[Guest]

Sorry if this has already been posted elsewhere... MotorCycle News (UK) has a 'massive super naked test' (which turns out to be about bikes, unfortunately) in the April 11 issue...

S3 up against:

Aprilia Tuono 1000R Factory
Ducatic S4RS Testastretta
KTM 900 Super Duke
Bimota DB6 Delirio
MV Augusta F4 Brutale 910R
Benelli TNT 1130 Sport
Morini Corsaro 1200 Veloce
BMW K1200R
Yamaha FZ1
Kawasaki Z1000

I've put a scanned copy up (4.5MB PDF) at www.fingermouse.net/scans/mcn_april2007.pdf

 

[ruscook]

Ta, that's my "read" for tomorrow night

 

[kartstar]

Finger, I can't get your link to work - my computer or yours?

 

[Guest]

Hmm... try the link again - I've changed the file location.

You can see the accompanying video direct on the MCN site here... but it's a bit crap.

 

[Hooligan]

Thanks for posting that up...I right clicked on it and did the "Save target as..." thing. Worked fine.

 

[Devious2xs]

Thanks Fingermouse!

Interesting read.

kjazz put it very well in the thread about the Suzuki.

To me, a bike (especially a naked) should have a 'classic' quality that will look good a decade after it stops being sold. It should not have a dated or fad-ish look the minute it is released. Part of a 'classic' look takes a clean chassis and engine, and adds a few retro hints from the past, and then molds very clean lines that seperate it from the others.

If you look at the bikes in the MCN UK test that Fingermouse copied and posted (thanks again Fingermouse), you see that several manufacturers are chasing the same look.

Triumph took a good suspension design and added solid items that tuned it for good street manners, and added very good brakes (especially in later S3s). The 1050 engine is not a race piece, but it does make for excellent street manners that many find easy to use and abuse.

THIS is what makes for a classic bike, now and in the future.

With the aftermarket manufacturers now jumping in with both feet, we (the owners) can make the bike even more fun.

 

[ruscook]

Thanks fingermouse - as per the "other site" message I've also put this on my S3 site to share the d/l's http://bikes.no-ip.info/S3

 

[Guest]

for some reason you need the new adobe reader for it to open instantly! but one hell of an article. sean

 

[slack_cat]

Nice article. Thanks for posting.

 

[smashtime]

Thanks for the article, great read.

But...

Why do we need an article to validate what we all already know? Personally, I like the fact that no one really knows what an S3 can do. The unknown, the dark horse, if you will.....

 

[Devious2xs]

Why do we need an article to validate what we all already know?

Smash - Think of the article(s) as enemy intel. It is nice to see comparisons to bikes I would never have test ridden.

Fingermouse - When you installed the Zard in your avatar, did you have any problems with the cat? Did you install it sans-cat?

 

[Si Clare]

Thanks Fingermouse. I nearly bought an Aprillia Tuono earlier this year, but luckily for me, i test rode the s3 1050 and the rest is history.

 

[APtech77]

I find the SPEED TRIPLE......just OK.....LOLOLOLOLOL :laugh:

 

[Guest]

Fingermouse - When you installed the Zard in your avatar, did you have any problems with the cat? Did you install it sans-cat?

Initially tried to do it with the cat - but after a lot of unnecessary aggravation, some threatening behaviour with various workshop tools removed it fairly easily. It wasn't improving performance or efficiency anyway. :violent1:


(Are we talking about the same thing here?)

 

[Devious2xs]

The black fuzzy part in your avatar?

 

[dfib]

So installing a cat may not be all bad? How about more than one. I want to try it but am afraid of strange me-owing noises at high speeds and after warm-up. ;D

 

[Guest]

Mine has a tendency to detatch from the bike and quickly accelerate to high speed as soon as I press the starter button, so I haven't yet discovered what happens after warm up.

The bike seems to run fine without it, though, so I don't think I'll attempt to install the cat permanently onto the bike. I hear that the handling ends up changing rapidly from smooth and harmless to very sharp and upredictable if restrained.


Where on earth is this topic going?

 

[Devious2xs]

With the cat mounted, will the bike land on its tires if dropped?

Does it run like a 'scalded cat'?






And veering WAY off topic.... :horse:

 

[HiVel]

A lady down the street from me has a "cat house"-is that related to this type of exhaust cat??

 

[jsek29]

Though I agree with everything they say in the article (about the S#, haven't ridden any of the other bikes in the comparo), I would like to see a comparo done by an outfit a little less geographically biased. The last two articles I have read that extole the virtues of the S3 have both been from British mags. This seems a little too convenient to me. I would be interested in seeing what an Italian mag has to say in such a comparison, just for kicks. Really though, a US based mag would maybe provide a more objective look at all the different bikes. And I agree with Devious, this is just a nice way to get more intel on bikes I haven't, and probably won't get to ride. :afro: :afro: :afro: