2021 MO Middleweight Naked Bike Shootout - Six Bikes!

Six motorcycles, one winner

We last performed this public service in 2017, when your Yamaha FZ-07 prevailed over the Kawasaki Z650, Suzuki SV650, the new Harley-Davidson Street Rod, and the new and indeterminate Benelli TnT 600, in that order. The FZ-07 has since morphed into the MT-07 amidst a host of well thought-out upgrades in 2018, and then again for 2021. The Z650 got a modern instrument pod in 2020 with a few other tasteful refinements, and the SV650 hasn’t changed a bit (God bless it). The Benelli is still around but didn’t get the call this time, and the H-D Street Rod has been withdrawn from the market under a hail of ridicule. Sad.

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Luckily for us all, two brand-new motorcycles have dropped into our laps for 2021 to challenge the status quo: the Aprilia Tuono 660 and the Triumph Trident 660. I mean three. Let’s not forget the easily forgettable Honda CB650R.

Why is this happening?

From Ryan Adams’ MT-07 review in 2018: “According to Yamaha, the Hypernaked category, which in these statistics include all manufacturers, is up by a staggering 260% since 2012. As supersport sales have decreased, we see these more versatile machines rise in popularity.”

At the launch of this year’s MT, Troy learned Yamaha has sold more than 25,000 FZ/MT-07s to owners spanning age groups from 25 to 55, with most buyers in their early 30s, but only by a few percentage points.

As the rich get richer and demand ever-more sophisticated superbikes and ADV machines but fewer of them, the time is again ripe for great motorcycles in the $8,000 range for the rest of us peasants – UJMs that no longer necessarily come from Japan. And the suddenly fierce competition in this class has happily gotten us to the current situation, where there are absolutely no stinkers left in the group. Though the stinkiest would be the…

6. Suzuki SV650 ABS

Ryan Adams: 6th place, 76.0%
John Burns: 6th place, 77.9%
Troy Siahaan: 5th place, 79.2%

See what I mean? Every time we’ve done this before, the Suzuki’s always nipped right at the Yamaha’s heels. Alas, the Yamaha and Kawasaki have both evolved, while Suzuki has stood pat with the SV since reintroducing it for 2017 as a motorcycle not much changed since 2009. That was the year the bike got its current steel frame and was saddled with the name Gladius, which is a short Roman sword, supposedly.

In 2021, the SV is no longer all that short, with a wheelbase longer than all the others except the Honda, which is necessitated by the fact that its twin-cylinder engine is a 90-degree V, unlike the three Parallel Twins here. And its 438-pound wet weight means it’s now out-porked only by the Honda. The lightest, the Aprilia, is 37 lbs. or about 9% lighter.

But our Performance Bias slip is showing, because unless your main goal is to tear around on curvy mountain roads all day, it barely matters: 72 horsepower and 43 pound-feet of torque are plenty, and the SV’s original design brief to be the poor man’s Ducati is as viable as ever. (The rich man’s new Ducati Monster goes for $12k to the SV ABS’s $7,700.)

That lusty little L-Twin still makes all the right sounds: It grabbed a solid third place in the Engine category on the official MO Scorecard, even as it chalked up a solid 6th place in nearly every other category including Cool Factor, where it registered a dismal 63%. To the SV’s credit, it beat both the Honda and the Aprilia in maybe the most important category: Grin Factor. Do not question the MO Scorecard.

Troy, who can’t quit the SV, ranked it not last, and ahead of the Honda: I’m a sucker for the SV650. Everyone knows that. But for good reason: that engine is still so good. It’s the only V-Twin in this group, and its beauty is the healthy amount of power it makes in the mid-range. Better still, it can rev to 10,000 rpm and the power drop-off isn’t too bad. Two decades later (albeit with a few improvements, but basically the same), the SV engine still holds its own.

She’s just a bit old-fashioned, but others would call that classic. The LCD instrument panel that was kind of cool ten years ago is now embarrassing. The seat seems to rotate your pelvis a tad forward, which gets old on long freeway stints, when the thinness of the foam begins to assert itself… but she runs smooth and true at 80 mph and would make a fine commuter/ bike-about town with a bit more stuffing in the seat. Also, the SV’s slightly larger dimensions tend to make it a hit with larger, taller persons. Drive a hard bargain.

Ryan says: I want to dislike the SV more than I do. It is the definition of resting on one’s laurels. The thing is it’s still a pretty good bike. Riding here side by side with the others just further illustrates that fact. The motor is one of my favorites with strong punchy torque when you want it, and it offers a unique feel from its 90-degree V-Twin engine. The suspension is somewhat firm compared to the others in the group, and the damping feels less than refined. At least the rear end doesn’t feel like it’s made from a pogo stick like the MT-07’s shock. [We all agreed the MT was much improved after we dialed in more rebound damping – an adjustment only found on the MT and the Aprilia.]

As far as ergos go, the Zuk’s rider triangle feels a bit small – not as much as the Kawi though. The seat is fairly small and slightly angled forward which kept causing me to have to push myself back after sliding forward over time.

