'Say hello to the Class of 2009! (Clockwise from left to right) Suzuki GSX-R600, Kawasaki ZX-6R, Ducati 848, Triumph Daytona 675, Yamaha YZF-R6 and Honda CBR600RR.'
Competition drives the world we live in. Stop for a second and take a look around – it’s easy to see how our daily lives are directly affected by the survival of the fittest theory. Be it retail sales, automotive industry, mortgage companies … just about everything. The strong thrive and the weak die; it’s Darwin’s natural selection and has been this way since the days of the dinosaurs. In our kingdom of two wheels this is no more apparent than our annual large-scale shootouts. They are knockdown, in-your-face, drag ‘em out competitions, clearly ranking today’s latest sportbikes from first to last – no sissy stuff here folks. And for 2009 we have pulled out all the stops, shredded 48 Michelin tires and broke the bank (doing our best to support the world’s economy), to bring you the biggest and best Supersport Shootout – ever!
for a quick peek summary of the test and make sure to watch the individual motorcycle video reviews on each model page as well. You get to see and hear the bikes in action and hear what our test riders had to say about each bike on some of our sickest sportbike videos to date.
Big money makes for big players and high supersport stakes. All six of this year’s top middleweight sportbikes showed up in force on the track, complete with full-factory support (for the most part...) for two full days of racetrack exploitation: Day 1 at the uber-faster Willow Springs and Day 2 at the tight and technical Streets of Willow. Add extensive street mileage, quarter-mile and top speed performance testing at Honda's top secret HPCC center in the Mojave Desert, plus the always imperative dyno and weight numbers, allowing us to give you thorough breakdown of each and every machine; all at the hands of six vastly qualified test riders.
Included in the racetrack group are 2-time AMA National Champion Chuck Sorensen as well as 9th-place finisher in last year’s Daytona 200 and MotoUSA’s Executive Editor Steve Atlas (that would be me). They are joined by 17-year-old racing prodigy and former X-Games Supermoto rider Frankie Garcia. A combined 15 years of moto-journalism experience pads the testing resumes of Road Test Editor Adam Waheed and MotoUSA’s VP Ken Hutchison, with photographer/club racer extraordinaire JC Dhien rounding out the supersport squad.
For the street portion, we crossed into the mainstream entertainment world, sourcing our celebrity crew of rock band and television friends to join us for some canyon carving. TV star John Hensley of Nip/Tuck fame and Angels and Airwaves’ David Kennedy joined Waheed, Dhien, motocross-ace-turned-street-junkie Scott Simon and myself for some serious roadway miles to see how these middleweights faired in the ‘real world.’
This year’s class of supersports comes from the East in the form of the Big-Four Japanese manufacturers –
As far as which of these little rockets are new for ’09: Kawasaki is changed from the ground up, following in its big brother ZX-10’s footsteps, with a complete overhaul of the Zed-X 6R. The Triumph receives a “host of small changes,” said to make an overall much better motorcycle. Some minor tweaks are said to give the Yamaha slightly more mid-range for ‘09. The rest stay mostly the same with the exception of BNG (Bold New Graphics),
Go big or go home, it’s that simple. So, without further ado, we give you the 2009 MotoUSA Supersport Shootout in all its glory…
No doubt a host of small changes can make a big difference. While the naked eye would have a hard time seeing the difference between last year and this year’s 675, on the track and street they are miles apart. And in a good way. Check out the
for information on the technical updates on this year's model so we can focus on how it stacks up against the competition here in the shootout.
The same very capable Inline-Triple engine sits between those aluminum frame spars and now features three more horsepower and a two more lb-ft of torque. Also changed is a taller first gear, for improved shifting, while suspension tweaks and slightly modified styling round out the major changes. To us this hardly sounds like enough to make much of a difference, but after riding the Triumph, our minds quickly changed. We went the extra mile to bring you the sights and sweet sound of the Triple in our
It really is a shame a lack of trackside support held the 675 from performing at its full potential at the racetrack.
was unable to send a technician to turn wrenches for us and unfortunately the mechanic we hired to fill the void backed out the day before the test. That left the MotoUSA crew responsible for tending to the Trumpet the best we could between the madness of conducting an event of this magnitude. Luckily we have an extremely capable group of riders with plenty of racing and set-up experience, which allowed us to get it close. And once in the ballpark the Triumph managed to impress a few of our test riders both at the track and on the street.
I must say, the “several small updates” Triumph made do equate to a much better overall package. The taller first gear is a godsend in the slower turns at Streets and additional horsepower and torque are kind of like having too much money - it never really hurts.
“The Triumph motor is one my favorites, it truly combines the rev of an Inline-Four with the torque of a Twin,” says shootout veteran Chuck Sorensen. “Lots of low-end grunt and then a sweet spot of useable power between 8,000 to 13,000 rpm. Someone coming off a Twin will adapt to this bike quickly, while a four-cylinder rider will figure out that they can be in a taller gear through a given corner and use the grunt to their advantage. This motor does not feel as if it has the sheer horsepower as some of the Japanese bikes, but the question is – do you need all that power to go fast on a given course?”
“Triumph has the torque, a great sound and pulls nicely,” adds Dhien. “For sure the motor is the strong point of the Triumph.”
