THROWBACK THURSDAY: Affordable Light Middleweights – COMPARISON TEST Ducati Monster 695 vs. Honda 599 vs. Hyosung GT650R vs. Kawasaki Ninja 650R vs. Suzuki SV650 vs. Yamaha FZ6.

From the August 2006 issue of Cycle World. Los Angeles is a big, beautiful, busy city–emphasis on big and busy. County-wide stats claim 10.2 million residents and 7.5 million registered vehicles. On the congested arteries paving the way here and there, it’s tough going day and night. Best be on a motorcycle, then. And we were. Six lightweight, narrow, affordably priced middleweights, four Twins and two Fours: Ducati Monster 695, Honda 599, Hyosung GT650R, Kawasaki Ninja 650R, Suzuki SV650 and Yamaha FZ6. Packing light, taking with us only what we could carry on our backs, we ventured into the vastness known as the L.A. basin to see the sights, smell the smells, experience the excellence, determine the best citybike for the buck. First stop LAX, the world’s fifth-busiest airport, said to contribute $60 billion annually to the Southern California economy. After just an hour on the Hyosung, I welcomed the chance to stretch my legs. Even in their lowest position, the adjustable footpegs are high, the seat thin and the clip-on-style handlebars low. Maybe we would we have been better off with the less-costly GT650 with its tubular handlebar and more upright riding position… Not familiar with Hyosung? Neither were we. The South Korean company was founded in 1952, began making motorcycles in 1978 and is now shipping a full line of machines–ATVs, cruisers, scooters and sportbikes–stateside. A “technical relationship” with Suzuki established in the late Seventies explains why the GT-R’s carbureted 647cc engine is a dead-ringer for the SV650’s liquid-cooled, 90-degree V-Twin. Our GT-R arrived in a crate, minor assembly required. Right off the bat, criticism was fierce. “Next to the Hyosung, the Suzuki looks like a piece of artwork,” carped Executive Editor Mark Hoyer. “Everything on this bike is a tick off the standard set by the Japanese,” added Associate Editor Blake Conner. There were mechanical misgivings, too. The left clip-on was loose in its mount. Ditto the seat. Though company literature claims race-readiness if the pads are upgraded, the floating, twin-piston, pin-slide brake calipers are unbranded and mounted on dodgy-looking stampings. The rubber-covered footpegs look like circa-mid-Eighties Yamaha cast-offs. At least the tires–Bridgestone Battlax radials in the same 120/60-17 and 160/60-17 sizes fitted to the other Twins–are a known quantity. We were pleasantly surprised by the Hyosung’s performance on the CW dynamometer, where it produced a respectable 65.2 horsepower and 42.9 foot-pounds of torque–1.5 hp more than the Kawasaki (but 1.6 ft.-lbs. less) and only 4.3 hp and 2.4 ft.-lbs. less than the smoother- and quieter-running, fuel-injected SV650. Weighing-in 43 pounds heavier than the Ninja 650R, the only other fully faired bike in the shootout, hurt acceleration. Top speed–130 mph–was average. After swapping bikes, we headed for Venice–the Coney Island of the Pacific–known around the world for its street performers and funky atmosphere. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger first came to prominence here, pumping iron at Muscle Beach. A morning marine layer kept sun worshippers to a minimum, not to mention editorial ogling. Local resident and Hollywood stuntman Tom McComas, brought along for the 411 on All Things L.A., deftly led us through the labyrinth of side streets and alleys. “I love commuting on a motorcycle in L.A.,” McComas yelled over the din of passing cars at a traffic light. “If I had to drive a car all the time, I’d go crazy.”

