As if the supernaked scene wasn’t already mental enough, 2020’s seen the addition of three new 160+bhp head-bangers. We got these six weapons together and gave them a damn good seeing-to.

WORDS: BOOTHY

IMAGES: CHAPPO

This year is shaping up to be pretty memorable, and for more reasons than one. You can choose from the plethora of valid reasons why you want to remember it – but for us it’s easy; 2020 will be the year that the already super-strong supernaked sector was bolstered by the addition of some utterly exciting updates and some next-level new models for us to feast our eyes, and our bottoms, on.

These brand new models of which I speak came in the shape of Ducati’s winged wonder weapon, the Street Fighter V4S and Kawasaki’s supercharged sensation, the Z H2. They might be the new kids on the block but by now, neither needs much of an introduction as not only have their respective manufacturers been shouting about them from the rooftops, so have we!

Bruce was lucky enough to take the £16,149 Kawasaki Z H2 for a blast at its launch event in Vegas earlier this year and couldn’t get enough of that bonkers, supercharged engine. I managed to blag a go on the new Ducati Street Fighter just before the world started melting thanks to the 2020 plague and was more than suitably impressed not only with its speed, but its composure too. So as far as the all-new noughties were concerned, we had some idea of what we were letting ourselves in for.

In the updated-for-2020-but-not-brand-new category sit the £15,699 KTM 1290 Super Duke R and the £16,999 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory. Apart from electronic suspension and a few bits of carbon fibre, the Tuono hasn’t really changed much, but it’s come up trumps in plenty of Fast Bikes mag road tests and has, for a number of years, been the bike to beat – so why fix what isn’t broken? The KTM, on the other hand, had some serious updates. Its chassis is lighter (yet stiffer), so too are its wheels and engine, so the bike that KTM call The Beast is sure to put up as strong a fight as ever.

Stalwarts of the supernaked class, and at the bargain basement (comparatively) end of the spectrum, are the Yamaha MT-10 SP and the BMW S 1000 R, priced at £11,299 and £11,570 respectively. They might be a few years old now but both are packing plenty of power, plenty of tech and we know from first-hand experience that they’ll be putting a smile on our faces and keeping the newer, more expensive steeds honest. To find out whether the all-conquering Tuono could be bested, Dangerous Bruce and I plotted a course, taking in our favourite test routes with as many demanding roads, and of course cake shops, as we could find. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it, and here’s how we got on…

YAMAHA MT-10 SP

Clash of the heavyweights.

BRUCE’S BLUFF

The MT-10 might be five years old (three years in the SP’s case), but its CP4 motor still feels majestic. It blends the excitement of a four-cylinder with the torquey joys of a twin, which means ridiculously paced acceleration is never a concern. Yeah, I’ve got a lot of love for that motor and the MT-10 in general. I’d say it’s weathered time relatively well, still making for a desirable machine because of its good levels of performance, comfort and handling. It’s a little on the chunky side (especially in the switchgear department), but in terms of sheer ride quality, the Yamaha is pretty banging.

The tech is good and although you can’t turn the ABS off through conventional channels, that’s not to say it’s impossible. Do so and the Yamaha becomes even more fun, which is what this bike is largely about. I’ve done a lot of miles on these in the past and the one thing to note is the fuel range isn’t the greatest, which becomes a little frustrating on longer distances. With that in mind, it’s best to just keep it local, maxing this thing out on your favourite B-roads. It can cut it on track but the bike has a top- heavy feel to it, which can make it seem a little cumbersome at big lean. The only other thing to watch out for is the aggressive throttle pick-up. The fuelling is spot-on, but the way this thing fires forward at the minimal of throttle touches can catch you out - it’s not for the faint hearted.

The MT-10 SP is a bike that I am more familiar with than most, thanks to my having one as a long-termer last year. They say familiarity breeds contempt, don’t they? Well it doesn’t in the case of the MT; what a bike it proved to be last year. Like all things MT, the MT-10 is a seriously cool cat. In fact in the MT world it’s the biggest, fastest cat going. Like a Siberian tiger crossed with a cheetah… with a bit of Top Cat thrown in for good measure. But it was always going to be, thanks to that 1000cc CP4 lump, courtesy of the latest ‘big-bang’ YZF-R1.

Bikes don’t come a whole lot more striking than the MT-10, with its bulky stature giving it quite the imposing stance. It’s different, but I like the way it looks – I think bikes that mean business should look like they mean business, and the big Yam definitely does on both counts. And things don’t change when you swing a leg over the thing, either. The MT feels like a proper whopper, and a real man’s bike with a big wide tank and handlebars. Even before I set off on the MT, it made me feel king of the road.

Once I reminded myself of how the MT’s electronic functions worked, I set the power mode to ‘1’ and turned the traction control system off. I couldn’t help myself. And the memories continued to come flooding back to me when I sparked the big crossplane cranked motor up. Fond memories.

With the MT’s plain-looking (yet reasonably neat and tidy) stock exhaust, the motor wasn’t as aggressive sounding as some of the other bikes in this test, but its bark definitely wasn’t a true reflection of its bite. From as low as 3000rpm, the grunt that the Yam offers is explosive. And after the first explosion of power, there is another, and another, and another, every time you open the throttle. It’s like someone’s blown some TNT up using Semtex… in a dynamite factory.

Does it endo? We’ll let you be the judge.

I reckon his brakes are sticking.

And I’m sure anyone who has ever wheelied an MT-10 will agree with me when I say that there may be no other bike in the world which is better to wheelie. The masses of lowdown grunt mean getting the front up in the air is a piece of cake, wherever you are in the rev range. Because the riding position is so far forward, you do seem a long way up when you are hoisting proper mingers, which can be a bit unnerving at first, but you soon get over it – it’s a full-fat wheelie machine.

The MT does have one of the more ‘over the handlebars’ type riding positions, compared with the other bikes on this test, which has its advantages and disadvantages. The riding position felt pretty sporty, so when we got to the twisty roads, the MT was more than happy for us to get down and dirty and burn through some knee-sliders. In fact, wherever we took it on our road ride, the ’10 was really light on its feet. It would turn sharply and hold a line nicely in fast, medium and slow corners alike – I’d go as far as to say that on the road it handled like a half-decent sportsbike. It was quite stiff feeling though, and such was the MT’s insatiable grunt, a big enough bump transferring through the chassis would cause an inadvertent throttle twitch, causing the thing to lurch forward just when you didn’t want it to. This made getting on the gas especially awkward in slower, bumpy corners. In actual fact, when I tried the bike in a less aggressive throttle mode, things in this department were considerably easier, so that’s always an option should you plan on going green-laning on an MT-10.