Road Test: King Of Bikes

Sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin. Welcome to TWO's 2005 International King Of Bikes. "King Of Bikes" spawned from an argument about which bike really is 'best'. But best at what? Everybody's got a reason to love their bike, something that makes it special to them. So, after a heated discussion in the TWO office (as ever, centring around hardcore sportsbikes versus usable streetbikes and so-called all-rounders), we decided to find out, once and for all, which motorcycle is king of the block.

The criteria for a bike's entry into IKOB? Simple, really - being the best in class. We had to limit the entry to eight and this caused yet more aggravation as to which classes to include. But in the end a balance was struck, and the bikes you see lined up above represent the very cream. All came out top in roadtests with their peers over the last eight months. So, in many ways, this lot are winners before we've even started. They're all great. But only one can wear the crown...

En masse we rode 'em around mid-Wales for a couple of days, two pillions. Then we took them to the dyno room, and then Bruntingthorpe for speed testing. Mackenzie got the whole lot next and spent eight hours thrashing around Donington. An urban trawl around town followed, as did a day with a calculator working out which would cost the most to own. With points awarded for each discipline, the coronation ceremony would be for the bike that scored the highest.

This is possibly the biggest road test TWO has ever done. The winner surprised some, not others. Either way, the International King Of Bikes 2005 certainly earned its crown.

LIFE ON THE OPEN ROAD


Right, we're away then. And the first bike we'll deal with - which makes it the last-placed finisher on the open roads of Wales - is the Harley V-Rod. That said, its belting water-cooled V-twin engine did plant a wan smile firmly on the face of even the most blinkered sportsbike junky. Tim said: "For me the V-Rod is a waste of a fantastic engine, which I just can't use because you can't go around corners. But I accept corners aren't what it's designed to do, and as a sheer posing tool the thing's fantastic."

Jon had another view: "I love the V-Rod, but riding it above 60mph is a waste of time. I agree with Tim up to a point, the great engine and cruiser chassis is a paradox, but it's such a top looking bike and such fun to ride."

Next? The Kawasaki ZRX1200R. "It's almost a triumph of style over function, because what you see isn't quite what you get," reckoned Tim. "You think it's going to rip your arms off, but the ZRX doesn't do anything like that as it's so detuned. Add the soft suspension and weight and a lot of the thrills have been sucked out. Push it even remotely hard on the road and it starts to wallow." As Jon so rightly put it: "There's a much better bike in the ZRX waiting to get out. Maybe this is a clue to why people like the big retro style of bike. At least it has obvious flaws, which can be improved on."

Now it starts getting contentious. Honda's CBR600RR is in sixth place on the road. Eh? Over to Jon. "The CBR's just too much effort on the road. You've got to have 8000rpm minimum dialled in to be going anywhere, and I don't always want to be screaming the tits off it. It's so small too and the seat's solid. On the track it all makes sense but out here it's a wind-up toy." Ouch! Over to Tim: "99% commitment isn't enough. The CBR needs 101% to get the best out of it. When you're not right on it the things that make it so good become a liability. It's like riding a two-stroke."

The Triumph Speed Triple battled hard to end up in fifth. Jon argued the hardest on its behalf: "It's such a riot to ride, brilliant. The engine is beautiful and for just belting along, having a gas, the Speed Triple's almost in a class of its own. If the brakes were sharper - these were fairly hopeless to be fair - and it was a little more practical, it would've scored higher." Tim, who is not a fan of impracticality in any shape or form, couldn't muster the same enthusiasm as Jon, but understood that, "as long as you don't go above 95mph it's fine. It's great for posing around on but for me the Speed Triple is just too naked and too exposed. "

Ready for the joker in the pack? The Z750 was judged the fourth most enjoyable and useable bike on the road. "It's got an almost perfect match of engine and chassis," Tim reckoned. "If you thrash the motor to its limit, you're doing exactly the same with the chassis. In this respect this is a perfectly balanced bike and very satisfying to ride." Jon agreed: "Of course its limits aren't particularly high, but even so it's a proper bike and even without the protection of a fairing it's a good proposition for having a real ride on, including doing distance. It's got a gorgeous gearbox, too. Bottom line is it's fun, pure and simple."