Though it boasts the second-highest horsepower (108.5 hp) and torque (49.3 lb-ft) as well as tipping the scales as one of the lightest bikes in the test at just under 410 lbs full of fuel, our trip to HPCC out in the Mojave desert produced some surprising results. When the dust settled at the end of our performance testing the 675 didn't fare as well as we expected. Its weak and numb-feeling clutch made launches difficult during drag strip runs and as a result, quarter-mile times suffered a bit. It recorded a best run of 11.30 @ 133.25 mph, compared to the class-leading Ducati, which tore off an 11.09 @ 134.37 mph. And even though that doesn't seem like much, in this extremely close group it put it dead last. When it came time to put it to the top-speed test, the British Bomber was quite a ride. WIth the upper fairing shaking and the least wind protection of the group the best it could muster was 159.45 mph, once again the slowest of the group and was the only truly unstable bike at those speeds - downright scary even.
Says kid-racer Frankie Garcia: “The bike has a solid motor. It’s strong off the bottom with a ton of torque, but it doesn't have much top end. It comes off of slow corners good, but in the faster corners it seems like I had to shift way too early.”
While nearly all praised the easy-to-use power and rideability of the three-cylinder engine, the chassis received mixed opinions, some of this due to its set up. The shock was stiff and would pump on corner-exit while the front was overly soft, giving an unequal balance. For those who didn’t push quite as hard, as well as for street riding, this wasn’t too far off. It was when the pace picked up that the lack of set-up time showed through.
“I really was into the Triumph, I dig its chassis and fickability a lot,” comments newly-appointed Road Test Editor Adam Waheed. “At the tight and twisty Streets of Willow it did great as it’s effortless to throw from side to side. The engine is awesome and has plenty of torque; it's easy to wheelie – it really is best suited for technical racetracks.”
Sorensen adds that while it feels pretty good, the 675 suspension still could use a few tweaks in stock trim: “The rear shock seems to be set up a little stiffer compared to the front. It kept the bike on its nose going into and through the corner. It absorbs most bumps and tracks true on the gas at the exit of the corners though.”
Despite that the Triumph's set-up never was perfect, we were able to get it good enough to lay down a 1:21.77 during Superpole. That bested even the mighty Honda and is a very respectable time at the technical Streets of Willow circuit.
Overall the 675 was praised for its stability once leaned on its side almost as much as it was for the engine – solid and great feedback made for a machine that yearned to be pushed, and pushed hard. But when it came to the brakes, the Brit fell short. Being it is one of only two of the bikes with steel-braided brake lines, this proves that it's a sum of all parts, not just one particular item, which makes a good set-up.
“The Triumph brakes are good enough for its total package, but do they have the bite and progressiveness as some of the other bikes? Maybe not,” says Sorensen. “If I owned this bike I would upgrade the master cylinder, pads and go from there.”
On the street the 675 made up some ground that it lost at the track thanks to its meaty mid-range and ability to draw the inner-hooligan out of even the most civilized street riders. It received universal praise when it came to quick jaunts through the canyons on the Triple. The engine is one of the most versatile of the group – tons of torque and easy to use – as is the chassis. Do you want to know our main complaints with the Triumph on the street? The seating position is still awkward and makes for fast discomfort, as does the hot underseat exhaust.
“From the moment you climb on the Triumph it feels similar to the Ducati in that they are thin in the middle and have high, flat seats and low bars,” says Hutchison “This made the riding position more track-oriented than accommodating for commuter or daily-driver duty, though it's less aggressive than the Ducati. And both the 675 and 848 employ underseat exhausts which look the business but are not always the greatest arrangement for street riding comfort.”
Overall, if you dare to be different, look no further than the Daytona 675. In no way, shape or form does it look, feel or act like anything else out there, which gives the well-qualified machine character in spades. But when it comes to this wickedly-close group, in the overall rankings the Triumph 675 brought up the back of the pack.
2009 Suzuki GSX-R600 Comparison
Suzuki GSX-R600
MSRP: $10,399
Horsepower: 105.15 hp @ 13,000rpm
Torque: 43.91 lbs.-ft. @ 11,300rpm
Weight: 421.2 lbs w/fuel, 399.5 lbs w/o fuel
Superpole Time: 1:21.03 (Atlas)
¼ Mile: 11.11 @ 132.33 mph
Top Speed: 162.22 mph
Overall Ranking: 5th-place
While easy to forget about, the sleeper of this year’s shootout is the 2009
Suzuki GSX-R600. Updated slightly last year, the Gixxer remains unchanged for ‘09, with the exception of bold new graphics and hot-looking white wheels, but it’s still plenty capable. Had we ridden this bike in a stand-alone test I can say with 100-percent certainty we would have loved it. But in this cutthroat world of Supersport Supremacy, anything less than perfection can mean the difference between running up front and bringing up the rear.
At the ultra-fast and flowing Willow Springs big track the Suzuki proved to be very stable and with some minor suspension changes was extremely easy to ride quickly. The tradeoff for this stability was a lack of some flickability compared to the other machines, not to mention the wet weight of the GSX-R (421 pounds) was one of the highest of the bunch and no doubt it showed. There’s still plenty to like about this motorcycle, so don’t forget about the
Suzuki GSX-R600 video review for a glimpse of what the baby Gixxer looks like in action.
“The Suzuki didn't turn in so well,” Garcia interjects. “I felt like I had to fight it to go into the corner. But the Suzuki had a good overall suspension package. The shock matched the fork quite well and gives the bike some great mid-corner stability.”
“Once in the corner the Suzuki is rock solid,” agrees Chuckie. “Very easy to make corrections mid-corner, no complaints at all in regards to the stability of the chassis.”
Dhien adds: “Suzuki’s heavier feeling front end was a bit disappointing compared to the others, taking quite a bit more effort to get turned. It’s much more planted once in the middle of the corner, though both the fork and shock lacked feedback compared to the competition.”
'The '09 GSX-R features white wheels that really cap-off a retro theme that we all thought is really cool. We dig it baby.'