	UPS	DOWNS
Ducati Monster 695	Lightest dry weight, lowest seat height Still stylish after all these years Service intervals extended to 7500 miles	Highest price, least cornering clearance Late engagement on otherwise nice clutch Plastic gas tank rules out magnetic tankbags

Six-foot-plus in his Alpinestars, McComas felt “instantly comfortable” on the Yamaha FZ6, one of two inline-Fours (the other being the Honda 599, reintroduced to the U.S. market this year with an inverted fork and a restyled instrument cluster) and far and away the quickest, fastest, most powerful bike here. The FZ also has a comfortable seat (with the second-tallest height), a broad, protective half-fairing and feels most like a full-size motorcycle. “If I were going to buy one of these bikes, my choice would probably be the Yamaha,” said Mike Monticello, Feature Editor at our sister publication Road & Track and owner of a Honda CBR900RR and a street-legal KTM 300 E/XC. “My fiancé loves to ride on the back of any motorcycle, and the FZ6’s strong engine and excellent suspension make it the most suitable for two-up travel.” Conner agreed. “The FZ6 is without a doubt the most versatile bike here. It’s a great commuter, a weekend canyon carver and even a decent sport-tourer. The upright riding position and wind protection make this bike the choice for highway stints and longer durations in the saddle. Seat height, however, could be a bit much for shorter, less-experienced riders.” On the downside, the fuel-injected engine is buzzy to the point of being annoying, and the powerband, with its 13,000-rpm-plus redline, is a bit peaky for the likely intended buyer. The biggest letdown, though, is glitchy off/on throttle response. “Just when you want the engine to respond smoothest–settling the chassis on corner entry after releasing the brakes–the power comes in abruptly,” Hoyer noted. Clutch action and feel, however, are as good as the silky-shifting transmission. By late morning, talk had turned to lunch. Ride to eat and eat to ride, right? McComas suggested two Hollywood favorites: Pink’s, a family-owned hot-dog stand opened in 1939, located at the corner of Melrose and La Brea; and, a couple blocks away on Santa Monica Boulevard, one block east of Highland, Benito’s–L.A.’s Original Taco Shop. We opted to shoot photos at the former and eat at the latter. “There are plenty of expensive restaurants in L.A.,” McComas said between bites, “but I’d rather be at Benito’s eating a carne asada burrito.” After lunch, we again swapped seats, posing for more photos near Echo Park before heading cross-town on the Golden State Freeway en route to Burbank for a taping of “The Tonight Show” at NBC Studios. For this type of riding, the Kawasaki Ninja 650R was an instant favorite.

	UPS	DOWNS
Honda 599	Sweet-running engine with racing pedigree Fits riders of all sizes First-class fit and finish	Premium price Cold-blooded on cool mornings Only available in Metallic Black

“Probably the bike I would most recommend to a beginner,” said Hoyer. “It feels light and narrow, is easy to steer at low speeds and the engine runs great in the midrange. Light suspension damping front and rear gives the bike a smooth ride on rough city streets and freeways, and the full fairing provides good wind protection without buffeting the rider.” Both Conner and Monticello found the Kawasaki’s ergonomics too tight for their tastes. “The seating position is comfortable, although the handlebar is really pulled back and narrow, making the cockpit feel cramped,” noted 5-foot-11 Conner. Also earning high marks in city going were the 599 and the SV650, both of which flick in and out of traffic easily. Conner went so far as to call the latter the best bike overall for urban situations. “The Suzuki is light, nimble, easily parked and feels the slimmest when splitting lanes,” he said. As with the FZ6, the SV650 is sensitive to throttle inputs. “Delicate throttle control required,” warned McComas. Still, the engine won friends. “The personality of this engine is as good as any Twin out there,” said Hoyer. “It sounds good and makes great power.” That power is readily accessible, too, unlike with the 599 and FZ6, which make you wait for the revs to build. Likewise always at the ready is the air-cooled V-Twin of the Monster 695. An early-release 2007 model, the Ducati is essentially the previous-generation 620 powered by a new, short-stroke version of the 803cc S2R mill. On the dyno, we saw gains of 6 horsepower and 4 foot-pounds of torque. Even so, only the Hyosung was slower 0-60 mph and through the quarter-mile. As for top speed, the Ducati ranked dead last. Of course, numbers don’t tell the entire story. “The 695 is smooth and torquey for its size,” lauded Conner. “At times, the engine doesn’t feel like it’s pulling as hard as you might like, but if you discipline yourself to let it chug out of the corners it will pay off.” “Lively engine with great sound,” added Hoyer.

