#Standard

Motorcycle shootouts are a relentless procession of putting the screws to a couple or numerous models selected for similarities in performance, style, purpose, price and, of course, engine displacement. Two of our most recent shootouts, the Gentleman’s Hooligan Comparo and Japanese Mega Standards Shootout, pit four excruciatingly similar models from Kawasaki and Suzuki against one another in two separate competitions. At 999cc and 1043cc the GSX-S1000 ABS and Kawasaki Z1000 ABS were the Goliaths, while the 749cc and 806cc displacements of the Suzuki GSX-S750 and Kawasaki Z800 ABS were the Davids. Is it possible for David to defeat Goliath? Which motorcycle is the true king of Israel?

Us MOrons enjoy the luxury of working from home offices, but imagine an alternate world where we actually had an office to go to everyday. Clearly, this scenario won’t be hard for many of you to imagine as it’s your reality. And if you’re also the type to take the long way home after clocking out, followed by a lengthier ride come the weekend, you’re the type of rider Kawasaki and Suzuki are reaching for with the Z800 ABS and GSX-S750 – unless you live in California. Neither bike is currently being offered for sale in the People’s Republic. Intended for the sportbike rider who may be more, ah, mature these days with things adults call, um, responsibilities, the two still offer middleweight performance without the supersport ergonomic commitment. They are also more affordable, at $7,999 for the Suzuki and $8,399 for the Kawi.

Wow, this is sort of dangerous ground Triumph is treading with its new Hi-Torque-engined Street Twin: Its all-new bigger, more modern, liquid-cooled 900cc parallel-Twin actually makes, ahhhh, less peak horsepower than the previous generation 865cc unit. That’s why they insisted we journalists ride the bike before the tech presentation, and kept the cocktails flowing the night before. Savvy marketing on their part. Triumph claims just 54 horsepower (at 5900 rpm) for the new motor, which is at least 10 hp less than I’d have estimated from my butt-clench dyno after a day’s spin around Valencia and environs on the new bike.

Last week, KTM flew me to Gran Canaria to sample the 2016 KTM 690 Duke and Duke R. While these trips are usually grueling (think 40+ hours in a total of six different pressurized aluminum tubes for just a few hours of riding), I’m not complaining. The 690 Duke exemplifies why we get so excited over new motorcycles. Refinement is an annual event, but large-scale makeovers of an engine that so dramatically address the powerplant’s major shortcoming are relatively rare. KTM has managed, through some clever engineering, to address the biggest drawback of a single-cylinder engine – its inherent vibration – while maintaining and even increasing its strengths.

KTM finds itself in the enviable position of having created a popular brand-within-a-brand with its Duke line of motorcycles. Don’t believe me? Take a look at KTM’s 2016 Duke line-up. Consisting of six different models (some of which, unfortunately, don’t make it to the American side of the Atlantic), the Duke line starts with the 125 Duke and tops out with the 1290 Super Duke R – yet still has room for a pair of Dukes in the displacement range that started the line in the form of the 609cc 620 Duke I. Before we go any further, we need to step back from the current KTM image to remember that, way back prior to 1994, KTM only manufactured dirt-focused motorcycles. The Duke was the company’s first street bike, and the meaty center of the 2016 Duke line is filled with that first Duke’s direct descendants, the 690 Duke and 690 Duke R.

Back in September, KTM announced some updates to its 690 Duke in prototype form. The changes big naked thumper are now official with the final production version as well as the up-spec R version were revealed at EICMA.

A little more than a month after showing a stunt-influenced concept, BMW revealed the full production version of its entry-level G310R roadster. Produced with help from India’s TVS Motor Company, the G310R is BMW’s lowest displacement motorcycle and its first roadster under 500cc.

Triumph announced new updates to its Speed Triple line for 2016. The base model will now go by the designation Speed Triple S and come with new Ride-by-Wire power modes and traction control. It’ll be joined by the Speed Triple R which adds higher-spec Öhlins suspension, carbon fiber components and other premium features.

I have a confession to make: I rode the Kawasaki Z800 in 2013, long before its U.S. introduction in Palm Springs, California this week. It was on a test track in Southern Italy during a new tire introduction, and despite the fact the track is not the Z800’s element – Kawasaki bills the baby Z as a streetfighter ideally suited for commuting or weekend blasts in the canyons – I came back pleasantly surprised. I remember the spread of power was impressive, the completely analog transmission shifted with buttery-smooth precision, the brakes never faded and the chassis was fluid and responsive. I wanted one but left Italy disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on a Z800 stateside.

The Ducati Monster 1200S didn’t do so great against most of the other players in last year’s Super Naked Street Brawl, but mostly because two of the other four were our Motorcycle of the Year KTM Super Duke R and the BMW S1000R, which came within a whisker of overcoming the incredible SDR. The Monster suffered more in the track portion of that test than on the street, though, mainly let down by a lack of ground clearance when leaned into Chuckwalla’s endless high speed turns – a non-issue on the road. Back on the street, il Mostro was a highly pleasant thing to ride – as nearly all motorcycles are that deliver 84 pound-feet of torque. The 132 horses up top are like having your burrito wet.

Ducati’s selection of Scrambler models (Icon, Urban Enduro, Classic, Full Throttle) are modern interpretations of scramblers from Ducati’s past, but if you compare the now with the then, the new bikes bleed their heritage from most angles, with the V-Twin engine being the most obvious difference. The 803cc, air-cooled Twin provides the perfect amount of go power (69.6 hp at 8500 rpm and 46.5 lb.-ft. at 7000 rpm) for this retro-modern moto, easily spanking Triumph’s Scrambler offering.

We’ve tested plenty of electric motorcycles over the years here at MO. In the process, we’ve been able to witness firsthand how rapidly e-bikes have evolved. Through it all, however, we get asked the same questions over and over: 1. How far will it go on a charge? and 2. How long will it take to recharge the batteries? There used to be a third question – how fast will it go? – but through our testing and experiences with the greater e-bike community, speed no longer seems to be a concern amongst the critics.

Suppose you wanted a nice new orthopedically correct naked bike, but you didn’t want all the latest fly-by-wire techno-gadgetry that accompanies the best of them along with the $15,000-plus price tag. Well, you’re still out of luck, really, because Suzuki’s all-new GSX-S1000 does use the traction-control system (first seen on its latest V-Strom 1000) to tame its mighty GSX-R1000 Four-cylinder. And ABS is a $500 option.

Yamaha has released images and a video of its new retro-styled production model, the XSR700. The XSR is a variation of the FZ-07 platform, a retro roadster slightly reminiscent of Ducati’s successful Scrambler. As of this writing, the XSR700 has only been announced by Yamaha Motor Europe, but we expect it will also be sold in North America; we’ll provide an update when we hear back from Yamaha Motor U.S.A.

When Yamaha announced today that the 2016 FZ-07 and FZ-09 would be in dealerships beginning in September, another tidbit was dropped. Collectively, the two models account for two of the top-four-selling motorcycles the company produces. The fact that the FZ-07 has been on sale for less than 12 months makes its placement at number four even more impressive. Yamaha’s PR reps said they expect it to move up the ranks as time goes on.