'A-B-C Modes on a 600 - really?'
Putting power to the ground on the Suzuki has never been an issue and most all commended its rider-friendliness, but when it comes to the “exhilaration factor” and sheer speed, the GSX-R is starting to show signs of its age. While it was slightly updated last year, this basic platform has been around since 2005. It still pulled solid dyno numbers (105.15 hp @ 13,000 rpm), but on the track if felt far less exciting than just about everything else. This was also partially echoed during our pilgrimage out to HPCC for performance testing, as it was tied for third in top-speed testing with a 162.22 mph pass as its best. Also, with its very easy-to-use clutch and extremely precise launches it mustered a 11.11 @ 133.74 mph, leaving it tied for third-place in the quarter-mile. While this is favorable, there is no doubt its weight (421.2 lbs.) and bulbous fairing played a major role in holding it back.
“With advancement in technology it’s sometimes hard to keep up,” explains Professor Sorensen. “Some of the other manufactures have made advancements in low-end power delivery and it clearly shows. The Suzuki makes decent power through the rev-range but feels more flat with no hit anywhere. Much less exciting.”
Frankie backs-up Chuck's sentiments. He wasn't overly impressed with the Suzuki despite its results at the drag strip that had it tied with the ZX with an 11.11-second effort in the quarter mile: “I was really surprised with the GSX-R motor. It felt the slowest of all the new middleweights. It also would cut out occasionally (when getting back on the throttle) around 10,000 rpm – 11,000 rpm.”
We're at a loss for what would cause the engine to cut out as Garcia mentioned, with our only guess being something to do with the ram-air as it didn't show up on the dyno at all. Also receiving mixed reviews among the bunch were its brakes. They had plenty of outright power, but a lack of feedback through the lever causes reason for concern.
“Suzuki was just missing a bit of a ‘bite’ compared to the others,” Dhien says. “It had power, but it lacked a bit of rider feel.”
The real surprise of the test, however, came in our Superpole session. Despite the tight and technical nature of Streets of Willow, not a track one would think the Suzuki is suited for, the GSX-R proved many wrong. At the hands of Atlas it posted the third-quickest time of this highly-competitive pack, a lightning-fast 1:21.03, topping the Honda, Ducati and Triumph. Who would of thought?
'Hutchison hauls the Suzuki around Streets of Willow. Smooth power delivery made the 'Zuki easy to ride.'
Yet another star on the board came when it was time to ride them on the street. Suzuki again proved to be neck-and-neck with the Honda and Kawasaki for top honors. Its wind protection and ergonomics were voted some of the best of the bunch, as was its stability and user friendly engine.
“Somehow riding a Suzuki has eluded me my whole life,” Kennedy says. “So, this being my first time riding one I was surprised with how happy I was with it. Honestly, I don't know why I would have assumed any different. And I also sat in it rather than on top of it, which always makes me feel comfortable. I would say that the Kawasaki and Suzuki were tied for top spot in my book. I'm not totally sure if the fact that I was surprised with how instantly comfortable I was with the bike made me not really pay attention to any short comings, but either way that says a lot.”
'Kieffer's still got that race-style in him.'
Adds Simon: “The Suzuki’s motor was great. It felt as if there was plenty of power all the way through. Positioning on the bike is very comfortable as well, as was the wind protection. Definitely a great street bike.”
When the votes were in and the points tallied, the Suzuki’s age proved just too great to overcome. Low subjective numbers on the racetrack, plus top speed and quarter-mile times toward the back of the pack were nearly impossible to make up for. It’s undoubtedly a great all-around performer for all-level riders and its strong street prowess helped to close the gap, but in this tightly-knit pack the Gixxer was only able to manage fifth spot. Though judging by the release of a new GSX-R1000 this year (stay tuned for a First Ride in a few weeks!) and Suzuki’s track record of updating the 600 and 750 the year following the 1000, we would expect a new or updated model for 2010. And I’m sure Suzuki knows exactly what is needed to give it that razor-sharp edge…
Suzuki GSX-R600 Final Settings
(measured from stock)
(+clockwise, -counterclockwise)
Front
Compression: +1/2 turn
Rebound: +1/2 turn
Preload: Stock
Rear
Compression: Stock
Rebound: Stock
Preload: +2 turns
2009 Yamaha YZF-R6 Comparison
Yamaha YZF-R6
MSRP: $10,090
Horsepower: 100.00 hp @ 14,100 rpm
Torque: 40.77 lbs.-ft @ 10,850rpm
Weight: 409.1 lbs w/fuel, 383.8 lbs w/o fuel
Superpole Time: 1:20.34 (Atlas)
¼ Mile: 11.25 @ 134.11 mph
Top Speed: 164.49 mph
Overall Ranking: 4th-place
Razor-sharp. Knife-edged. Precise. All words commonly associated with the 2009 Yamaha YZF-R6. While
Yamaha only did a few minor changes for this year – customary BNG plus a re-tuning of the engine for slightly more mid-range – it’s hard to argue that they really needed to change it much. At least on the racetrack.
Because of its radical chassis, the Yamaha has always been one of the tougher bikes to get set-up in stock trim. This was again the case both at Big Willow and Streets of Willow. By far taking the most time to set-up, it wasn’t an easy task, but the Yamaha team worked their tails off and got it right. Once we were able to get it dialed, it worked extremely well. So well that in outright Superpole Supremacy it only missed the top spot by a mere tenth of a second to the Kawasaki, posting a 1:20.34 to the Kawasaki’s 1:20.23. But, when both Sorenson’s (1:22.70) and my times (1:20.23) were averaged it leaped to the front of the pack, taking top honors with a blistering 1:21.52 average. Goes to show, once it's set up, you can ride the Yamaha really, really fast and it yearns to be pushed to its limits.