Now for the top three in this particular tussle. BMW's R1200GS might look like an unmade bed, but it's in third. Why? I'll let Tim explain: "At the end of any ride on the GS you feel exactly the same as you did at the start. 20 miles or 300 miles, it eats 'em up. The servo assisted brakes aren't my favourite, but once you've dialled into its quirks - and being a BMW that takes some time - it feels very natural. I've a feeling the more time you spend on one, the harder it is to get off." Jon reckoned, "it's a very German thing. They maintain you'll get there in comfort, with minimal effort and massive practicality. The GS is the perfect embodiment of a super-efficient two-wheeled device. It's all there, and then some. All the boxes have been ticked. If only it were a little more exciting to ride..."

Triumph's Sprint ST finds itself in second place. Jon: "The Sprint's a bike that handles, is super comfortable, fast, smooth, does 180 miles to a tank, copes with pillions effortlessly, and is a beautiful machine to ride, full stop. It's a great road all-rounder, which is what a sports tourer should be." Tim agreed: "That three-cylinder engine is so flexible, you can thrash it to the redline or short shift it lazily and it'll go just as well either way. It is a little soft suspension wise - which is what you'd expect - but it's a fantastically competent road tool whichever way you look at it."

The winning bike on the road, then, is the awesome Suzuki GSX-R1000. Tim: "From a road riding point of view the GSX-R has more engine than you'll ever need, with more handling than you'll ever use, too. And both of these attributes are packaged in a totally useable way - this is a very neutral, stable yet nimble bike. It'll take anything you throw at it, does 150 miles to a tank and will even cope with some fairly cack-handed riding, up to a point. It is, simply, brilliant.

And what's Jon's opinion? "The GSX-R is superb. My only worry is losing my licence on it, but that's not the bike's fault. Tim reckons that to ride one on the road you need to have lost your licence previously, as this teaches you what it's like to be banned and instills restraint. It deserves to be king of the road - because it is." Can't say fairer than that, then.

PILLION COMFORT


"I'm never going on that bike again, I thought I was going to die. The seat is too hard, the pegs too high and I'm way above the rider." Liz isn't enjoying the CBR600RR pillion experience.

"Even before you get on it you just know it will be hopeless," said Anna. "I feel like a jockey on a horse. Honda clearly knows nothing about padding as the seat is like sitting on a plank of wood while the riding position threw me forward under braking. The pillion seat is for decoration only." And it's not much better for the rider. Both Tim and Jon were finding that with a pillion the CBR's track focus was only exaggerated. Roundabouts required slipping the clutch in first gear and the already cramped riding position got even more painful on the wrists with the extra weight of a pillion. "Easily the worst here," said Tim.

Anna was looking at the Speed Triple with concern:"Is this actually meant to take a pillion?" It's a solitary life on a naked bike, which is probably for the best on the Triumph. While the Triple's handling wasn't affected too badly by a pillion both Tim and Jon were continually aware of the discomfort the passenger was suffering. "That was horrible," said an unhappy Liz. "The seat is too short and it felt like my bum was falling off the back." Anna didn't like not being able to see where she was going, the only view being the back of Tim's head. Not very good on a bike with a tendency to wheelie. Would the sedate pace of the Harley impress?

"What a disappointment," moaned Anna. "After the Triple I was expecting the Harley to be really comfortable. How wrong was I? Every single bump goes straight through you and there isn't enough space between the backrest and rider."

"It's so uncomfortable," agreed Liz, "and the scraping sound at every corner was scary." For the riders it wasn't that bad, the ground clearance is terrible on a V-Rod anyway and the handling isn't really effected by the extra weight, although the front end can feel a little vaguer than normal.