	UPS	DOWNS
Hyosung GT650R	Competitive power, surprising handling Damping-adjustable fork A full fairing for less than $6K?!	Box-of-rocks transmission No track record Dealer network? What dealer network?

Though the riding position is more aggressive than any other bike aside from the Hyosung, it was universally liked, with one exception: the seat. “I like the low handlebar position, as it strikes a good compromise around town and on backroads,” said Monticello. “But the seat forces me to sit farther forward than is acceptable.” McComas was more forthright. “Your balls roll right into the tank,” he said. “It’s really uncomfortable.” Full-on VIP treatment–and comfy theatre-style seating–awaited us at NBC. Parking normally reserved for a single stretch limousine was space aplenty. Across the lot sat show host Jay Leno’s 1924 Bentley, its twin-turbocharged 8.5-liter Six good for 400-plus hp. We were ushered backstage, then to the green room, where we attempted to straighten our wrinkled clothes and mussed hair. Hoyer even managed to dig a collared shirt from his overstuffed tankbag. It was a great show. Guests were Patricia Heaton, the Emmy-winning star of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” comedian Larry The Cable Guy, with music from Jada Pinkett Smith and her band Wicked Wisdom. Afterward, we were invited on stage for photos with Leno, who asked if we’d like to follow him back to his “garage” at the Burbank Airport. No need to ask twice, Jay… After showing us around his ever-expanding facilities, filled with many beautiful and collectible bikes and cars, Leno eyeballed our machines. “You know,” he began, “it’s just hard to connect with modern bikes in a mechanical sense. My Vincent only has 55 horsepower, but it has a lot of torque, and I connect with it. I can make it better and myself better. These bikes, they’re so good, there’s nothing you can do to them, other than ride them, which sounds dumb, I know.

	UPS	DOWNS
Kawasaki Ninja 650R	Mountainous midrange Sporty styling Priced right Leno likes it	Cramped cockpit Vague front-end feel Front brakes could benefit from more bite Where’s the naked version?

“I kinda grew up, you buy a bike, then you put the twin-carb setup on it, you sort of ease your way up,” he continued. “Like the Buell that I’ve got in there. I bought it, then we built the full-race motor–130 hp at the rear wheel. It has such personality, you know?” I asked Leno his opinion of the Hyosung. “It’s Korean, right?” he responded. “Is it a 650 or 750?” “A 650,” I replied. “How much is it?” “Fifty-nine-ninety-nine. Fifty bucks more than the Suzuki.” Leno turned and looked at me. “So why would you do that?” he asked quizzically. Hoyer mentioned higher margins for dealers. Filling the silence, Conner pointed to the instrument panel. “The dash is straight out of ‘Knight Rider,’” he quipped. “Minus the moving light.” “And the charming commentary,” chimed in Hoyer. Leno peered over the windscreen. “It does have a sort of, ‘Your door is ajar, your door is ajar,’ look to it,” he chuckled. “First effort is not bad, though.” Leno sidled up to the Monster. “The Ducati I like because it’s a Ducati,” he said. “Trellis frame and all. I always say that I like any motorcycle I can see through. Like a Vincent. A Harley. Your eye falls to different places.” Then Leno’s eye fell on the EFI throttle-body housing with its exposed cabling. “This really looks half-ass,” he said. “It doesn’t look…artisan. You know there’s supposed to be a big something that goes there to hide that. Every little bit of the Vincent engine is attractive because it has to be. This is not appealing to look at.”