“Without a doubt the R6 is a scalpel on the track,” says VP Hutchy. “It feels like a bicycle out there; it’s simply awesome. The problem comes in the fact that the ease of which it turns-in and can be flicked side-to-side gives it a less stable feeling than the CBR or ZX. But that sacrifice mid-corner pays dividends in the transitions.”
'Mass centralization GP-exhaust (bottom)and hot new Red and White graphics (top) are a big hit among our test riders.'
“Turn-in on the Yamaha is effortless. Almost to a fault,” Sorensen explains. “I like how aggressive the chassis is for the racetrack, it is the most hyperactive of all the bikes. You just think about flicking the bike into the corner and it is there. But mid-corner stability is a tradeoff for the Yamaha. Because the chassis is so aggressive, this bike moves around a little more mid corner.”
After you finish reading about how much we dig this bike, make sure to watch the
Yamaha R6 video review so you can experience the sound of that screaming engine for yourself. We can’t put you behind the bars in reality so this is as close as you can get.
Despite being at the back of the pack in terms of horsepower and torque on the dyno, it was praised by many for having ample real-world racetrack power. Yamaha claims to have tuned the bike for more mid-range and unfortunately somewhere in the process it lost some peak power, going from the highest horsepower Japanese bike of the bunch last year to the second-lowest this time around, producing only 100.00 hp @ 14,100rpm for 2009. But you would never guess that was the case after top-speed test data was revealed.
Strangely enough, when it came time to putting it to the test at HPCC, it walked away with the second-highest top speed, 164.49 mph, only slightly behind the much more powerful Ducati (165.41mph), yet edging out the higher horsepower Kawasaki, which recorded a 164.25 mph pass. This just goes to show outright horsepower on the dyno isn’t everything, and at 409.1 pounds its low weight and effective aerodynamics made it a missile. It was also one of the most stable at that speed, feeling as if you could relax and watch a movie while going 165 mph. On the other hand, their claimed “added mid-range” just wasn’t quite enough to produce improved performance in the quarter-mile. It had to be revved to 12,000 rpm and has a numb-feeling clutch which really hurt its launches. The best it could put down was an 11.24 @ 134.11 mph. That's still right there with the other bikes but it takes a lot more work to get it to produce those times.
'The new-and-improved Waheed shows off his fine form while at the controls of the razor-sharp 2009 Yamaha R6.'
While on the track, about as low as anyone ever goes at speed is roughly 11,000 rpm for the most part, so when our faster testers refer to “mid-range,” it’s more akin to top-end on the streets. Either way, once you get the R6 revving she screams to life nearly effortlessly. The throttle twists with complete ease, response is excellent and power builds extremely fast.
“When this bike was released last year it blew us away with how much power it had on the low end and yet still pulls all the way through the top,” adds AMA champion Chuckie. “This technology has set a new standard for power delivery in the 600 class.”
“The Yamaha felt almost as fast as the Kawasaki,” confirms fast-photog JC Dhien. “It has plenty of go and revved up the same way: very quickly.”
Not everyone came to grips with the R6 power though; it ended up ranking right in the middle of the pack for engine scoring on the track.
“Yamaha went backwards this year with their motor package in my opinion,” points out Garcia. “I have no idea what they did with their top end? The R6 was great coming out of hot-pit and good in the tight stuff, but never really got moving. I was really surprised with the difference between the ‘08 and ’09.”
Brakes, brakes, brakes. They are always an area of mystery. Everyone has their own idea of how they should work, how many pistons they need, how big of rotors are required. What this boils down to though is personal preference. It was yet another area the Yamaha got mixed reviews – some loving the binders and some putting them further down the list, much of this due to their unique braking feel. They are not your typical Nissin or Brembo units as found on most machines either. They are Sumitomo four-piston monobloc calipers. Monobloc? Doesn't that mean the brakes have to be awesome? Usually they are - think Brembo 1198 brakes - but without aggressive enough compound pads the outcome can be less than amazing.
“The Yamaha brakes were good, just in this group they need to be great to stand out,” Waheed says. “It still doesn’t have as aggressive of pads as I think it needs. That initial bite isn't there and on several occasions I had to use all four fingers to get it stopped which is very rare these days.”
Dhien didn't quite see eye-to-eye with Waheed: “Yamaha had good brakes," he said. "It was a bit harsher than the Honda and unsettled the bike under heavy stopping power.”
“The Yamaha’s brakes worked well, medium initial bite, smooth progressive power, but for the track I would want a harder bite,” sums up Sorensen.
But what really put the nail in the coffin and moved the Yamaha back in the pack were once again quite unfavorable street scores across the board. Its aggressive ergonomics and racetrack-built engine made for a tough machine to get along with in the real-world.
'Atlas threw down on the Yamaha, putting it in the Number 2 spot in the Superpole session with a 1:20.34, only a tenth of a second off the top spot.'
“Least favorite by far,” says Kennedy of his Yamaha street experience. “Maybe it's because I'm tall but the seat ramps up towards the back so it's constantly pushing your family jewels into the tank, which is not my style. The bike is pretty dead in the low rpm's but shows a totally different face in the higher rpms, which means at that point you're probably going way too fast on the street. A good thing about it not being jumpy at lower rpms, though, is that it's really friendly getting around town. No threat of sneezing then accidently twisting the throttle and the bike jumping into oncoming traffic.”
