Top 10 Favourite Motorcycles (Streetfighters)

Now we're talking. The pièce de résistance.

I love naked bikes. Especially streetfighters. Similar to the Cafe Racer's of the 50's and 60's, in essence, these started out as a subculture in the 80's and 90's where guys would race their sportbikes, but couldn't afford to replace the non-essential body fairings when they laid down or crashed their bikes. So, they would just strip it all off and ride without. They evolved over the years, to where guys would add custom headlights and taller, motocross-style handlebars to make it so you didn't have to hunch over the bike as much (and also so you could more easily pull wheelies). Eventually manufacturers took notice and started offering them right from the factory, starting with the iconic Triumph Speed Triple in 1994.

And it is with this underground heritage that the spirit of the bikes remain in their current factory offerings to this day: powerful engines, with minimal bodywork, and an upright, comfortable riding position.

The thing I don't get though, is here in North America they just don't sell. In fact, so poor are our naked purchasing numbers, that often bike companies don't even bother sending them over here, as the sales often don't outweigh the cost of getting the bike approved for safety and emission's regulations. In Europe these are the most popular style of bike by far. I just don't get it. No one really ever rides their supersport at the track, so why wouldn't they want similar performance only with way more comfort and often a list price thousands of dollars less than the equivalent supersport? Society confuses me sometimes…

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10. Suzuki SFV 650 Gladius

Engine: 645cc V-Twin
Power: 66.6 hp
Torque: 46.5 ft lbs
Weight: 446 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $8299

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9. Aprilia Shiver 750

Engine: 749.9cc V-Twin
Power: 95 hp
Torque: 59.7 ft lbs
Weight: 416.7 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $9995

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8. Aprilia Tuono V4 R

Engine: 999.6cc V4
Power: 164.9 hp
Torque: 82.2 ft lbs
Weight: 403 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $15,695

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7. Ducati Monster 1100 Evo

Engine: 1078cc L-Twin
Power: 100 hp
Torque: 76 ft lbs
Weight: 373 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $13,495

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6. KTM 990 Super Duke R

Engine: 999cc V-Twin
Power: 123 hp
Torque: 75.2 ft lbs
Weight: 410.1 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $14,398

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5. Honda CB1000R

Engine: 998cc Inline Four
Power: 123 hp
Torque: 73 ft lbs
Weight: 489 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $13,999

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4. BMW F800R

Engine: 798cc Parallel Twin
Power: 87 hp
Torque: 63.4 ft lbs
Weight:390 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $10,150

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3. Triumph Speed Triple

Engine: 1050cc Inline Triple
Power: 133 hp
Torque: 81.9 ft lbs
Weight: 471 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $13,495

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2. Ducati Streetfighter 848

Engine: 849cc L-Twin
Power: 132 hp
Torque: 69 ft lbs
Weight: 373 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $13,995

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1. MV Agusta Brutale 1090 R

Engine: 1078cc Inline Four
Power: 144.2 hp
Torque: 82.6 ft lbs
Weight: 418.9 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $15,995

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It was a tough decision to leave the Kawasaki Z1000 off this list. I mean, by all accounts, it's a really great bike - one of the best - but I just can't get over the styling. Much like the KTM Adventure a few weeks back, it's just too big of a issue for me to get past. Looks matter, and the Z1000 just isn't for me.

Speaking of looks, I definitely miss the iconic twin headlights that used to be on the Speed Triple. The new ones aren't horrible, but it will take me a while to get used to them. It's like seeing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. But, it is the original factory streetfighter - and without it, we might not be seeing any of the bikes on this list - so I suppose it can do whatever the hell it damn well pleases.

That said, in terms of an actual streetfighter, only the Aprilia Tuono and Ducati Streetfighter (go figure) really stay true to the original theory, as the Tuono is really just a RSV4 with the fairings taken off, and the Streetfighter is essentially the same as the 848 supersport. All the other bikes on the list aren't really based on anything else, and were created from the ground up, which definitely isn't how the subculture was started.

So of course this makes the die-hard purists cry foul - claiming that really that means none of these bikes are actually streetfighters (even the Aprilia and Ducati have their engines tweeked slightly from their supersport brothers). In their minds, nothing stock from the factory can be considered a real streetfighter, since, in it's essence, a streetfighter must be altered from something else to truly bare that title. Sort of like if Chevrolet released a car and simply called it the Chevrolet Hotrod, when really, a hotrod by definition is an alteration of a pre-existing car.

I personally don't care one way or the other. Call 'em what ever you like: 'streetfighter' , 'naked' or even 'performance standard'. All I know is that they are easily my favourite bikes on the planet. And with very few exceptions, I would take them over a pure sportbike any day of the week.