Drag races are exciting and it’s always fun to watch our favorite motorcycles compete for straight-line dominance. However, most drag races focus on high-power superbikes and heavily modified machines. That’s why Bike World’s latest video is refreshing as it showcases the straight-line performance of popular middleweight naked bikes.
As a fan of middleweight naked bikes, I was immediately interested in this video. I currently own two bikes from this segment, the Yamaha MT-07 and Triumph Street Triple RS. Bike World’s test features five of the most popular middleweight naked bikes on the market: Kawasaki Z650, Yamaha MT-07, Suzuki GSX-8S, KTM 790 Duke, and Aprilia Tuono 660.
These bikes share common characteristics such as lightweight chassis, 100 horsepower or less, and affordable price tags. They represent the entry-level intermediate models for these manufacturers, striking a balance between performance and technology. If you’re familiar with these bikes, you can probably guess which one would be the fastest without even watching the video.
The Kawasaki Z650, the slowest bike in terms of power, was used in the test. It’s based on an older platform with an engine that has been around for almost two decades. The Z650 completed the quarter mile in a respectable 13.3 seconds.
Next up were the Yamaha MT-07 and Suzuki GSX-8S. The MT-07, although not as old as the Kawasaki, has been around for a while with minimal changes. It set a time of 12.8 seconds. The GSX-8S, with its 10-horsepower advantage over the Yamaha, achieved a slightly quicker time of 12.5 seconds.
The European contenders, the KTM 790 Duke and Aprilia Tuono 660, then battled it out. The KTM offers impressive performance and technology at a great value, while the Tuono 660 boasts the highest power output of 100 horsepower. Surprisingly, both bikes completed the quarter mile in 11.9 seconds, with the Tuono 660 winning by a narrow margin.
It’s important to note that all five bikes are fast, even the Z650’s time of 13.3 seconds is quicker than some performance-oriented cars. For example, the Subaru WRX has a quarter-mile time of about 13.6 seconds. Additionally, the test was conducted in wet conditions, so faster times could be expected on dry asphalt.