It's the battle of the naked bikes; Yamaha's MT-10 up against the old school charm of the Ducati Monster 1200R and the new thinking of BMW's S1000R. Is any one really better than the others or is it simply a case of horses for courses?
Why are street bike reviews based on track bike tests? Why are the riders climbing all over when they ride, these are not full on track bikes, I never see them ridden like this, so why review them like they are track bikes?
We have no, none, absolutely zero corners on our mile-high plateau, unless we travel a minimum of 350km in any direction. Sometimes we just don't have time for a 700km round-trip just for some corners. The track we use is tight and twisty, like a mountain pass without the elevation changes. A track is also much safer for us when we push the handling envelope just a bit. We do make mistakes, and a mistake on a track you tend to talk away from. The last innocuous accident I had on the road put me in hospital for a week, broke three bones and gifted me some new metal work. It's that coming to a sudden stop scenario. I have broken 19 bones, I'd rather avoid any more if that's possible. As for riding style, I'm afraid I'm stupid enough to ride like that on the road, too. Even when I don't put my knee on the deck I need to move around the bike to feel comfortable. Years of riding like this mean I just can't do the 'Hailwood' style without feeling like I'm about to crash.
Sounds fair enough, but a little more simulated slow riding with comments/focus on how user friendly bikes are to ride at city/suburb speeds, clutch control etc would be nice , smoothness when on off throttle in traffic, the sort of stuff that would grate on you if you actually owned one and used it, how far you'd get on a tank (could you actually make it to some fun roads without planning in fuel stops), cost of ownership. how comfortable are they to ride without a 100 mph wind holding your body up. We can pretend we buy a bike just for flat out riding, and pub talk stats on power to weight etc. but unless you enjoy the feel of the bike in actual use, using it will be a pain in the arse, and you'll soon grow tired of it. Maybe being from the UK I look for different things in a review.
The truth is, they won't tell you much about the bad points on these main channels. Yamaha, ducati, and BMW wouldn't loan out the bikes very willingly if it cost them sales. Watch shadetree surgeon's video on this topic.
Guys I had a 2010 S1000RR. I traded it 3 years later on the S1000R. For me at least it’s a far better handling bike on the track. Having ridden Phillip Island in Oz, the only time the RR got me was on the straight! So I agree & am blood6 happy with the R👍🏼😎
I find it interesting in these comparisons that no one ever mentions reliability ratings since to me that is extremely a big part of my purchase decision. I've owned everything pretty much out there at one time or another and just recently purchased a 2017 FZ-10. Would never buy a BMW or a Ducati having owned one and I am very familiar with the service departments because of it. Yamaha is rated number one above any other in the world for reliability. That is a huge factor to me.
can't believe the yamaha is more expensive in SA, in the uk it's £2k cheaper than the BMW and £5k less than the ducati, not sure what the exchange rate is.
With my experience with friends' BMW's and exorbitant rate that the bmw dealership (stealership) charges for basically anything keeps me with yamaha. Just picked up a blue '18 mt10 with 1k mi on it for $9700 here in the USA. That's a bargain but I'll need all that extra cash just to buy gas for the pig. I have a new gen mt09 too that has very few miles too. One has got to go.......
Just went to a Yamaha dealership here in Texas and the guy wanted $10,900 US dollars for MT-10. Might have to get one if I can get it in black, it looks great in person!
No. There's no absolute bike because a bike is in essence a matter of compromise. But indeed, YOU can personnally find your absolute best compromise, aka your dream bike.
The Ducati monster did not start the naked bike craze, we as builders 30 years ago were building streetfighters and the companys took this onboard and followed suit
Yamaha the best looking, bmw looks like engineers were not sure which head light better, owner drive it like he installed the wrong headlight lol, that what any 1 sees the bmw the first time feels, wtf wrong head lights.