Simon agrees, saying, “The Yamaha was definitely my least favorite bike of the day. Talk about not being comfortable on a bike. The whole time I was riding I felt as if I was going to fly over the front. Especially braking coming into corners before I would lean over. The rear end of the motorcycle sat so much higher than the rest, causing me to transfer the majority of my body weight too far forward. And at over six feet tall that’s a lot!”
When all roads lead to the racetrack, the Yamaha R6 is a clear-cut amazing machine. But when those roads are on the street, it scored at or near the back of the pack in nearly every catagory. The only saving grace of the R6 on the roads? Everyone was a fan of the new colors and sharp styling. But its appearance wasn’t enough to make up for the Yamaha’s street scores, holding it back greatly and coming home fourth overall in this Shootout.
2009 YZF-R6 Suspension Settings
(measured from stock)
(+clockwise, -counterclockwise)
Front
Compression (high-speed): -1 turn
Compression (low-speed): stock
Rebound: -10 clicks
Preload: Stock
Fork Height: -2.5mm
Rear
Compression (high-speed): Stock
Compression (low-speed): Stock
Rebound: -1/2 turn
Preload: -1 line
2009 Ducati 848 Comparison
Ducati 848
MSRP: $13,999
Horsepower: 112.3 hp @ 10,200 rpm
Torque: 57.6 lbs.-ft @ 8100 rpm
Weight: 419.6 lbs w/fuel – 396.5 lbs w/o fuel
Superpole Time: 1:21.54 (Atlas)
¼ Mile: 11.09 @ 134.37 mph
Top Speed: 165.41 mph
Overall Ranking: 3rd-place
Are you a man or woman of style? Do you have passion for elegant design with performance to match? If so, Ducati’s 848 may have your name all over it. Heck, it looks fast with the kickstand down...
Completely unchanged for 2009, the Duck is every bit the Italian supermodel dressed in white, and the
Ducati squad backs up that beautiful styling with plenty of performance in this mini-version of the 1198 (or mini-1098 as compared to its big brother last year). Check out the
2009 Ducati 848 video and see for yourself why we love this motorcycle so much.
Due to a bit of a tough time getting the Ducati set up on Michelin's radical tires, we weren’t able to get it as dialed in as we would have liked. Ducati's Jeff Nash (former AMA Pro Thunder Champion) got us the ballpark after busting his knuckles all day and that's when the solid trellis chassis showed us just how much potential it has.
Hitting you smack in the face every time you got on the 848 is the sheer difference between this and all the other bikes, especially the Japanese machines. Its tall, narrow and feels like a unicycle compared to the saddle girth of the R6 and ZX by comparison. It's designed as a racebike for the street and Ducati makes no bones about it. It is what it is: A racing motorcycle with lights.
The middleweight Twin requires higher corner speed and less shifting to get the most out of it, and when jumping from the Inline-Fours to the Ducati it takes a few laps to get used to things. It's also far more rigid compared to the competition and every last bump and crack in the pavement is felt by the rider, almost as if one is running their hand directly against the pavement – no doubt in completely stock form this motorcycle has the most promise of the group to be an awesome track weapon.
'It's a Ducati...what more can we say...'
“Given the means, if you’re not going to change a thing, for a trackday bike the Ducati would be my choice,” Sorensen says about the race-worthy 848. “This bike has always made me feel I can get away with things I couldn’t on other bikes. I think you can explore limits in your riding further with this machine.”
One of its major advantages is the engine, which by
far makes the most horsepower of the bunch (112.3 hp @ 10,300 rpm), as well as the biggest torque numbers (57.6 lb.-ft. @ 8100 rpm) by a healthy margin. Once we uncorked the Ducati at HPCC all those ponies showed through. It recorded the highest top speed of the test, passing the gun at 165.41 mph with effortless ease, not to mention sounding like a FA-22 fighter jet in full attack mode. Damn it sounds good! And despite a tough-to-use and grabby clutch, it powered to the fastest quarter-mile time of the bunch, laying down a 11.09 @ 134.37mph. No question if the Ducati was as easy to launch as the Suzuki it would have been the only bike into the 10-second bracket.
'Think Italian Supermodel - Beautiful, but expensive. The difference is you can actually buy one of these.'
“The 848 is still one of my favorites,” says Hutch of the Ducati, “but for some reason it didn’t shine as brightly as it did in the past. It didn’t seem to have as huge of an advantage over all the multi-cylinder bikes this time around.”
Garcia disagreed, saying: “The 848 is a really strong Twin. It is nothing like the other five bikes but is still a fun and a good bike to ride or race. It has the most torque out of all the bikes, it just took some getting used to when it came to shifting. It was hard to tell when it was going to hit the limiter.”
As Garcia and some others pointed out, the weak point of the Ducati at the track is its notchy shifting and the fact that it is one of the three bikes in the test without a back-torque-limiting clutch. The wet clutch works well but the long throw of the shifter and vague feeling through the lever works against it - but not everyone needs it as two of our top three bikes were sans-slippers.
“The transmission is one area it would be nice to get the fit and finish of the Japanese bikes,” adds “Funny Man” Sorensen. “The large throw between gears and less positive shifts make it harder to be consistent on the Duck. It takes a bit of time to get used to the function of this machine. The clutch, on the other hand, I had no complaints.”
Mid-corner stability is where the Ducati really shines, once again showing just how racy the V-Twin is in completely stock from. When cranked on its side the Duck begs and begs to be leaned further and futher, taunting you to approch elbow-dragging lean angles like a girl at the bar giving you 'the eyes.' This stability helped boost the Ducati to fourth overall in the Suerpole session with a best lap of 1:21.54. Nearly every one of our testers ranked it top in this department. And rightfully so.