Moving on, the ZRX's huge seat promised much for our pillions. "It was comfortable when I first got on," said Anna, "and the pegs are in a sensible position but after a while it was a struggle. Every bump catapulted my bum out of the seat as the bike bounced all over the place. I wasn't sure if the rider was in control." Reassuringly we were, but it was pretty bad for us as well. The problem is the Kawasaki's trick-looking suspension is just too soft, making the bike wallow in corners.

Things were better on the GS. "I like the BMW," said Anna. "The seat is padded, pegs low and there's plenty of room".

Liz disagreed: "To start with it's okay, but after a while the position became really uncomfortable and it gave me backache."

It could be a difference in pillion style. Liz tends to hang on to the rider while Anna sits upright and further back, but the GS split our pillions when it came to comfort. From the riders' perspective both Jon and Tim weren't too impressed with the GS. The suspension pitches back and forth, and is exaggerated by the large amount of engine braking when the throttle was shut, making it hard to ride smoothly. As do the harsh servo brakes.

Now comes the first surprise of the pillion test: Kawasaki's Z750. Jon, Tim and our pillions rated it third-best pillion bike.

"The Z surprised me with how comfortable it was," said Anna. "It didn't wow me but on the other hand it didn't disappoint. I'd be happy to ride pillion on it again." Jon and Tim decided a big part of the Kawasaki rider's pillion-carrying appeal was its engine and gearbox. Unlike some of the other bikes the Z's gearchange was slick and quick enough not to upset the handling, making for a smooth ride.

And now comes the biggest surprise of the pillion test. Suzuki's GSX-R1000 came a very close second to the Triumph Sprint ST. A focused superbike coming second in a pillion test took us all by surprise, but both our pillions loved it. "It's brilliant," said Liz. "It's really comfortable, and because you lean down with the rider you're out of the wind."

Anna couldn't believe how much fun the GSX-R was. "Once you're used to the acceleration the pegs are in a perfect position to push down on and brace against it." With such a powerful engine the weight of a pillion makes virtually no difference and while the front end does feel slightly less secure in corners it's still good.

But the winner for the pillion test has to be Triumph's Sprint ST, which is a brilliant two-up bike. Liz loved it: "It's comfortable, the pegs are nice and low and I feel safe on the back. The GSX-R is more of a buzz, but the Triumph wins it for me."

Riding with a pillion on the Triumph you almost forget they are there, which shows how good it is. The handling stays virtually the same and the whole package works really well together for a brisk, relaxed and easy two-up ride.

ON THE TRACK


Everyone had been scaring me about the Harley before I took it on the track, saying it had no ground clearance, didn't go around corners and was bloody expensive, so I was a bag of nerves before I had even sat on it. But I really liked my first V-Rod experience.

The centre of gravity is so low it doesn't really threaten to do anything scary and the gearbox is one of the sweetest I've ever used. It doesn't have any ground clearance, but it goes around corners, even slow ones, reasonably well. You just need to concentrate on getting drive down out of bends rather than holding corner speed. I wouldn't say the V-Rod disgraced itself around Donington, but the thing is, who in their right mind would take one on a track anyway? The Harley is a posing bike, with absolutely no track pretensions, so it's a bit unfair to put it there. But it still comes last.

Next to the Harley the GS was the least effected by the strong wind at Donington on the day we tested, but this is about the best thing I can say about it. The weight transfer from front to back and back to front is terrible - it feels like something at a fairground! I found the servo brakes had no real feeling at all, you just jump on them and hang on with no fine adjustment, just a strong pull of the lever. Good for safety I suppose, but not to my liking. It's not a bad bike on track, and the engine is fairly strong, but in this test there were better bikes. Also I got the feeling people were looking at me and thinking, "he's on track on it, but why?"

The Triumph Sprint ST looks like it should be good on track, but I wasn't impressed. Strange really, I rode one recently at the NŸrburgring and was impressed, but it felt totally different at Donington. Once you get it pointed in the right direction it has loads of torque and pulls well but it understeered really badly through fast corners like Craner and the Old Hairpin, and you end up chasing the front everywhere, as though it's too light on the front and heavy on the back. The problem is it's more of a road bike and the whole time it's reminding you it doesn't really want to be there. Riding down the pit lane I swear it tried to turn left, head out of the gates and onto the open road. It does everything okay, but just doesn't feel a pleasurable experience when pushed hard. Sometimes hard work can be fun, with the Triumph it wasn't, with the ZRX it was.

