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We love a good #Porsche
NAKED SUPERBIKE COMPARISON TEST REVIEW
Three naked superbikes go into the cage. Only one comes out.
An exciting trend is gaining traction, a movement owed much to the fat, smoking burnout laid down by the Cycle World Ten Best winning Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS. Rumors of gnarly nakeds from multiple manufacturers have been brewing ever since the Italian brand raised the stakes with the debut of its RSV4-based super standard two years ago. Speculate no more, as this is the year of the naked, complete with all-new superbike standards leading the way.
Distilling this year’s bumper crop of top contenders has given us three very different engine configurations driving a common theme: red-hot performance tempered with a bit of real-world refinement and comfort.
Entering the cage for a heads-up bout with Aprilia’s 1,000cc V-4 is the inline-four-powered BMW S1000R and a booming 1,301cc V-twin KTM 1290 Super Duke R. Our combatants all weigh within 20 pounds of one another and produce about 150 rear-wheel horsepower. Each features comprehensive electronic rider aids with selectable power delivery modes, traction control, wheelie control, and sport-oriented ABS. BMW takes this a step further with cruise control and suspension featuring DDC (Dynamic Damping Control).
While each bike here packs a knockout punch and enough kicks to go around, there’s no split decision when it comes to title fights in Ten Best balloting. With this in mind, we planned a real-world test route full of mean streets and high mountain passes.
Joining me were the two Ryans, CW testers Ryan Dudek and Ryan Orr. Both are wicked fast on the street and also pro-level dirt riders, a perfect mix of all-around skill for bull-by-the-horns bikes like these. We saddled up and rode east toward California’s Lake Arrowhead in search of the perfect ride. You can’t get anywhere in Southern California without getting brutalized on the freeway. Having a sporty motorcycle that can cope with bumpy and menacing 14-lane-wide superslab is key to survival.
The KTM is the wild animal of the group and growls at you a bit for droning along at freeway cruise. Its engine pulse emits a hint of coarse vibration felt in the grips that, while not an irritant, contrasts with the silky smoothness of the other two. Ergo-wise, the Duke feels narrow, has a bit more leg room, and the shortest reach to the highest handlebar of the three. “The ergonomics are perfect for my 5-foot-10 frame with plenty of room from seat to peg,” Orr noted of the KTM. “The saddle fits well and has great foam to keep the butt alive on those long rides.” Dudek, a lankier 5-foot-11, countered with, “The saddle is wretched—don’t know if it’s the curvature or the forward slope that encourages wedgies.”
While the Aprilia’s firm saddle and rearset peg position make no apology for its superbike heritage (as is true with the others), we found the tapered-aluminum bar offers plenty of lower back relief, though the reach to the bar was farthest.
BMW offers the best of both worlds opined Dudek, who picked it as “the most well-rounded bike and also the most comfortable.” Orr agreed. “The ergos let you sit down into the bike, helping build that confidence that you are one with the road.”
It was a feeling that soon came into play as we took the off-ramp headed for the twisties. For all the miles of cabin-lined roads we traveled riding various paces and trading bikes, the real payoff came on a 5-mile ribbon between Crestline and Silverwood Lake. Repeated runs through this concentration of first-, second- and third-gear corners allowed for back-to-back impressions as we rotated through the bikes.
While KTM’s tractable delivery felt unrivaled with TC toggled off, the proliferation of electronics on these bikes has become the great equalizer. The benefit of a flexible and predictably responsive engine remains, however, as the booming twin delivers a broad spread of torque that nearly negates proper gear selection. “It feels like the rear tire grips the ground with every thump,” Dudek said. “I can be lazy with shifting and it still comes alive right off the bottom.” The flip side is when you let revs rise, and the KTM breathes fire on top.
The Super Duke is also very nimble in turns, nearly to a fault, as Orr discovered. “This bike’s chassis is very responsive to brake or throttle action. It will stand up in the turn on acceleration or tuck in with a hinge feel on braking,” Orr said. While I didn’t find the handling disconcerting, I pride myself in having a fluid technique. Of course, there’s also the softer throttle response of Street mode if needed.
Due to tall gearing and less torque output, the Tuono requires more frequent use of the gearbox. Not such a bad trait, though, since its soul-stirring exhaust note and slick quickshift action rival the exhilaration of squeezing off a clip of M16 rounds. Handling is sharp, precise, and fully track ready with its added degree of chassis tautness and stability, particularly at high speed. While the brakes lack initial bite, there’s plenty of power with a firm squeeze on the lever. The electronics were the most difficult to set quickly, but it’s worth pointing out the added level of adjustment the Tuono offers: eight-level TC, three-level wheelie control, and three-level ABS, each of which can be tweaked within the trio of power-delivery maps.
As the good roads unfolded and the miles piled up, the S1000R began to elicit a pleasant kind of confusion. “The BMW offers the luxury. Wait, I mean performance. Okay, maybe both,” Orr enthused. It’s not surprising, given that the S1000R borrows its sport-oriented tech from the stellar HP4. On-the-fly selection of four ride modes (Dynamic Pro, Dynamic, Road, and Rain) instantly affects throttle response, traction control, wheelie control, ABS/anti-rear-lift, and DDC. Another bar switch toggles among Hard, Normal, and Soft DDC settings.
On this particular stretch of road I liked a Dynamic Mode/Hard DDC combo. The direct throttle response combined with modest TC/anti-wheelie intervention allowed just enough corner-exit drama to make me feel like a hero without risk of taking it too far.
