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/159279
SHOOTOUT P108 2013 MIDDLEWEIGHT SPORTBIKE SHOOTOUT PART II SUPERSPORT SHOOTOUT CONCLUSION S plitting hairs... that really is what these shootouts come down to. The fact that the poor Yamaha R6 brings up the rear in our Supersport Street scoring proves how competitive the class is, as it's a fantastic bike. For sure it is more athletic and track-oriented than its Japanese counterparts. Take into consideration its highly attractive price tag ($10,990) and you can't deny the value proposition the Tuning Fork brand brings to the table. The Italian exotica from Ducati and MV Agusta both suffered in the rankings, but for different reasons. The track-biased 848 is too uncomfortable compared to the Japanese mounts. It's also a lot larger-feeling dimensionally, and while powerful, its curious topend biased powerband just plain doesn't work well on the open road. It's also the most expensive in this contest ($14,995) despite being essentially a carry-over model for '13. As far as the promising F3, despite being the bike with the most potential in this test it's simply unrefined at this point in its development. While we love the character of its rip snorting triple-cylinder motor, the glitchy ride-by-wire, temperamental clutch and peculiar suspension damping made it challenging to ride for more than a tank full of fuel. And that just doesn't cut it on the street. When the Italian's eventually work out the bugs there's little doubt this bike will be at or near the top of the field. In contrast to the F3, Honda's CBR600RR and Suzuki GSXR600 are incredibly refined and technically sound. These two bikes are the workhorses of the segment excelling in virtually every category from handling to comfort. Although they don't have the most powerful engines they are still fast enough to ignite the senses plus each offer a friendly, smooth, and vibrationfree powerband that's just plain easy to manage. In spite of such sophistication each machine is too plain-Jane for either to claim top honors on the boulevard. The GSX-R600 in particular suffers for letting the more recently refurbished Supersports pass it in the rankings while Big Red simply didn't apply enough updates in contrast to some of the more heavily re-worked competition. And that's where bikes like the Kawasaki and Triumph stand apart, with the consensus of our testing troop focusing in on these as the ones to beat. The Ninja made a serious impression on each rider courtesy of its beefed up and more responsive mid-range power paying big dividends when jumping away from stoplights. Like the GSX-R750 it no longer requires you to keep