#MotorcycleShootout

Here at MO, comparos and shootouts are what we do. We strive to give our readers the most informative bike-to-bike comparisons. Whether it be two class-leading models brought toe-to-toe to duke it out, or bringing in every bike in a particular category, we’re here to bring you the knock-down, drag-out deathmatches MO-style.

Guy walks into a bar. He’s unsure about what to drink, and frankly doesn’t much care. It’s been a rotten day, and his sole desire is to get nicely loaded and then sit back, relax and enjoy the buzz.

You may look at these three bikes and think to yourself this is a no-brainer, the Beemer easily bests the other two for sport-touring honors. That’s what we concluded from our riding impressions and reported in the accompanying video. But then we returned to the MO offices, filled-in the blanks of the ScoreCard and, to our surprise, the most sport-touringest bike of this group nearly lost.

If we told you that you could purchase a brand-new urban performance bobber with a blacked out V-Twin engine and components, a stripped neo-industrial appearance and a low seat height that’s ideal for new-ish, female or those “short of leg,” all for under eight grand, would you bite? There are two motorcycle manufacturers producing such a bike. Your choice is between the proven machine with a few well-documented idiosyncrasies, or the upstart contender that’s eager to take on the champ.