Riding the ZXR makes you feel like Eddie Lawson, and you have to ride it like him too. There isn't much in the way of ground clearance so it's a real hang off, get it turned, fire it out and hang on thing. Yes, it needs a fair bit of muscling around but for this kind of bike I quite like that. The engine is fantastic, really flexible, and you can get around Donington only using a few gears. I'd quite happily take this to a trackday, you just have to use the engine rather than the chassis. Stop it dead upright using the engine braking and both brakes, get through the corner somehow and then just open the throttle.

It's strange but what makes the Z750 so good on the road actually detracts from its track ability. The 750 motor is a great engine with a load of mid-range, but on track you need more top-end, which it doesn't have. The opposite to the CBR600RR, which needs mid-range on the road but has a real screamer of an engine, making it perfect for track. As a riding experience the Z750 is very good. The riding position is really forgiving, helping you control the bike really well as the front end feel is very positive and direct to the rider, and the brakes and suspension fine - slightly budget-feeling but overall very good. It's just a very controllable, fun and easy-to- ride bike on track. Quite a surprise.

Another surprise was the Speed Triple. It may look a bit mad, but everything is really well controlled thanks to an excellent chassis and quality suspension, making it a cracking trackday tool. The lack of fairing made it quite hard work, especially in the wind, as the odd gust would really lighten the front, meaning you had to keep your wits about you, but I quite liked this. I reckon that with a bit of subtle suspension tuning you could really put some respectable laps in on it. And it would do it without the pressure you get from riding sportsbikes. No one would expect a naked bike to be going that fast.

Putting the Suzuki second when it comes to track ranking was a really hard decision. There isn't really anything bad to say about it. To ride it feels like a little toy, only a bloody fast one. It's so small and compact without being cramped, and is just so easy to ride. The engine is absolutely stunning, so flexible and strong that Donington only requires three gears, and the feedback so good from both ends that it feels like the tyre's contact patch is simply huge. The problem is that you just have to concentrate everywhere because there is so much of, well, everything. It won't take much to arrive at a corner far, far faster than you're expecting. You simply can't ride it as hard or as committed as a 600, which is why the CBR600RR gets my vote on track.

There is nothing more satisfying than really thrashing a bike hard on track, which is exactly what you can do on the CBR. It's the perfect trackday bike; It's focused, harsh and like a modern day TZ250. It's just so satisfying to ride hard and, unlike the GSX-R, you really can ride it hard. The chassis, suspension and brakes are all excellent and the motor is brilliant with enough power to be fantastic fun to use and yet without being overpowering or intimidating.

IN THE CITY


Everything that makes the CBR great on track makes it a disaster in town. A wrist-heavy riding position, razor sharp brakes, firm suspension, solid seat, small steering lock and a motor with very little going for it below 8000rpm. Horrible.

The Harley was a tough call for placing low down in the city riding test. If you want to sit in the traffic and stare at yourself in shop windows the V-Rod is king. But with the length of an ocean liner and very low ride height, not to mention wide pegs and a crap front brake, filtering on the Harley is hard work. The motor is lovely, gearbox excellent and seat low, but the Harley is a posing tool rather than a commuter.

Splitting the GS and ZRX was hard as both have plus and minus points. The BMW's upright riding position is comfortable and puts the rider considerably higher in the air than most other bikes, meaning a view over the car ahead is offered, helping you spot hazards early. But the bars are wide, making filtering hard, and the servo-assisted brakes are a bit too full-on, especially at low speed, making smooth braking tough.

In comparison the ZRX's riding position is far lower but with a more padded seat, which is good for town riding. The bars can hinder filtering progress slightly, but the main problem with on the ZRX is the clunky gearbox and the weight of the bike, which makes it an unwieldy urban companion.