“Stability on the Duck is a different feeling compared to the other bikes,” says Sorensen. “I get a feeling of being connected to what is going on with traction in both front and rear in corner entry and mid corner. I have always felt this chassis asks to be ridden harder as you go faster.”
“The 848 is like a slot car,” Hutchy confirms. “Once you get it on track it sticks and carves a turn like no one’s business. It’s fairly unflappable and it’s no wonder it is so rewarding when ridden on a faster, more-flowing racetrack.”
In the Ducati’s case an extremely stable chassis comes with the byproduct of sluggish steering. Pulling it from side-to-side takes effort, as one had to wrestle it from left to right in transitions. And compared to the competition, this put the Italian Twin at the back of the pack, scoring low on the track subjective catagories in this area from nearly every rider in the group.
'Exploring the Ducati's impressive torque curve can be quite fun. But do what Adam does and keep it off the street.'
“As always, the 848 takes more effort to muscle into a turn initially than the Inline bikes do,” notes Ken. “It makes it a more-manly machine.”
“The Ducati’s turn-in is probably one of the most stable but the trade off is slower transitions left to right and more effort flicking the bike in,” observes Sorensen. “For me personally, I think this trade off is more than worth it. I have said it before and I will say it again, this chassis is the truest race-bred machine of all the bikes in this shootout.”
While proving to be liked by all for its rigid and racy feel at the track, with this comes a high level of discomfort on the street, much due to its aggressive stance. Only our resident hooligan Waheed praised the Ducati on the roads, because in his words “it wheelies the best with all that torque.” But Waheed isn't quite right in the head, if you know what I mean.
“The Ducati ergonomics are much more geared towards the racetrack,” Sorensen adds. “There is a lot of weight on the rider’s wrists and a fairly long stretch from pegs to seat. This seating position is more comfy than the previous 999/749 combo, though a full-day street ride still leaves you quite sore, but then again I'm a wimp.”
Across the board it was chosen as the best looking machine, fully living up to the Ducati standard of being the Ferrari or Porsche of the motorcycle world. When it comes to styling those Italians don’t mess around (except for maybe the 999/749, but that’s a whole different story).
“The Ducati looks awesome, much better than the rest,” Waheed interjects. “Those Italians know how to make beautiful motorcycles, cars, clothes – you name it they have the best style. Do you have any idea how much they build the 848 with passion and it shows.”
'Chuckie felt instantly at home on the Italian V-Twin...'
Impressive performance numbers – highest top speed, quickest quarter-mile, and biggest horsepower – allowed the Ducati to work its way up the chart. This was aided by its racetrack ability, though a lack of set-up time did hold it back ever so slightly. But what kept it from the top was its far too aggressive street nature and price premium. Even so, considering how closely matched this group is, coming home third to the rippin’ Kawasaki and do-it-all Honda is by no means something to be ashamed of. The Italians sure made a real good one in the 848.
2009 Honda CBR600RR Comparison
Honda CBR600RR
MSRP: $9,799
Horsepower: 98.06 hp @ 13,600 rpm
Torque: 42.35 lbs.-ft. @ 11,300 rpm
Weight: 402.3 lbs w/fuel, 378.1 lbs w/o fuel
Superpole Time: 1:21.97 (Atlas)
¼ Mile: 11.10 @ 128.99 mph
Top Speed: 161.19 mph
Overall Ranking: 2nd-place
As our reigning Supersport Shootout champion, the
Honda CBR600RR enters the ring for ’09 with the belt around its waist and a target on its back. And a big target it was!
The only changes to grace the Winged Warrior this year consist of slightly updated bodywork that covers more of the engine and new colors. Nearly everything else remains the same. As you can tell the bike is still a contender and in our
2009 Honda CBR600RR video you can hear what our riders had to say about it and take a spin with us around Willow Springs as well. It is also worth noting that an extremely well-engineered
ABS version of the CBR will be available for the first time ever on a production Supersport this year, though for our high performance-based testing the standard model was preferred.
One can quickly see why Big Red comes in as the previous champ. Its solid base set-up and ultra easy-to-use engine make it an extremely versatile machine. It was a favorite of many in the test, although equally as many think the Honda is starting to show signs of its age.
“The Honda has smooth power delivery,” says Sorensen. “This motor may not have the technology that the Yamaha and Kawasaki have, but it comes close. The Honda’s power is a little deceiving because of the seamless rev-range.”
“It had very smooth power, the most seamless of the group,” Garcia comments. “The only thing it could use is some more grunt in the mid-range. Compared to the rest it just doesn’t come off the corners the way I would like it to.”
'Clean lines and a high level of fit and finish define all parts of the Honda. As for its overall styling? Some thought it was time for a change.'
The Honda is for sure down on power as compared to the competition and on the dyno it shows. Bringing up the back of the pack with 98.06 hp @ 13,600 rpm equates to some issues on the track, but on the other hand it does make very competitive torque numbers, producing 42.35 lb.-ft. @ 11,300 rpm. This translates into very smooth and easy-to-use power. Combined with the seamless transmission and great clutch feel, it was able to record an impressive 11.10 @ 128.99 mph, putting it second only to the fire-breathing Ducati on the quarter-mile. But come top speed testing at HPCC, that lack of outright HP started to show. Despite being the lightest of the bunch at 402-lbs with fuel, it could only muster 161.19 mph, putting it second-to-last and nearly five mph down from the class-leading, and 250cc-larger, Ducati.
“Kawasaki has definitely closed the gap on the defending class champion CBR,” comments Hutchinson, “though the CBR is still solid and very easy to use.”