Mt10 all the way. More character than the bmw, cheaper here in the uk by a long way (£10,800) and more reliable than the ducati. Ducati make excellent riding bikes but there's a reason that few keep them past 10k miles...the elephant in the room that no bike journo wilk talk about. Having ridden the MT10...to hear someone say it has little torque is laughable...there's plenty from any gear at any revs past 3k...what's more it is smoother than either of the others and more accessible. The one drawback of the Yamaha is the tank range and appalling fuel consumption. I emptied a full tank on a test ride! It needs 5 litres more than it has to be practical so where does that leave things? Just my humble opinion but if you want a fast, fun, characterful and practical naked bike go out and buy the bmw r1250 naked instead or the r1200gs or 1250gs. Both have it nailed as a real world blend of ideal power for the road (in the real world and not on track), practicality, character, reliability, handling and build quality. They have it all. I also loved the KTM 990 smt and such a shame ktm drifted from such a real world practical all rounder to the silly tall silly expensive vibey machines they now produce without the reliability of the smt. Of those in the test I'd take the MT10. A bike without character is dull nomatter how good it is on track and a bike that costs a fortune to service and look after like the Ducati is just a wealthy person's plaything.
Best review I've seen by far👏 I know nothing was mentioned about the MT-10 poor fuel capacity but who cares not me personally as its going to be my new toy well the SP version. The guy that rode th MT looks like my old geography teacher but man he can ride a bike, that's exactly what I will be doing on mine.Ive got a gen one FZR1000 fazer had it for many years to think in the UKwhen new it would have been nearly the same price as the MT-10😬 it's a great bike still going strong I just wonder if the MT-10 will have the same longevity? GREAT VIDEO LOVED IT cheers guys regards Pete.🏴🇬🇧🤙
A friend of mine used to own a brand new BM, he is a garage mechanic, his gripe was starting the bike from cold, so much so that he returned the bike to BMW complaining there was a fault, basically when starting the bike from cold he said it sounded like a bag of nails, and being a mechanic felt this was not right, BMWs response was that this was normal? Suffice to say he sold the bike shortly after that!!
Nicholas E Green I have purchased two brand-new BMW motorcycles I have had so many problems with my brand-new BMW motorcycles I can assure you I will never own another another BMW motorcycle 👀 Ever !!!
nicholas green what bmw models did u own ? I bought a new r1200r last year and I've put 17,500 Kms on it so far with zero issues & I ride it hard on twisty back roads here in Ireland daily !!
In what crazy world is the BMW option EVER the cheapest?? Lol, not even in Germany is that true. MT-10/FZ-10is the cheapest virtually everywhere else in the world and I'd say that huge savings makes it the most viable option for the most people. Even MCN agrees with numerous cross-Europe tests comparisons and think the Ducati isn't even in the running for the top 4. It IS striking, however.
Brand-X awesome! I got my 2017 just after launch in the US for $9,200 out the door! No dealer fees and full warranty, new. MSRP in US was $12,999, but a California dealer ordered 12 and after a week hadn't sold 1, 9 of them were this color so they put 2 on cycletrader at their cost jsut to move them and keep dealer allotment. I got mine out of state from there $9,200, insane! Kept 2 years and LOVED every minute buying another. Will look for another out of state deal. 👍👍
John Baldwin I got mine for $9,200 out the door. I live in utah, dual residency in Arizona. I found mine on cycle trader new in California from andealer that ordered too many in grey and dumped 2 at cost, no dealer fees. I got out the door at $9,200 new , full warranty, cost me $175 to ship to utah , registers in Arizona so no taxes so it cost me $9,375! Insane deal. Shop on cycletrader.com search with no distance parameter, sort by low to high. You'll have to ship it but it's cheap and they're so reliable no issues buying sight unseen IF a reputable dealer.
In the UK its £9999 for the MT-10, £10,350 for the S1000R or £11,875 S1000r (sport) which includes cruise control, Dynamic damping control, heated grips, and a lot of other extras like LED indicators, engine cowl or a whopping £15,250 for the Monster 1200r. I've ridden all 3 and personally the S1000r wins, with the Monster 2nd and the Yamaha 3rd. The BMW is the best all rounder, offering an insanely fast bike, incredibly comfortable and silky smooth. The Ducati is heaps of fun, and is good choice for the twistys, the fancy LCD clocks are a bit rubbish, tough to see in direct sunlight. The Yamaha While incredible value for money felt 'cheap' and not as exciting to ride as the other two. The looks are much like the BMW you'll either love or hate it.