Again the GSX-R surprises in town. While it has a racy riding position it isn't as extreme as the Honda's. Its small size, lightness and engine mean that when a gap appears the Suzuki always has the instant, explosive drive to make it through. The tall first gear is a slight nuisance, but it isn't that intrusive.

The Triumph does everything the GSX-R does, but with more comfort. At low speeds the upright riding position puts less stress on your wrists, the pegs are lower and the seat has extra padding. The triple motor lacks the thrust of the Suzuki, but the clutch is light, first gear low and, apart from a clunky gearbox, the ST is at home in town.

The Speed Triple is nearly a top city commuter. The riding position is comfortable, bars a good height, engine is smooth and the clutch light. But there's not enough steering lock for very tight turns.

Enter the Z. It has everything. The riding position is very comfortable, steering lock good, engine and gearbox smooth, suspension soft and the bike is light and nimble through traffic. It's the town winner.

COST OF OWNING


BMW's R1200GS costs only £84 less than Suzuki's GSX-R1000. Just shows what an incredible package the Suzuki is and how expensive BMWs are. A basic air-cooled twin for the same price as a 160bhp superbike.

Now come into the real world. We've got the calculator out and worked out what each of these eight worldbeaters really costs to own. First, we've looked at first year depreciation. We've taken 5000 miles as a decent average that most bikes will cover when owned by a TWO-reading kind of rider. Using these numbers the R1200GS drops £1965 of its value in its first year or, in other words, 22% of its original value. Compare that to the Suzuki's £3799 depreciation (a staggering 42% drop) and suddenly you'll see that the BMW is actually a sound financial bet.

We've not stopped at depreciation. By factoring in insurance, road tax, first year servicing, one set of tyres and fuel, we've come up with a cost per mile for running each bike. The results are interesting. Include depreciation in the equation and they go from interesting to quite scary.

Several of the costs are consistent across all eight bikes. For example, apart from the CBR600 (which pays the lower £45 charge) all the bikes have road tax of £60. Tyres, too, are very similar in price regardless of the bikes. Cheapest on rubber is the BMW at £210.56 for a pair and the most expensive the CBR600 at £263.16. Insurance costs (based on a 35-year-old rural dweller with four years' no claims bonus) run from a low £189 for the Z750 to £581 for the Suzuki GSX-R. No surprises here. Servicing costs are also fairly uniform from £250 for the BMW's first minor service down to £120 for each Triumph.

Using the current national average of 86p per litre we've calculated the fuel cost for each bike over 5000 miles. There was very little variation in the numbers we came up with as only £80 separates the thirstiest bike (V-Rod) from the most economical (ZRX1200R).

We totted up all the numbers for each bike and divided by 5000 miles. The result is the chart showing cost per mile for each bike. The Harley V-Rod comes out as the most expensive to run, followed by the Suzuki.

Now look at the second set of cost per mile figures - in which depreciation has been added to the sums. The Suzuki is now up to a staggering £1.07p per mile compared to the Harley's £0.93p. The BMW comes out best of all at £0.65p per mile.

The conclusion is straightforward. Buy a R1200GS, run it for 12 months, sell it at the end of the year and it will have cost you less than any other bike here. Simple.

AND THE WINNER...


Suzuki GSX-R1000

We so really didn't want the big Suzuki to win - it's such an obvious choice what with it being the newest, fastest, blue-and-whitest sportsbike around. But win it has and, as far as we're concerned, it truly deserves to be our International King of Bikes. The GSX-R did so well in so many categories - the most surprising being the pillion test - that while it didn't totally cream its nearest rival (well done Triumph!) it was obvious early on that it'd be a tough bike to beat. And so it proved.

In the GSX-R1000 Suzuki has built perhaps the most cutting-edge sportsbike available, with incredible levels of power and handling, wrapping it in a package that's ultra-useable nearly all of the time. Honda usually manages this trick, in the process ironing out soul and character, both of which the GSX-R has by the shedload - by design, presumably.

