RideFast Aug2020

So in conclusion
Before the conclusion, a few
apologies – missing from this
list of extreme nakedness is
the Yamaha MT-10 and the MV
Agusta Brutale. The Yamaha,
despite its competency against
the full might of Europe, never
quite took off in South Africa and
is no longer available here. There
is a brand new 2020 MV Agusta
Brutale sitting on the showroom
floor of Fire It Up and it is a thing
of exquisite beauty and grace, so
much so that we couldn’t possibly
taint it by riding it around a track in
this test. Also, it costs in the region
of R500,000 and the thought of
crashing it is too much for the soul
to bear.
The others in the naked world
are affordable, dependable,
enjoyable and not quite super
enough. Apologies.
And so we dive headfirst
into the thankless world of
conclusions, where we answer
the fundamental question – which
Super Naked is best? The answer
is the same as whenever we are
asked the “which bike is best’
question – it depends on what
you want from it.
If you want lap times, the Ducati
Streetfighter is your best bet.
Ducati is a racing company –
even the janitor, we are sure, is a
club racer. The head of PR puts
photos on his Instagram account
of him elbow sliding around tracks
– true story! The MotoGP-inspired
motor will fill your soul and shorten
each straight, while the chassis will
carve up the corners. It is a naked
racer’s delight.
The KTM Super Duke wins the
giggle award. That amount of
torque and anger in a chassis that
is now one of the best in its class
will leave you chuckling for days,
both on the track and on the road.
The Everyday Man’s Bike Award
goes to the Aprilia Tuono with its
confident chassis and fast but not
overwhelming motor. Other bikes
will do quicker times at the hands
of a pro-racer, but your average
Joe will warm to the Tuono.
The Head-Case Award goes to
the Kawasaki Z H2 – seriously, a
supercharged 1000cc motor in a
naked bike? Only Kawasaki would
think that’s a good idea, and we
are eternally grateful for it. On the
track, it is a handful, but on the
public road, you are rewarded
every time you open the throttle.
And, lastly, the Brains Award
goes to the BMW S1000R. It’s due
for an update (and spy photos
are circulating), but it still holds its
own against its modern peers.
And it’s by far the cheapest,
probably the most reliable and will
get you the best return when you
sell it again.
Rob’s final thoughts
The Ducati Streetfighter was
exactly what I thought, and what
it promised to be. It’s a Ducati
V4 superbike with no fairings,
so of course it was going to be
brilliant. When rumors surfaced
of a naked Ducati V4 we held our
breaths hoping it would literally
just be a stripped-down version
of their class leading superbike
machine, and that’s exactly what
we got. While this is brilliant news
for experienced riders and track
riding freaks like myself, who
love powerful aggression, the
Streetfighter V4 might prove to
be a little too much for some to
handle, compared to some of the
others we had on test here.
All I can say about the KTM
1290 Superduke R is well done
KTM – you have truly made a
proper machine, one that can
be enjoyed out on the road and
more so now on the track, and by
a wider audience. No more does
the Superduke want to scare you
with it’s pure rawness. It now has
a softer side, a more welcoming
side, a more refined side, but
underneath all that that tarrying
beast still lurks waiting and
willing to come out and play at a
second’s notice.
The Aprilia gave me that good
old tried and trusted Tuono
greatness – nothing spectacular,
just great. It’s so easy to get onto
a Tuono and enjoy it, and Aprilia’s
decision to add the extra 100cc
now makes it an even better
machine to enjoy. Everything
works great, my only gripe being
we have seen it and enjoyed it
all before, it might be time for a
crazy change, even if it’s just in the
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