleasurable as possible (come to think of it, it does); but the Yamaha just does it all and certainly meets and exceeds my streetriding prerequisites. Kit Palmer I'm not a practical person. I don't mind the suffering dished out by modern sportbikes on long rides. I love performance so much that I've taught my body to deal with the straights between the I tend to commute on sportbikes like the GSXRIOOO or the RI whenever possible, because being wound up like a pretzel simply doesn't faze me. It's like the guy I see stuck in traffic on the freeway periodically, moving at 5 mph in his Ferrari. It seems stupid at the time, and a complete waste, but I understand completely. That guy drives his Ferrari to work so that when he gets that break in traffic and steps on it, he has more fun that anyone else out there (other than me). I've really liked the past couple generations of "Naked bikes," especially the project Bandit that I built at another magazine I worked for. It made 20 more horsepower and 10 Ibs./ft. of torque more than stock. My biggest complaints have been the relative lack of power, and the excess weight that these bikes have had in the past. I like riding all three of these bikes. The Kawasaki and Suzuki are just begging to be hot-rodded - they need to be in order to keep up with the Yamaha. They all offer good perfonnance in a practical package. When we first heard that the Fl-I was being introduced, we were excited, because it was pitched as an "R1 for the real world." It's no RI, let's get that straight - and I don't mean that in a negative way - it simply doesn't have the performance. None of that matters, though. because it has raised the bar in this category to new levels. It out-performs everything in the "naked bike" genre by a big margin. To be fair, that's all it's supposed to do - not go after the sportbikes. The Fl- 1 is my choice in this group by a landslide. It has power, it has handling, but it also looks beautiful. It is the first stock bike in this category that truly meets my performance prerequisite. Yamaha deserves a lot of credit for entering this category and not getting sucked into the retro/budget look. Yamaha didn't dig into the parts bin too much; they simply built the bike that the public was yearning for. Keep your eyes peeled, because we have taken our Fl-1 and added a ton of carbon-fiber goodies and a pipe from the GYT -R (Genuine Yamaha Technology - Racing) catalog. It will be featured in an upcoming issue. Blake Conner I'm a dirt-head (perhaps even a dirt-bag), but if I were to buy a road bike, this is without a doubt the category from which I would choose. As far as I'm concerned, most buyers of sportbikes and cruisers are more fascinated with fonn than with function, and - when it comes to motorcycles, at least - I'm way over that. I want a bike on which I'm comfortable, and I feel the most comfortable on standards (perhaps because their upright position and open look are reminiscent of dirt bikes). Of course utilitarianism and practicality shouldn't impose a sentence of dullness, which is why the Yamaha is easily my favorite of this bunch. Not only do I feel right at home on the FlI, but its zippy acceleration and nimble feel in the curves mean that I have a ball on it as well. Throw in its-sweet, unique appearance - far cooler than a full-plastic sportbike or a chrome-dripping cruiser - and it pretty much renders moot the whole fonnversus-function dispute. The bike's only deficiency in my estimation is its slightly notchy gearbox typical for a Yamaha. No such complaint about the Suzuki, whose butter-smooth tranny I've become quite familiar with in my many miles on the bike. All that seattime turned up no complaints other than the seat itself, which is overly soft for long days on the road; apart from that, the Bandit does nothing wrong, and in fact is surprisingly proficient for such an affordable machine. It works almost as well as the Yamie, but does so with less pizzazz. I dig the Kawasaki's retro, dual-shock look, but suspect that said absorbers are the reason for my dislike of its handling characteristics, as the rear end seems to have no sag. That's a demerit on a motorcycle (though not on a human), as the lRX 1200R has almost no negative travel, meaning that when you hit a bump in a corner, the fully-extended shocks buck to the side. Not only that, but I find the Kawie's long, narrow feel less comfortable than its colleagues', and any standard bike that lacks in both comfort and execution (no matter how hip it looks) won't hold a candle to the Yamaha - a bike that not only gets the job done, but makes me whistle while it works. Chris Jonnum curves. 40 JULY 4, 2001 • eye I e newws