If there is one rider who remains dear to the hearts of Ducati, it's three-time World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss. The affable Australian has won world titles on three different generations of the Ducati flagship superbike (in '01 aboard the 996R01, in '06 riding the 999R F06, and finally last year astride the 1098R F08), making him truly unique among the riders who have won championships for Ducati. This history with the brand has earned Bayliss legendary status within the company, something that isn't taken lightly by the Italians.

In The Real World
Sure both bikes are performers in the twisty bits, but that's only part of the equation. A small part at that. Living with the Ducati is a whole different story. The saddle is wide and square and makes for an agonizing ride after only 30 minutes. Wider-framed riders may actually benefit from this, but our testers weren't big fans. Remember the wide bars mentioned earlier? Well they're made even wider by the side mirrors, making it a bit of a chore to weed through traffic (which may not be as big of a problem if you live anywhere but California). Add to that the fact that the mirrors vibrate so much at speed that they're practically useless and living with the Hyper starts to become frustrating. If there is a saving grace for the Ducati, it's that the engine and transmission work so well together. Power delivery is silky smooth and the six cogs require an effortless flick of the ankle to change over. Our only complaint is that the dry clutch is grabby, which makes launches from a green light particularly cumbersome. The Aprilia, meanwhile, proved to be a more comfortable bike to live with on a daily basis. With mirrors placed in a more conventional location with stalks above the bars, making our way through traffic was less of an issue (the bars are wide on both bikes to be honest). The 750cc engine and its flat torque curve seemed every bit as peppy as the Ducati, and if we didn't know any better we'd have no idea the Dorsoduro was carrying a little extra heft. Not only that, but the Aprilia engine also seems to have a wider powerband as opposed to the Ducati, making it easier to carry a gear longer. That's useful, too, as the gearbox on the black bike is the antithesis of the red one. Shifts always felt notchy and finding neutral at a stop was damn near impossible. But that's really the only gripe we could find about the drivetraininline_mediumwraptextrightHere you can see the wide Hypermotard wingspan with the mirrors fully extended. What's worse is you can't see anything with them anyway.24731780/bikes/146_0909_aprilia_dorsoduro_vs_ducati_hypermotard_1100146_0909_07_z+urban_brawlers+hypermotard_fully_extended_mirrors.jpgTrue

Don't look now but BMW is on the charge. Long known for building awkward boxer twins or comfortable inline fours that appeal to the more-ahem-older crowd, if you've purchased a BMW lately chances were likely an AARP membership was also on its way to your mailbox. Nobody wants to be known as that guy and now Bavarian Motor Works is doing something about it. For those who were paying attention, the HP2 line of performance-oriented boxer twins was the proverbial knock on the door to the younger demographic, but this year that door is being busted wide open with the introduction of the company's first superbike, the S 1000 RR, and the revamping of its flagship-the K1200S-into the more powerful K1300S. Both models aimed directly at its Japanese competition. So with the obvious challenge in plain sight, we decided to pit the German challenger against the Japanese king of the mountain-the Suzuki Hayabusa. At this point you've probably noticed a distinct member of the party is missing: Kawasaki's ZX-14. That's no mistake. Past showdowns between the 'Busa and 14 have resulted in the Suzuki edging the Kawasaki in our overall scores mainly because of its handling advantage. Power plants were mainly on par, with the Kawasaki getting a better jump off the line, but the Suzuki has the edge in peak horsepower. The Suzuki won, but by no means was it a blowout. So with one contender out of the way it was time for someone else to try and knock the Suzuki.inline_mediumwraptextright24383248/bikes/146_0909_2009_bmw_k1300_suzuki_hayabusa_comparison_test146_0909_01_z+comparison_test+BMW_suzuki.jpgTrue

Yamaha FZ6R
Now for the wildcard in the group. As the sole four-cylinder machine, Yamaha's FZ6R takes a slightly different approach to welcoming the new(er) rider. Not only is it the only four-cylinder, it's the only one here with full fairings and a windscreen-nice for those jaunts on the highway. We covered the technical aspects of the bike in our First Ride piece (Climbing the Ladder, Jun. '09), but to re-hash-the 599cc inline four that powers the FZ6R first started life as the mill that won a few AMA Supersport titles with the previous generation YZF-R6. Nowadays the engine has been reconfigured to be more civil. We could tell you how but that's really not important. What is important is understanding how and where this engine makes power. Whereas the three twins on the previous pages utilize their torque and prefer to be lower in the rev range, the FZ6R doesn't truly come alive until after 5000 revolutions-which is still slow when compared to all-out supersports-where peak horsepower then takes over. Despite its two extra cylinders, our bike scored the second best fuel mileage rating with an average just under 46 miles per gallon