“This bike rocks!” Orr said. “It’s faster than heck, but you can use the power it has. The traction control is well dialed in, and in the right mode you can drop the hammer and it delivers that power straight to the ground.” Dudek picked it as his favorite as well, citing its superior comfort and handling. By the time I had descended the mountain on my final stint and spilled onto Interstate-15, the decision was unanimous. Giving the BMW two thumbs-up, I switched to Road Mode, Soft DDC, flicked on the heated grips to low, and set the cruise control for the smooth drone home.
KTM 1290 Super Duke R
KTM 1290 Super Duke R ABS 2015
FERRARI PHANTASIA
Looking at press images of the new ‘La Ferrari’ hypercar, we couldn’t help but notice the resemblance to the 250P5/6 Pinin/Ferrari concept from way back in 1968.
We’ve said before how the period of the late sixties and early seventies were so ridiculously groundbreaking in terms of car design – but now we can really see how the strides that were taken around 45 years ago in the Carrozzeria of northern Italy really were building up a supply of outlandish future truths.
The tech is ludicrously honed, but the format V12 in the rear and scissor/gullwing doors, with a plethora of scoops, wings, louvres and intakes – is the same as was dreamt up back in those psychedelic days.
Apparently this body was, however, developed in-house at Ferrari and was woven into the race programme and tempered by the engineering department too.
Good design last decades; and now the tech has caught up with the dreams of designers, of the summer of love and beyond.
HONDA NSX: THE FIRST TIME
You never forget your first time.
Since my first drive in a Honda NSX 15 years ago I’ve driven maybe half a dozen others: earlier 3.0-litre cars; the raw, empty, fabulous NSX-R; the post-2002 cars that lost the pop-up lights.
But that week in an early 3.2, black with the manual ‘box and the targa-top, will remain one of my seminal motoring experiences.
I remember every detail.
I remember the excitement every time I walked up to it, keys in hand, knowing this thing was mine to get into and drive. I remember the proper supercar looks; the pop-up lamps, the waist-high roofline, the wedgy, cab-forward stance and that lovely line where the tail sinks under the subtle spoiler.
But it didn’t scare like a supercar: Honda forgot to make it a pain in the ass to drive in town, or snappy and unpredictable at the limit or in the wet like other mid-engined supercars of the era, and particularly Ferraris.
Instead the visibility was great and the drivetrain about as challenging to drive smoothly as a Civic’s at town speeds.
It wouldn’t make you look stupid trying to park or nurse it through traffic. But when you were alone on an empty road: oh, dear Lord, it was just electrifying as it howled towards that 8000rpm redline, every gearchange snapping home with machined, oiled precision despite the forces at work, and your brain a little freer to enjoy it all because you knew that the car was working with you, and that if you made a slight misjudgement and had to back off mid-bend it wouldn’t throw you off.
And even though this wasn’t my car, there was a satisfaction in knowing that unlike its rivals, there was probably no limit to the number of times you could nail that redline: it felt as reliable and unburstable as a Civic too, and you never feared a shower of sparks from the back end and a pricey engine rebuild. Which makes a used one all the more appealing.
[via influx.co.uk]
2018 Nissan IDx: What’s 510 in Roman Numerals?
A small, rear-drive coupe making 25 Cars Worth Waiting For, 2015–2018? No way.
We believe that the world will always need affordable rear-drive excellence, and—shockingly, considering the efficiency-minded, regulation-restricted, and somewhat homogenized state of the industry—so do today’s automakers. The 10Best-winning Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ twins, unleashed for 2013, prove the staying power of the concept, and both Chevy and Kia have dipped a toe in the drip pan with their respective Code 130R and GT4 Stinger show cars. Now Nissan seems ready to party, too, having energized last fall’s Tokyo auto show with the surprise debut of two versions of the IDx concept.
Here’s the most important thing about the IDx: Nissan wants to build it. What could derail the entire project is that Nissan currently lacks an obvious platform for this car. Some adapted version of the Z-car’s bones could work, although that architecture would potentially bring too much mass to the IDx.
What the IDx is intended to do is get young adults to stop Snapchatting and start caring about and buying cars. (Or, at least, Snapchat about cars.) To capture youth—not just the demographic, but also its essence—the IDx concept draws some inspiration from a model more likely to be remembered by those kids’ elders: the classic Datsun 510 of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Fans of the 510, a sort of Japanese BMW 2002, will squeal at the upright three-box design and proportions and the wheels—as well as the NISMO version painted to resemble historic BRE 510 racers. Modern driveline tech, such as direct injection, places the car in the present. Nissan says the idea is more homage than retro, but the tie to the past is double-knotted by an Easter egg in the car’s name: DX is 510 in Roman numerals.
A U.S.-spec IDx likely would be powered by the naturally aspirated 1.8-liter four from the Sentra, as well as a 1.6 turbo four in a NISMO spinoff. Transmissions would include a CVT—this is a Nissan, after all—as well as, we hope, manual ’boxes across the range, including performance variants. Yes, that’s variants, plural. Nissan currently applies its hi-po badge in two strata, with NISMO models mostly getting mild upgrades (stickers!) and NISMO RS cars receiving more holistic go-fast makeovers. If the Juke can get an RS version, we see no reason why the IDx wouldn’t, couldn’t, or shouldn’t.
More formal and square-jawed than the Scibaru twins, the IDx is akin to the BMW 2-series coupe, only a lot cheaper. If Nissan gives it the green light, figure on the IDx arriving in 2017 and starting in the low- to mid-$20,000 range. If Nissan really wants to peddle something excellent, it will hawk the IDx in a whole mess of body styles that parallel the 510’s, which was available not only as a coupe, but also as a sedan and a wagon.
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