Way to go, Suzuki. Your GSX-R1000 is King.

SPECS - BMW R1200GS


TYPE - Supersports


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £8715


ENGINE CAPACITY - 1170cc


POWER - 94.9bhp@7500rpm


TORQUE - 72.3lb.ft@6000rpm


WEIGHT - 235kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 840mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 20L


TOP SPEED - 125.9mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS HARLEY-DAVIDSON VRSCA V-ROD



TYPE - CRUISER


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £12,995


ENGINE CAPACITY - 1131cc


POWER - 104.7bhp@97800rpm


TORQUE - 72.3lb.ft@7000rpm


WEIGHT - 293kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 660mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 18.9L


TOP SPEED - 133mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS HONDA CBR600RR


TYPE - Supersports


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £7299


ENGINE CAPACITY - 599cc


POWER - 102.2bhp@13,500rpm


TORQUE - 41.9lb.ft@10,900rpm


WEIGHT - 196kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 820mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 18L


TOP SPEED - 157.3mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS KAWASAKI Z750


TYPE - STREETBIKE


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £5445


ENGINE CAPACITY - 748cc


POWER - 101.1bhp@10,600rpm


TORQUE - 52lb.ft@8000rpm


WEIGHT - 218kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 820mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 18L


TOP SPEED - 140.3mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS KAWASAKI ZRX1200R


TYPE - MUSCLEBIKE


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £6745


ENGINE CAPACITY - 1164cc


POWER - 120.2bhp@8400rpm


TORQUE - 83.9lb.ft@6800rpm


WEIGHT - 250kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 790mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 20L


TOP SPEED - 141.6mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS SUZUKI GSX-R1000K5


TYPE - Supersports


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £8799


ENGINE CAPACITY - 999cc


POWER - 164.7bhp@11,000rpm


TORQUE - 82.4lb.ft@8300rpm


WEIGHT - 201kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 810mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 18L


TOP SPEED - 172.2mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE


TYPE - STREETBIKE


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £7699


ENGINE CAPACITY - 1050cc


POWER - 116.9bhp@8900rpm


TORQUE - 73lb.ft@7300rpm


WEIGHT - 222kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 815mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 18L


TOP SPEED - 144.6mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

SPECS TRIUMPH SPRINT ST


TYPE - SPORTS TOURER


PRODUCTION DATE - 2005


PRICE NEW - £7999


ENGINE CAPACITY - 1050cc


POWER - 119.5bhp@8900rpm


TORQUE - 73lb.ft@7900rpm


WEIGHT - 251kg (WET)


SEAT HEIGHT - 805mm


FUEL CAPACITY - 27L


TOP SPEED - 154.2mph


0-60 - n/a


TANK RANGE - n/a

Sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin. Welcome to TWO's 2005 International King Of Bikes. IKOB spawned from an argument about which bike really is 'best'.

But best at what? Everybody's got a reason to love their bike, something that makes it special to them. So, after a heated discussion in the TWO office (as ever, centring around hardcore sportsbikes versus usable streetbikes and so-called all-rounders), we decided to find out, once and for all, which motorcycle is king of the block.

The criteria for a bike's entry into IKOB? Simple, really - being the best in class. We had to limit the entry to eight and this caused yet more aggravation as to which classes to include. But in the end a balance was struck, and the bikes you see lined up above represent the very cream. All came out top in roadtests with their peers over the last eight months. So, in many ways, this lot are winners before we've even started.

They're all great. But only one can wear the crown...

En masse we rode 'em around mid-Wales for a couple of days, two pillions. Then we took them to the dyno room, and then Bruntingthorpe for speed testing. Mackenzie got the whole lot next and spent eight hours thrashing around Donington. An urban trawl around town followed, as did a day with a calculator working out which would cost the most to own. With points awarded for each discipline, the coronation ceremony would be for the bike that scored the highest.

This is possibly the biggest road test TWO has ever done. The winner surprised some, not others. Either way, the International King Of Bikes 2005 certainly earned its crown.