While the engine had mixed reviews, everyone was on the same page when it came to the transmission. That page being the top. Every gear is engaged with a positive feel, clicking in smoohtly without being clunky - it's as near to perfect as it gets. These smooth and positive shifts give the Honda top honors in this category.
“Honda has never had any issues in this department, always extremely smooth shifts, very positive,” says the 2-time AMA Champ of the transmission.
“Honda‘s transmission tightness made it an overall non-drama-smoothie,” adds Dhien.
But where the shifting was smooth as silk, the lack of a slipper clutch hurt its track prowess. It’s now the only bike of the bunch not to have a back-torque-limiting unit, and in this group it really shows. On more than one occasion when hammering for Superpole times the rear-end got out of line on corner entry, hopping due to the lack of a slipper.
'Michelin's Dale Keiffer didn't have too much trouble coming to grips with the 2009 Honda CBR600RR. He's got that racer style.'
“This was the CBR's weak point. It did not have a slipper clutch and has a ton of decompression,” Garcia adds.”That made it great for backing it in, just not the best for going fast. Even so, shifting was spot on.”
As a whole not much else can the argued against the Honda on the racetrack. It may not be as focused and razor sharp as some of the competition, but it just plain does everything very well. It’s an extremely versatile machine.
“I loved the Honda at Streets of Willow, loved it!” exclaims Waheed. “It and the Kawasaki were up there as my two favorite bikes. It’s surprising how it continues to be this good when it’s one of the oldest here, but the boys at Honda really did their homework when they made the RR and it shows. It is standing the test of time.”
When Superpole came along, as luck would have it, Honda pulled the first spot out of the gate for Atlas. This never helps, though I still posted a very respectable 1:21.97. As for Sorensen, he went last on the Winged Warrior and set his fastest time of the session, throwing down a 1:22.49. While in outright supremacy it was at the back of the pack, when the two times were averaged it moved all the way up to second spot, behind the Yamaha, proving just how capable the Honda still is at the racetrack.
And when it came time to rack up some serious street miles, the Honda once again showed how utterly awesome of an all-around motorcycle it really is. When the miles got long and butts sore, everyone was drawing straws for good ol' Big Red.
'What was Waheed's favorite bike at the tight and technical Streets of Willow? Yep, the Honda...'
“Arguably the best bike for the street,” says motocross ace and new-born street rider Scott Simon. “Everything about this bike is just great! Positioning, turning, braking and the motor were all incredible. It is such a comfortable bike to ride and cruise down the freeway or go full throttle through canyons and drag your knee. By far the most versatile bike I have ridden. The power was exceptionally smooth, although there was always still plenty of it left to go as fast as you want. I’ll be excited when I can go get one of my own again.”
Both Dhien and Hutchison agreed with Simon and were instantly fans of the Honda on the roads. But there’s no doubt the Honda’s styling is starting to look outdated – one of the areas where it loses subjective points.
'Peace-out competition! Everyone has been trailing the Honda for years and this time around it was once again battling for the top spot.'
"Visually is the Honda's biggest shortcoming for me,” says Kennedy. “I'm sure you're not supposed to pick a bike based on its looks just like you're not supposed to pick a football team based on its colors, but screw it, I can't help it. Even though it's smaller looking, I could still move around on it and the engine definitely pulled in the low and midrange. You get going quick, but call me shallow or whatever, I just want to look better doing it!”
Though it may be looking a bit dated, there's no doubt the Honda still performs. Taking top scoring on the street portion plus coming home with second-place track scores, it's easy to see that when Honda first released this bike they did their homework. It truly has stood the test of time. But low performance numbers -- top speed and dyno -- was enough to hold the Honda back to second position. Though considering the competition, that's downright impressive from a bike of this age.
2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R Comparison
'Had the 2009
Kawasaki ZX-6R not been green, it's doubtful any of us would have even recognized it!'
Kawasaki ZX-6R
MSRP: $9,799
Horsepower: 105.87 hp @ 12,200rpm
Torque: 42.75 lbs.-ft. @ 11,200rpm
Weight: 422.3 lbs w/fuel, 396.7 lbs w/o fuel
Superpole Time: 1:20.23 (Atlas)
¼ Mile: 11.11 @ 133.74mph
Top Speed: 164.25 mph
Overal Ranking: 1st-place!
Remember that total nerd in high school? Coke-bottle glasses, spent way too much time in the library on his ‘computer,’ played Dungeons and Dragons… You know, the one all the cheerleaders laughed at and the only reason you would invite to parties was to be the butt of practical jokes? Now fast forward to your 10-year reunion. Here comes that total nerd, though almost completely unrecognizable. He’s a mega-buck-making, Ferrari-driving, far-better-looking, computer genius with the hottest chick in the place at his side. Look who’s laughing now…
For Kawasaki and their ZX-6R, they left last year’s shootout as the high school as that guy. But they came back this year as the computer genius with the babe on his arm. What a difference a year can make! This must have been said multiple times by nearly every rider who threw a leg over the ZX, yours truly included. For complete technical details check out our
First Ride of the green machine in Japan, but in a nutshell, it’s totally new from the ground up. Say hello to the ZX-6 on a MotoGP-inspired binge. It should be noted it’s still the heaviest of the group in terms of wet weight, but they have just made it much more compact and less noticeable and by no means does this hurt performance. In fact, check out the
2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R video for yourself and see how the Ninja stacks up against the competition with your own eyes.
'All-new styling from the ground up highlights a vastly improved ZX-6R. It's hard to even grasp the difference from '08 to '09 it's so drastic.'
While without a doubt everything about the machine was impressive, first and foremost is the engine. From the bottom of the pack last year to the top this year, both on the dyno and real life, this motor just plain rips!