In The End
By now many of you have already seen other comparisons that show us bucking an obvious trend. And while it'd be easier to avoid controversy and simply join the herd by making the easy choice of basing everything on lap times, we can't overlook all of the data we've compiled over several days of riding the bikes on the street and nearly two days at the track, with a group that provides an excellent cross-section of riding skills, from intermediate to expert. It should be noted that everyone rated all the bikes with their head and not their heart or ego; for instance, even though one tester picked the Honda as his overall choice, his ratings sheet showed the Kawasaki on top in the majority of categories-as did all of SR's testers.inline_mediumwraptextrightMany thanks to all the manufacturers for providing technical support for the track testing portion of our comparison test.22481834/bikes/146_0908_2009_literbike_comparison_test146_0908_35_z+literbike_comparison+track_testing_crew.jpgTrue

Setting Static Sag
One of the most important suspension settings is static sag the amount your bike's suspension compresses when you sit on it. To set static sag, we use Race Tech mastermind Paul Thede's method, which takes into account any stiction in the components. It's essential to have two friends to help-one to hold the bike while the other one measures while you (fully dressed in your riding gear) do the compressing.

The first surprise came when we rolled up our '09 Yamaha R1 test bike onto our digital scales fully fueled and ready to ride. As the numbers settled down on the Intercomp digital readout, we did a double-take at what the LCD display was showing: 477 pounds. Um, wait a minute…477 pounds? That's eight pounds heavier than the previous porker of the class, the '08 Suzuki GSX-R1000, and a stunning 13 pounds heavier than the previous generation R1. How could that be?inline_mediumwraptextright17461988/bikes/146_0907_2009_yamaha_yzf_r1146_0907_01_z+2009_yamaha_YZF-R1+lead_shot.jpgTrue

Power builds smoothly, coming alive at 6500 rpm when the exhaust powervalve is wide open, and accelerates very hard towards the 14,200 rpm redline. Although I couldn't perceive any power jump when the variable intake system switched positions, I did notice the way that the engine starts to slow from 13,700 rpm upwards as the soft-action rev-limiter comes in, accompanied by a couple of brief stutters just to remind you what's going on, before a strange thing happens when you reach the 14,200 rpm peak. The rev-limiter doesn't abruptly cut spark like on other bikes, but instead simply stops building revs and holds a constant engine speed; no matter what you do, 14,200 rpm is all you'll get. While the cassette-type six-speed gearbox's ratios are well chosen, the actual shifting was the one gripe I had with the RSV4. It was hard to make a clean upshift on any of the RSV4s I rode, even after adjusting the eccentric-mounted foot lever.inline_mediumwraptextright28256823/bikes/146_0907_2010_aprilia_rsv4_factory146_0907_11_z+2010_aprilia_RSV4_factory+transmission.jpgTrue

What they'd mainly be doing is twisting the throttle and that's where the Streetfighter excels. Grunt out of corners seems on par with that of the 1098, even if it is slightly down on torque. The lack of top-end steam was noticeable, though the average rider would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Even still, the strong headwind we faced down the fast, full-throttle backstraight might have tainted those impressions. Then again, do you really need much more than 155 horses anyway? At any rate, bringing all that action to a halt has never been a Ducati weak point. Braking duties are shared with the 1098 and feature dual 330mm discs up front, clamped by four-piston monobloc calipers wearing two pads each. A single 245mm disc and twin-piston caliper handle things out back. Initial bite is actually softer than we're used to, but that's a welcome change. Stopping power is still strong as always with good feel at the lever, making modulation during trailbraking that much easier.inline_mediumwraptextrightS model Streetfighters, like the one shown here, benefit from Öhlins suspension, though the Brembo four-piston Monobloc calipers and 330mm discs are identical on both the S and base models. Here you can also see the front wheel speed sensor for the DTC.19229430/bikes/146_0907_2009_ducati_streetfighter146_0907_06_z+2009_ducati_streetfighter+ohlins_suspension.jpgTrue