The fact that the BMW is cheaper then MT is just crazy to me. Here in Middle East, the MT is about 40%- 50% cheaper then the BMW. If it was the other way around, nobody would even look at this Yamaha. Both are great but BMW is just a higher level bike.
WTF??? "The MT 10 has the only viable pillion capability"! Dafug! I owned an S1,000R when they came out in Australia in 2014 and try to avoid carrying passengers in general because I hate having anyone on the back but, I numerous times took my GF with me with no troubles at all. As soon as the idiot say's that I stop the playback and go watch something else, hopefully something more accurate. EDIT: And BTW, the S1000 R makes a great daily ride too. I did 35,000 kilometers on mine in the first 18 months at age 59 when I bought it. If a beaten and battered from many dirt racing mostly crashes can ride one as a daily ride and clock up those sort of miles, not out of necessity, simply because I never wanted to get off the beastie, then it's obviously a good bike for that TOO.
Why was there no tuono v4 1100 factory here? Seems like most agree that's the greatest Supernaked track weapon? Was shocked in a European show to not see it? Also, I was gonna say an MT10 is cheaper than a Monster R????? I bought mine new in the US at the launch over the tuono v4 1100 factory and superduke R becaue those two , while epic supernakeds are $18,000 here and you can't find a monster R to even debate that one. The FZ10 (MT10 ) has a suggested US retail of $13,000 US ,.. $5,000 LESS than the other two , here's the thing, the Supernaked market is growing here and the fastest growing sales class (nakeds in general) at that BUT becaue it was a first year and some dealers bought so many a few dumped them to keep their allotment high from Yamaha . I got mine new 0 miles , full warranty, NO DEALER fees of ANY kind! Saving about $900 alone but the best part, the dealer ordered 3 black MT10s and NINE grey and yellow thinking they'd sell fast. For some reason I was one of the few here that understood what a naked R1 would be comming from a 2015 R1 prior, how could it go wrong, the ONLY Japanese Supernaked , crossplane 4 front he R1 and all the electronics and parts of the R1 , somehow most MY countrymen missed the memo , this dealer In California had 2 of the 9 listed for $9,200 OT THE DOOR!! No fees, $3,800 LESS THAN MSRP!!! That's MT10 pricing there!!! So technically , I got my new 0 mile MT10 for $8,800 LESS THAN THE OTHER TEO SUPERNAKEDS!! Literally half price ! Deal of my life for sure! That alone made it worth it! While I LOVE THE SDR and the tuono, I could not justify paying double when the MT10 has the R1 crossplane 4 , which when decatted sounds very close to the aprilia v4 (greatest sound on Earth) it's performance specs are nearly identicle to the double priced other two, even better in some tests; like 0-60 mph which for a naked is it's purpose lol the MT10 has THE FASTEST 0-60mph of ANY production motorcycle on earth, ever! 2.4 seconds! Exotic hypercar time! All of this and all the bells and whistles for half the price along with Yamaha reliability, cheapest brand to maintain , service and availability of parts is amamzing not to mention. Dealer on every corner here. Where as aprilia doesn't have a dealer within 1,200 miles of me and obviously aren't known for reliability or cheap repairs and service so while it was up here as a favorite, didn't make sense. Oh and I don't like the tail at all on the base tuono, the rsv tail on the factory his the only way to go, wish the MT10 would have done the R1 tail likewise, the factory also has the best components on earth as well . For me and my poor mans wallet , my skill level couldn't get any more out of the SDR or tuono at a track to make it worth twice the price. And if you're worried about the 15 less hp, (even tho the MT10 is the quickest on earth) reflash the ecu and decat it totaling $400 and your over those hp numbers. Had it 2 years and of the 13 bikes I've owned , all supersports , my first supernaked was by far my favorite and I'm quicker around the track on it than my R1, a personal problem I'm sure. But wheelies for days! Powerup in 1-5th! Yeah! Must say I'm so jealous of the rest of the world getting the SP! The tuono Factory version of the MT10, I'd die for one!