“Wow, what a difference a year makes, Kawi has done extensive development in the motor department!” exclaims Sorensen of the new ZX. “This bike has low end grunt that carries all the way through the top end power; very useable and extremely tractable.”
“This year the Ninja takes the prize,” Hutchy says. “It feels fast, has a healthy mid-range and a strong top end.”
As a result of this motor, when it came time for performance testing out in the Mojave desert the Kawasaki proved it was right on pace. Despite still being 422.3 pounds wet, the plentiful amounts of horsepower and slick aerodynamics allowed it to record a ripping top speed of 164.25 mph, third-best of the group. As for the quarter-mile, the Kawasaki clutch wasn't the best for launching - though it wasn't as bad the Yamaha either. As a result it only laid down a 11.11 @ 133.74 mph. While this still may have been good enough to be tied for third, with a better launch that beast of a motor could have been battling for the top spot.
In fact, not a single tester in the group had one bad thing to say about the new 6R powerplant, including Dhien, who sums things up, saying, “Kawasaki’s engine was amazing! It felt like I was on a bigger displacement machine!”
One could argue that Kawasaki has always been known for their monster motors, it’s the sheer size and chassis of their sportbikes where they sometimes struggle. But as mentioned before, just like its ZX-10R big brother, the 6R went on a serious gym regimen this off-season and came back much smaller and meaner looking, with a whole bunch of trick parts to boot.
'Atlas laid down the fastest lap of the Superpole session on the Kawasaki and was instantly at home on the all-new Green Machine.'
Headlining that list of trick parts and widely praised was the BPF (Big Piston Fork), though it took some time to get used to in the beginning. Due to its design it has little to no dive when you're on the brakes. When this is something you are trained to feel, once taken away it’s almost strange. That is, until you get used to it. Once up to speed, the gold 41mm Showa suspenders provide loads of feel, tons of feedback and soak up anything the bumpy Streets of Willow can throw at them with ease. At that point you wonder why everyone hasn’t gone this route. Actually most all race suspension is already this way, as are a few production bikes (Suzuki’s all-new GSX-R1000), but this is the first production 600 to have it and I can guarantee more will follow.
“This was my favorite fork of the test,” adds Sorensen. “Next time you are in a dealership look closely at this unit. These came straight from Factory Showa. Once again they have raised the bar to what a street bike comes with stock. Joey Lombardo (Kawasaki technician) made a two click adjustment to the fork and it felt like the equivalent of 7 to 10 clicks on a normal fork. For racing you probably don't need the Ohlins cartridge kit anymore, these are that good!”
'Yep, you guessed it - Waheed again...'
In fact, they are good enough for Jamie Hacking to take fourth-place with them in the 2009 Daytona 200 – bone stock! No re-valving, no spring changes, nothing. Straight out of the box Hacking nearly put the Kawasaki on the box in the biggest AMA race of the year. If that doesn’t say enough right there, we’re not sure what does.
“Along with new power, the Kawasaki has a totally new chassis that feels more compact and more agile,” continues Chuckie. “The bike turns in quickly and is very precise with quick transitions left to right. It’s also very positive mid-corner, with great feedback from both front and rear. Where the old chassis used to have numbness and a feeling of not knowing what is going on, this new package is now a racing machine.”
This extremely capable all-around package proved to be number one in our outright Superpole Session lap times by a tenth of a second over the race-bred Yamaha. In Atlas’ hands it laid down an extremely respectable 1:20.23, while for Sorensen it was his first bike of the group, recording a 1:24.66, which dropped it back to third in the average time standings. Though there is no doubt as the session progressed so did Sorensen, hence riding the Kawasaki first may have been a disadvantage. That’s just the luck of the draw.
But where the Kawasaki solidified its place at the front of the pack was on the roads. Where the Yamaha is a pure-bred racer first and foremost and suffers on the street, the Kawasaki truly does it all, competing toe-to-toe with the Honda and Suzuki for best street bike.
“It has the size of the ZX-10 and me being 6'5" means every bit helps,” Kennedy comments. “Immediately it put me in a good place just sitting on the bike. But getting going sealed it for me. Plenty of power, especially on the street, probably even got too much, but it’s addictive. And the stock suspension set-up seemed to support me and my 205-pounds quite well.”
“By far one of my favorite bikes of the day!” added Simon after our street ride. “Overall this motor had everything I look for in a bike – tremendous amount of torque coming out of corners and continuously pulling from the bottom to the top end so much harder than the rest of the bikes. The way the bike turned through all the tight corners was sensational. It really leaned over and seemed to stay down and go where you wanted it to go better than the rest.”
On the street, the bikes which riders like and dislike quickly become apparent. Usually this is noticed by how quickly riders try to snatch up the keys when leaving a rest-stop or gas station. The Kawasaki and Honda keys were always gone first...
'This is the view the competition had of the ZX-6R in 2009. Say hello to the 2009 MotorcycleUSA.com Supersport Shootout champion!'
“For me the Honda is still the best street bike, though the Kawasaki is right there now. But with how good it is at the track plus nearly Honda-level streetability just puts it over the top,” sums up Waheed.
There it is ladies and gentleman, the numbers are in and for the first time in two years a new Supersport Champion has emerged. By virtue of one awesome engine in both the real-world and on the dyno, plus solid performance numbers, overwhelming subjective marks on the track and a street ranking a mere two points shy of the Honda, the nerd has returned to the high school reunion as the stud, hot babe in tow and sports car in the parking lot. Game, set, match - Kawasaki’s all-new ZX-6R is the new Supersport Shootout King.
credit: www.motorcycleusa.com