	UPS	DOWNS
Suzuki SV650	Pure unadulterated fun Great motor Most “headroom” S-model adds half-fairing and clip-ons for just $500	Undersprung fork Driveline lash Tallest seat height (but narrow midsection)

Moving on, Leno stopped at the Ninja. “The Kawasaki has the most appeal to me,” he said. “I think it’s the prettiest. They’ve done a nice job covering up what they needed to cover up. “There aren’t many modern bikes that are as pretty as old bikes,” he went on. “That era’s not gone. You just have to pay for it. Why would you buy an MV Agusta for $40K when a Kawasaki that costs $11,500 will blow its doors off? You have to look at it like a pair of Prada shoes or something.” Thanking Leno for his time, we headed to West Hollywood for dinner at the casual-cool Mondrian Hotel. McComas led the charge, zipping in and out of traffic on Sunset Boulevard as if he were late for a date with a leggy supermodel. At one point, Hoyer, Conner and I got hung up at a stoplight and missed our turn-off. Two miles later, we pulled over onto the side of the road. Hoyer pulled out his cell phone. “Where are you?” he asked photographer Jeff Allen. “At the Mondrian,” he replied. Hoyer made a mental note of the hotel’s address, stowed his phone, then whipped a U-turn on the Ducati. No big deal on a wide, four-lane road. But on a tight two-laner or in a crowded parking garage, the Monster’s lack of steering lock is a real problem. Dinner at the hotel restaurant, Asia de Cuba, with its Philippe Starck design and fusion menu, was excellent, though a bottle of sparkling water cost three times as much as a gallon of gas. Not counting the $20 Hoyer slipped the maître d’ to get us a table. We’d planned to catch the weekly sportbike get-together at McDonald’s at the corner of Sunset and Western but arrived just as several hundred bikes were pulling away. So we continued downtown to The Standard, standing tall at the corner of South Flower and Sixth. The L.A. Times described the hotel as a “business hotel…for a new generation of businessperson.” Works for us. Rooms are modern, with low-lying platform beds and see-through bathrooms with glass showers. Overnight parking is $25 per vehicle, but, once again, our bikes took up just one space, so we got away with a single charge. Nice.

	UPS	DOWNS
Yamaha FZ6	Most versatile Best suspension Centerstand standard Two-up ready	Engine buzzes, fairing rattles Least playful Jerky throttle response Mirrors offer great view but are a tad too wide for lane-splitting

The next morning, McComas was late rolling out of bed. I asked Hoyer if Tom might have fallen from the swank rooftop bar. “Tom’s a stuntman,” he deadpanned. “He would have made it.” A tour of L.A. would be incomplete without catching sight of the iconic Hollywood sign. Constructed in 1923, the sign is visible for miles from its location atop Mt. Lee. We rolled up steep, twisting Beachwood Canyon, past beautiful homes perched precariously on the near-vertical hillsides, for an unobstructed view–not to mention insight into the Ducati’s slipper clutch. “The lever doesn’t have any provisions for adjustment, which is a problem because the clutch doesn’t completely engage until the lever is at the very end of its throw,” said Conner. “It’s something that an owner would likely get used to but could be a real pain for someone with smaller hands.” Back on Sunset, we made our way toward the ocean, past ritzy Beverly Hills and even ritzier Bel-Air. Great road, smooth and rolling, shame about all the Rolls-Royces, Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes plodding through the corners. Once on Pacific Coast Highway, we sped north, toward Malibu and lunch at Duke’s, which, like Venice the day prior, was swathed in cool, dense fog. The canyon roads that snake through the surrounding Santa Monica mountains are every bit as famous as the names that grace the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame–at least to bike nuts like us. It’s also where we were finally able to determine an overall winner. Big surprise was the Hyosung, even if it finished last in everyone’s book. “The expectation, I think, was that the GT-R was going to be truly terrible,” opined Hoyer. “In fact, it worked quite well. Yes, the transmission is vague, high-effort and even pops out gear occasionally, the brakes and clutch have zero feel, and fit and finish leave a lot to be desired. But overall function is not tragically far behind its Japanese counterparts.”

Getting the lowdown from Jay Leno: When "The Tonight Show" host retires in three years, he'll have more time to devote to his ever-expanding bike and car collections. Scary thought.