In the US, the MT-10 is the least expensive to buy and maintain by a longshot. I found a 17 FZ10 with 41 miles on it with the Akrapovic titanium midpipe, tune, TRex FZ-10 sliders, axle sliders, 1" lowering link, license plate tail tidy, AIS blocked off, K&N filter, and OEM comfort seat. It was thousands less than a new one in March. I almost bought a 2015 S1000R in red with low miles, but it sold they day I called. I have about 1500 miles on it now and added an Amazon rear tail bag, Puig touring shield, and Chris Moore tune. This thing is a blast on the NC curvy back roads. Looking forward to a mountain ride soon. The sound blows everything but the Tuono's V4 away.
Where to begin with these three? Overall, simply “AWFUL” let’s start with that. On a scale from 0 to 10 : “0” points for styling - all 3 are like (yawn)....hopeless. Next, 2 have a noticeable weight problem that, if not addressed, is downright dangerous over time. And finally.... beginning with “Now” the sound coming from these 3 is obnoxious (and subtitles would help the viewers tremendously). With regard to the motorcycles selected for this video.... great job! Awesome machines - would have liked to see the Speed Triple in there.
Not knowing where BMW is making their parts and their having some of the LOWEST scores among new owners as far as major repairs in the first 4 years of ownership removes them from consideration regardless of all the advertising or fanboys. I'll take a very well made Japanese bike any day of the week. You will never use the extra HP.
Well a good comparison but with the whole naked sport bike thing busting wide open the past few years there are a lot missing from this. Z1000, gsx-1000, tuono v4, Speed Triple R, Superduke 1200 R, a lot of bikes in the area. I guess you can't have everything though, nice video anyway.
Ari what were you using for on-helmet camera in this video? The walk-around bits in the beginning where all jelly-fished, like if you used a really bad implementation of digital stabilization combined with horrid rolling shutter, or the floating element of the camera's optical stabilization (if it has one) has gone out of whack.
I had a ducati s2r 1000 and covered over 50k on it. Genuinely not one problem so I'd have a 1200 in a heartbeat. Smashes the others all over the place for torque. I do like Yamaha tho but given the position of the bars I think you could ride the ducati quicker
So... tell us about how they did on the streets. They’re street bikes, around town, country lanes, freeway/motorway. What’s the point in this review at all?
Old video but still worth a comment, the points raised about the BMW being great round a track.... me personally want a bike for fast A and B roads so a compliant suspension is high on my list before out right performance. So its the MT10 for me as a clear winner.
Low maintenance cost on the MT is the biggest reason for me. @ 1000.00 for a valve adjustment the Ducati is just too much and reliability on the Monster is third place here too.
Donovan, you say even without the super duke you'd still choose better bikes than these. I've got to know what you mean by that! Tell us which super nakeds you'd choose
I'm still in love with my ZRX. It's the best looking UJM out there. Why doesn't Kawasaki come out with another hyper naked version? Maybe add 200cc to the Z1000?
The guy on the Duke was leaning like Marquez in a GP but doing road speeds....... despite what you think, you don't look cool. Edit: jeez, they all do.
in vitro youtube baby agreed and twice the cost for Tuono Factory! I paid $9,200 for my FZ10 out the door new (got a steal) Tuono Factory out the door with dealer fees and taxes is over $20,000. Yikes
My beautiful and amazing mistress yea south africa is fucked with this governmemt Sad thing is you will never hear this in the mainstream press here in europe. They are too busy writing hate articles about putin
6.25. Such poor journalism. Someone forgot to tell this man that the most has a rear seat cowl, take it off, and it has a much larger rear seat than the MT10...
speaking from personal experience, I totally disagree with the statement that the S1000r is lacking character. It has plenty of character, just a different type than the Ducati's, Harleys, etc.....
Naked bike's faces are supposed to be so ugly they make a cow pie blush. In this way, the BMW and MT win. Even the Super Duke comes in with an ugly face. GSX-S1000 is more neutral. Whatever happened to beauty being an important selling point for motorcycles?