5. Honda CB650R

Ryan Adams: 3rd place, 82.3%
John Burns: 5th place, 81.3%
Troy Siahaan: 6th place, 77.1%

If it didn’t say CB on the side and have an R on the end, you might go easier on this Honda, but since it does… On these class V sporty SoCal backroads, you can’t forget how good all Honda’s CBR600Fs used to be, F2, F3, F4i… heck, all the CBs, whether they end in F or R. Nearly all of them have had a magical blend of handling, power and/or utility.

Honda CB650R Review – First Ride

The 650R, with its neo café retro look, makes everybody want to like this modern iteration, but its flaccid engine performance makes it a hard motorcycle to love.

The dynamometer doesn’t always tell the whole tale, but in this case, the Honda’s torque curve is a very accurate reflection of how its engine feels on the road. We’ve come to expect a little top-end peakiness from Inline-Fours (the beauty of the old CBR600s is that they weren’t very), but the 650R is not only weakest in the mid-range, you’re also left waiting for a horsepower peak that never comes: 82? Is that all there is, my friend?

Well, 82 horses is the second-most here, but having to spool up to 11,000 rpm to access it is just too much like work, especially on the gnarly, bumpy backroads that made up the bulk of this test loop. All the other bikes (except one) are just getting off work and having a beer, and the Honda’s checking in for the night shift.

Which is a shame, because the rest of the package is pretty swell, including an inverted fork, good brakes, nice ergonomics… On the other hand, Honda doesn’t even bother with plastic modesty panels like the others to cover its steel frame’s join welds. And the signature, CB400F-homage stainless “waterfall” exhaust headers have already begun to discolor in an unpleasant way, just like the ones on the CB1000R did. (Click the pic to zoom in.)

Ryan Adams liked the Honda well enough to rank it #3 on his Scorecard, and furiously defends it thusly:

I think the CB650R is one of the best looking bikes in this comparison. The color palette used throughout the bike lends a really mature and classy look to the Honda, keeping it in vogue with the Neo Sports Café line-up.

I didn’t really have any complaints about any of the transmissions out of this group of bikes, but the Honda’s slipper clutch is on an entirely different level. Pull at the clutch lever is incredibly light; you can bang downshifts with reckless abandon and its slipper clutch smooths out your poor choices before they make it to the rear wheel.

Around town the CB’s 649cc mill is sewing machine smooth and delivers linear power as it climbs through the revs, but it doesn’t provide the low to mid-range punch that the Twins or the Triple here have. If you’re really looking to tap into the meat of the Honda’s power out on canyon roads, its Inline-Four is going to need to be between 10,000 and its 13,500 redline which makes it feel a bit manic compared to the others here that deliver torque almost anywhere you want it in the rev-range. With that top end power you’re also getting a lot of high-frequency vibration throughout the entire bike, starting at 5,000 rpm. What that all boils down to is a less than stellar riding experience from the engine when you’re pushing its limits.

The Showa suspension components on the CB650R were some of the best in this test. Despite the Honda’s 42 pounds over the lightest bike in our group, the Showa components kept the Honda composed in most scenarios better than the rest. Its longer trail, longest wheelbase, and most rake keep the Honda stable, though with its low wide handlebar, it’s still easy to bend through corners.

The Honda CB650R feels like it would be the best fit for larger riders out of the group. The Triumph and Yamaha aren’t bad either, but the Honda feels like the biggest motorcycle here while also offering the most open rider triangle.

Troy ranked the CB dead last. We’ll just print the nice things he had to say about it:

Grown-up ergos are nice. The Honda feels like a proper, full-size motorcycle. Not a toy. The seat is wide and the tank is relatively wide, so when you’re sitting on it, your knees don’t feel like they’re about to touch each other.

Chassis and suspension is the Honda’s saving grace. It feels very composed and handles the choppy roads with far less flex than some of the others. Inverted forks, though non-adjustable, definitely help with chassis rigidity. Brakes are soft, but I guess that’s to be expected with these budget bikes. The Honda’s extra weight doesn’t do it any favors in the braking department.

LCD gauges are hard to read, especially in direct sunlight, though it’s nice to be able to turn TC on or off with a dedicated button and the indicator light is right there on the dash to see.

Excellent slipper clutch and light pull: Could go all the way down the gears with no drama.

The Honda’s styling is pretty cool. It looks futuristic, elegant, and modern. But it’s the second-most expensive motorcycle in this test, and I’m having a hard time justifying the cost. Like I said before, if the engine made its power a lot earlier – and with a few counterbalancers thrown in – it would help the CB650R’s case. As it is, I just don’t see it.

It’s true. Just like the SV650, in the urban milieu the CB seems to prefer – where you’re competing against cars instead of corner exits and Yamahas – the CB feels plenty powerful and smooth. Still, there’s no getting around the Scorecard’s final all-seeing category: Grin Factor. This rather non-charismatic Honda finishes dead last.