No first-place votes for the Monster 695, either. “The Ducati is immediately out of contention for top honors,” said Monticello. “With the late-engaging clutch and limited steering lock, it’s simply not happy within the confines of the city. In the canyons, it drags metal bits sooner than the others.” “I think for a less-experienced rider with sporting intentions, the Ducati is the best starting point,” countered Hoyer. “Sure, the suspension is really underdamped and cornering clearance the most limited of the group, but the way this thing hunkers down on the road is great.” The Kawasaki and the Yamaha, while great bikes in their own right, were criticized for their lack of character. “Both work well, but neither is a blast to ride,” said Conner. Everyone liked the Honda, McComas even picking it as his overall favorite. “The Honda flat works,” he said. “The suspension is the best of the bunch, the clutch works perfectly, the brakes are great and the CBR600F3 engine makes enough power to loft the front wheel.” “The bulletproof engine is a known quantity,” added Conner, “but the chassis really impressed me. It’s sporty without being too racy. This is the bike that I would buy if I were spending my own money.” “The Honda would be my top pick if it could be had for the price of the Suzuki,” said Hoyer. “It’s smooth, fast, fun and refined.” Yes, it is. But so is the Suzuki. And as Hoyer pointed out, it costs far less than the Honda. In fact, it’s the least-expensive bike here. “The Suzuki wins in my book for offering the most fun and versatility for the money, or bang for the buck,” said Hoyer. “While I feel that the Honda’s suspension is superior (fork in particular), for the $1450 I would save buying the Suzuki I could buy cartridge fork internals and revalve the shock.” “The best thing about the SV,” added Conner, “is that it’s a great entry-level motorcycle, yet an experienced rider can cut loose and ride the wheels off it.” We all wish life were a winding country road with little or no traffic. In reality, it’s not. For real fun–and real life–we have the Suzuki SV650.

SPECIFICATIONS - Part 1
	Ducati Monster 695	Honda 599	Hyosung GT650R
PRICE	$7495	$7399	$5999
DRY WEIGHT	400 lb.	426 lb.	463 lb.
WHEELBASE	58.8 in.	56.0 in.	56.5 in.
SEAT HEIGHT	30.5 in.	30.8 in.	31.1 in.
FUEL MILEAGE	43.2 mpg	38.5 mpg	36.0 mpg
0-60 MPH	4.0 sec.	3.5 sec.	4.2 sec.
1/4 MILE	12.48 sec. @ 106.8 mph	11.90 sec. @ 110.62 mph	12.84 sec. @ 102.22 mph
HORSEPOWER	64.5 bhp @ 8600 rpm	82.3 bhp @ 11,900 rpm	65.2 bhp @ 8800 rpm
TORQUE	42.3 ft.-lbs. @ 6700 rpm	42.1 ft.-lbs. @ 9700 rpm	42.9 ft.-lbs. @ 7300 rpm
TOP SPEED	119 mph	135 mph	130 mph

SPECIFICATIONS - Part 2
	Kawasaki Ninja 650R	Suzuki SV650	Yamaha FZ6
PRICE	$6299	$5949	$6799
DRY WEIGHT	420 lb.	407 lb.	437 lb.
WHEELBASE	55.5 in.	56.7 in.	56.6 in.
SEAT HEIGHT	31.4 in.	32.1 in.	32.0 in.
FUEL MILEAGE	44.8 mpg	38.5 mpg	40.2 mpg
0-60 MPH	3.8 sec.	3.6 sec.	3.4 sec.
1/4 MILE	12.44 sec. @ 103.81 mph	12.27 sec. @ 104.72 mph	11.73 sec. @ 114.64 mph
HORSEPOWER	63.7 bhp @ 8700 rpm	69.5 bhp @ 8900 rpm	88.6 bhp @ 12,000 rpm
TORQUE	44.5 ft.-lbs. @ 7200 rpm	45.3 ft.-lbs. @ 7200 rpm	42.1 ft.-lbs. @ 10,100 rpm
TOP SPEED	128 mph	126 mph	141 mph

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