Willow Springs' 2500-foot altitude tends to rob power, but you wouldn't know it from twisting the throttle on the K9 model GSX-R1000. Although we didn't have a 2008 model on hand for direct comparison, there's no doubt whatsoever that the new K9's top-end has plenty to spare over its predecessor. Grabbing a handful anywhere above 9000 rpm results in literal teleportation to the next corner, and yet the power is very manageable, with no jumps or dips in the powerband. Exploiting that impressive power is made easier by the smooth off/on throttle response that permits earlier and faster corner exit drives no matter what rpm or speed you begin them at. Midrange acceleration seems on par with the previous generation even with the more oversquare engine, although some of that can probably be credited to the shorter primary drive gear ratio (the six gear ratios themselves are identical, however).

There’s no question the face of American road racing changed dramatically when the Daytona Motorsports Group took over leadership of the AMA. In the beginning there was a whirlwind of ideas for classes and directions for the “new” AMA to take. In the end, after endless battles with manufacturers, four classes—American Superbike, Daytona Sportbike, Supersport, and MotoGT—have become the playing fields for this country’s fastest racers.inline_mediumwraptextrightHere you can see just how much space the front fairing of the 1125R takes up--but it works great in a tuck.18810064/bikes/2010/146_2009_Buell_Daytona_Sportbike_1125RBuell 1125R DSB.JPG.jpgTrue

After a few top gear blasts I decided to drop it back a few gears and see what it felt like in the lower gears. After slowing and dropping it into 2nd gear, I pegged the throttle and watched the tach to make sure I didn't miss my shift point. As the tach neared 9000 rpm, I noticed the needle bouncing around as if the clutch was slipping, but after looking in the mirrors I figured out what was really happening. The white smoke and blackie on the road signified that although the clutch was locked up solid, the Avon tire was struggling to manage the 200 horsepower that was being fed to it. Even at highway speeds, the boosted B-King could spin the rear tire at will under heavy throttle and boost.

Unleash The Hounds!
BMW let the American moto-press sample the new K1300S in the mountains above Santa Barbara, California, an environment rich with twisty roads upon which to test out the upgrades instilled into the latest Beemer. The unit we rode was a Premium Package model, so we were able to test the complete BMW acronym soup of ESA II, ASC and GSA.

That's right, seven large is all the FZ6R will set you back and it's available in four colors: Team Yamaha Blue/White, Cadmium Yellow, Raven, and a Pearl White which is aimed directly at you female riders—a segment that's rapidly getting off the passenger seat and jumping at the controls. And while buying a brand new machine is generally not a good idea for a first bike, if you absolutely must then it's hard to overlook the Yamaha. It does everything an entry-level motorcycle should; it's unintimidating, has low-end power that's easily manageable and also has enough in reserve to keep the ride interesting as the miles—and experience—rack up. It's impressive, no doubt, but we'll have to wait and see how it stacks up against Kawasaki's Ninja 650R and Suzuki's new Gladius before we can really call it a winner.

Although the Daytona 675 gets the jump in the 60-80 mph top-gear roll-on due to its monster torque and short gearing, it quickly loses ground to both the Honda (due to its shorter gearing) and the Kawasaki once past 80 mph. The Suzuki (gearing) and the Yamaha (powerband) both bring up the rear.inline_mediumwraptextright16584128/bikes/146_0906_comparison_test_2009_middleweight_smackdown146_0906_26+comparison_test_2009_middleweight_smackdown+roll_on.jpgTrue

There's no doubting that sportbike performance just keeps getting better year after year. Engines gain more power, machines get lighter, handling becomes more agile, suspension is better controlled. As every new bike season unfolds, we're continually amazed at the annual increase in speed. How can they keep getting better?

After winning numerous magazine middleweight shootouts and European national Supersport racing titles since its debut in 2005, one might consider the objective of Triumph's R&D team in making the Daytona 675 better still for 2009 a challenging task. The most evident change is the subtle restyling job carried out by Chris Hennegan, the Triumph factory technician-turned-stylist who designed the original bike. He's replaced the slightly pinched appearance of the previous model's face with a more aggressive and modern appearance to the broader-looking fairing nose, incorporating a revised headlamp and cockpit. But beneath that is an equally uprated performance package, demonstrated by lapping at the tight and twisting Cartagena circuit and on the hillside highways of the rugged Cabo Cope region of Spain. Available in a fetching shade of Tornado Red alongside the Jet Black livery that's topped the sales charts ever since the Daytona was introduced, the '09 Daytona 675 retails for about three percent more than the older model at $9799.

