The Big Visordown Head-to-Head Collection inc. Triumph, Aprilia, Kawasaki & more

If you are reading this then you have visited us here at Visordown and for that we personally want to thank you - that’s an extra page view, one that contributes to our ever growing totals, so much so that we are now comfortably one of the world’s most visited motorcycle websites. 

So a big THANK YOU wherever you are * pulls a party popper * 

Whether you are new today (hello!) or a regular (welcome back) then you may or may not know about our Visordown YouTube channel, which has also been growing exponentially, in part down to our dynamo of a one-man editing Spanish army-knife of an editor 'Adrián the Bullman' - his (actual) name doesn’t appear on the site so we thought it was time to give him a shoutout. Hola Bullman! 

On Monday he will ask us (well, suggest by telling us…) which motorcycles to pitch as a comparison against one another because numbers don’t lie and they seem to go down well with you.

He has targets so to help him along we’ve grouped together some of our more recent comparisons for your audio-visual entertainment…

If you haven’t liked and subscribed to our YouTube page as yet - if not, why not?! - then CLICK HERE to do so because we like to keep our AB nice and busy!

Aprilia Tuono 660 - Triumph Trident 660

We are big fans of the Aprilia RS 660 so logic would dictate that we would also be fans of its naked equivalent, the Tuono 660.

Unlike the relatively unique RS 660, the Tuono 660 has a few more rivals to contend with, none more intriguing that the Triumph Trident 660, which is already proving a huge sales success for the British marque. 

Triumph Speed Triple RS 1200 - KTM 1290 Super Duke R

Triumph’s broad sweep of updates and facelifts reached the Speed Triple at the top of the year with a big boost in size and power courtesy of a 1200cc triple-cylinder engine.

This pushes it into ‘hypernaked’ territory and up against rivals like the Kawasaki Z H2, Ducati Streetfighter V4 and this - its adversary here - the KTM 1290 Super Duke R

Suzuki Hayabusa - Kawasaki H2 SX

Back in 1999 the Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki ZZ-R120 went head-to-head for the very ‘of its time’ mantle of becoming the fastest production motorcycle in the world before legislation was introduced to cap top speeds and prevent manufacturers continuing a potentially never-ending game of one-upmanship.

Back then the Hayabusa was the winner on the drag strip and continued to thrill almost unchanged for the next 21 years. However, this year saw the ‘falcon’ finally replaced with a newer, slightly slower but still searing fast successor.

Here it measures up to the ZZ-R1200’s spiritual successor, the H2 SX.

 

Yamaha MT-09 SP - Triumph Street Triple RS

The Yamaha MT-09 stopped the presses when the latest generation was revealed last year with a style that raised a few eyebrows. Well the MT-09 is on sale now and opinions have since mellowed, allowing us to focus on its eager chassis and much improved engine.

But how does it - in flagship sporty SP trim - compare to its biggest rival, the Triumph Street Triple RS?

KTM 390 Adventure - Honda CB500X

KTM’s reputation in the rough stuff is unparalleled and this stretches across its revered Adventure line, from the 1290 ‘Super’ right down to the pint-size 390. 

Small but tough, the 390 Adventure doesn’t have too many rivals that can go as far but it will still find buyers weighing it up against the softer but still capable Honda CB500X. This is how they stack up...

Triumph Rocket 3 - BMW R18

BMW entered the big cruiser ring for the first time with its big, beefy R18 equipped with the German marque’s biggest rendition of its signature Boxer engine.

It’s targeted at Harley-Davidson’s grip on the cruiser market in the USA but over here there is only one behemoth it needs to overcome - the Triumph Rocket 3. Both will turn heads, both will pull a caravan (if you wished to) and both are pitched as the coolest thing since sliced cheese toasties.

We’ll be the judge of that...