Technology is a many splendored thing. Just look at the ways in which technology has shaped our lives: written letters have given way to emails, cell phones have (almost) made landlines a thing of the past, and who needs a map when you've got a GPS? In many ways, technology has made once arduous tasks more convenient.

No, your eyes aren't fooling you, that really is a Harley-Davidson in the pages of Sport Rider. What is it and what's it doing here you ask? Well, it's the XR-1200 and the reason why it's here is all your fault really. You see, originally H-D designed and built this bike solely for the European market, as the naked sport(y) bike segment is much more popular across the pond than it is over here. When it was released however, dealers from all over this country clamored for it and made their desires known to the company. Not only that, but individuals just like you complained to the folks on Juneau Avenue about how much you really want this bike. Some said how they'd buy it on the cool factor while others said they didn't want a sportbike but weren't ready for a cruiser either. Still, others loved it because of its historical roots. Whatever the reason, H-D felt compelled to listen to its fan base and release the XR-1200 around the world.

You don't want to mess with success. Especially a motorcycling icon like the Monster, a model that not only started a new market segment, but also was almost single-handedly responsible for keeping Ducati out of financial disaster in the late '90s before its TPG takeover. Ever since its debut at the '93 Cologne show, the Monster has consistently been the Bologna factory's top seller, at one point becoming 50 percent of the company's total motorcycle production and even reaching the top of the motorcycle sales charts in the home Italian market in '99 with the M600, a first for Ducati.

Spend five minutes in the saddle of the Guzzi Griso 8V and you may well wonder why they bother; it's heavy, relatively slow and a marginal handler.

If you're a current owner of the Ducati 1098 and are happy with it, I'd suggest you stop reading here. Otherwise you're just going to get mad reading about Ducati's latest offering. Consider yourself warned. For the rest of you who are interested in how Ducati's involvement in World Superbike has helped improve their road-going models, then the 1198 is for you.

When Ducati unveiled it's 09 model lineup we knew something was in the works when the Monster line included only two models-the 696 and 1100, both of which are air-cooled. What of the liquid-cooled line? Surely there would be something to replace the aging S4Rs. The obvious next progression of the Monster was sure to be a 1098-engined model, right? Well, yes, but since the line had received a facelift Ducati decided to revamp the entire model range and do something special for the 1098 power plant. The result is the Streetfighter. In a somewhat unexpected move, Ducati has separated its liquid-cooled and air-cooled lines. Drawing inspiration from caf-racers of the past, the Streetfighter takes its superbike heritage it knows so well and given it a distinctly Italian twist-shedding the fairings, fitting some proper bars, mounting a single headlight and making the bike look genuinely sinister.

BMW's four-cylinder K-bikes all receive a new larger 1293cc engine (from the previous 1157cc), with the 136cc displacement boost achieved via a 1mm bore increase and additional 5.3mm stroke. Connecting rods that are nine grams lighter work with 12-gram-lighter pistons and revised cam timing to give an extra 8.0 horsepower (for a claimed total of 175 at the crank) at 9250 rpm-1000 rpm lower than the 1200-and 7.4 ft-lb more torque (now 103 ft-lb) over the old engine. Also assisting in this area is a redesigned exhaust system utilizing a significantly shorter muffler and an exhaust valve in the collector; weight for the stainless steel unit has dropped from 22.9 pounds to 20.7 pounds, complete with catalytic converter.

The CBR600RR receives some minor updates to help boost midrange power, beginning with a new set of crossover balance tubes on the exhaust header pipes. An "exhaust pressure valve" in the muffler similar in concept to the CBR1000RR's setup also contributes to improved breathing, and a new shot-peening process in the ports helps intake airflow. We've heard reports that these relatively minor changes result in some significant gains in the 8,000-12,000 rpm range. Other changes include new monoblock radial-mount front brake calipers, plus some minor styling changes to the fairing panels. Weight is said to be identical to last year's CBR600RR, which was the lightweight of the 600 class.