Moto Guzzi Breva 1100/1200

The bunched and active Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 is a absolutely altered beastly to the Moto Guzzi California 1100EV or Moto Guzzi V11, which are that bit harder to ride. The Breva 1100 has a lighter clutch, niftier anatomy and smoother V-twin than Moto Guzzis of old. The Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 feels abundant shorter, accustomed its weight that bit lower somehow. The Breva 1100 makes a actual appropriate all rounder.

Engine

What Moto Guzzi has done with the Breva 1100 is fit lighter pistons and conrods, shifted the alternator and revised its shaft drive assembly to make the engine/gearbox on the Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 shorter. It's revvy by Moto Guzzi standards, but you get used to it and soon revel in the steady power delivery of the Breva 1100. A claimed 86bhp is just enough to have fun on any type of road. Uprated 1200cc version introduced in 2007.

Ride and Handling
For a roadster the Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 handles respectably, with well balanced suspension, so the rider can tour two-up, or commute on pot-holed streets, confidently. For a Moto Guzzi, the Breva 1100 handles miraculously, especially when you consider its 233kgs weight - the Breva 1100 feels much lighter and more agile than it ever should.

Specifications

Top speed	120mph
1/4-mile acceleration	12.4 secs
Power	86bhp
Torque	63.7ftlb
Weight	233kg
Seat height	800mm
Fuel capacity	24 litres
Average fuel consumption	42mpg
Tank range	190 miles
Insurance group	13

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Buell XB9SX LIGHTNING

The Buell XB9SX is an oddity. What you get is an old-school v-twin in a high-tech chassis, all captivated up in a mad-max appearance burghal scrambler. On cardboard it makes actual little faculty – a avant-garde naked middleweight out-performs it in every applied way. But it looks great, sounds beggarly and the administration is sublime. It would be a adamantine acquirement to justify, but everybody should try one.

Engine
Unfortunately this is the Buell’s weak point. It’s charming 984cc V-twin motor has character, makes a reasonable 84bhp and pulls hard from very low revs (handy in town). But the XB9SX has very little in the way of top end. It also vibrates heavily (see our video) and the gearbox occasionally rewards undetermined changes with false neutrals. It’s great for squirting out of hairpins on B-roads, not so good on lengthy straights.

Ride and Handling
This is what the Buell XB9SX Lightning is all about. Make no mistake, it’s razor sharp and will fall on its ear like its name suggests. Erik Buell is obsessed with mass centralisation – to keep everything tight and low the exhaust is under the engine, fuel is in the frame and oil is in the swingarm. The rim mounted disc brake has a lot of initial bite and the wide motocross bars make weaving through traffic easy. Oddly though the XB9SX comes fitted with dual-purpose Pirelli Scorpion Sync tyres – probably mostly to fit the urban scrambler styling. They grip well enough and will come in handy if you happen to find yourself on a dirt road, but for most riders some standard sports or sports touring rubber would make more sense.

Equipment
The Buell XB9SX is as simple and uncluttered as its styling and the pillion seat is for ornamental use only. On the plus side the clocks are clear and easy to read and the mirrors are better than you would think. This is the City-X (pronounced ‘city cross’) version of the XB9 so you do get hand-guards, a grill over the dual-headlights and pucks on the frame to protect it in a spill. The overall effect is a stylish-looking urban scrambler. Available in 3 colours: ‘Villain black’, ‘Kick Ash Translucent’ or ‘Cherry Bomb Red Translucent’, but the translucent options are £370 more

Specifications

Top speed	120mph
1/4-mile acceleration	secs
Power	84bhp
Torque	60ftlb
Weight	177kg
Seat height	765mm
Fuel capacity	14.5 litres
Average fuel consumption	mpg
Tank range	miles
Insurance group

Engine size	984cc
Engine specification	Thunderstorm air/oil/fan-cooled, 4-stroke, 45° V-Twin, 5 gears
Frame	Black aluminium frame with Uniplana powertrain vibration isolation system, fuel in frame
Front suspension adjustment	Fully-adjustable
Rear suspension adjustment	Fully-adjustable
Front brakes	6-piston fixed calliper with single 375 inside-out floating disc
Rear brake	Single piston, floating caliper; stainless steel, fixed 240mm disc
Front tyre size	120/70 ZR-17
Rear tyre size	180/55 ZR-17

Top speed	120mph
1/4-mile acceleration	secs
Power	84bhp
Torque	60ftlb
Weight	177kg
Seat height	765mm
Fuel capacity	14.5 litres
Average fuel consumption	mpg
Tank range	miles
Insurance group

Engine size	984cc
Engine specification	Thunderstorm air/oil/fan-cooled, 4-stroke, 45° V-Twin, 5 gears
Frame	Black aluminium frame with Uniplana powertrain vibration isolation system, fuel in frame
Front suspension adjustment	Fully-adjustable
Rear suspension adjustment	Fully-adjustable
Front brakes	6-piston fixed calliper with single 375 inside-out floating disc
Rear brake	Single piston, floating caliper; stainless steel, fixed 240mm disc
Front tyre size	120/70 ZR-17
Rear tyre size	180/55 ZR-17

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Best of 2009 - Motorcycles of the Year

Triumph Street Triple R

Triumph had a good thing going when it unveiled the sweet Street Triple 675, a pared-down streetfighter version of the beloved Daytona 675 sportbike. The Street Triple’s finest feature is its soul-stirring three-cylinder engine that boasts a broad powerband and a symphonic exhaust note. The motor, re-tuned from the Daytona, has a predictable but powerful output that makes it accessible and unintimidating to riders of all skill levels yet is satisfying for even the saltiest veterans. Comfortable ergos – including a reasonably low seat height – and an eminently toss-able nature made it a staff darling, but we were a little disappointed it had some bargain-minded bits to keep the retail figure low.

But like a dream come true, the Street Triple R was introduced just last year, replete with the Daytona’s up-spec fully adjustable suspension and potent radial-mount Nissin brake calipers, alleviating all of our concerns. The result is an invigorating and versatile roadster that stickers for less than $10K. Lofting the front wheel is a snap, and before you know it you’ll be drifting out the back end like an inspired Brit hooligan. And on your favorite twisty back road, its friendly yet potent character is almost unbeatable, proving that no one really needs triple-digit horsepower peaks. Now that Triumph perfected the Street in our eyes, it became the perfect Standard. And it's our favorite motorcycle of 2009.

Kawasaki ZX-6R

The middleweight class's relatively low buy-in results in the largest amount of sales among sportbikes, so there isn't a segment of motorcycles more keenly contested among manufacturers. Costly (to the OEMs) updates to the 600s arrive every two years in a never-ending quest to one-up their rivals. And it's for these reasons why the ZX-6R is so redoubtable. Kawasaki has built a motor that handily out-guns its 600cc rivals, but just as impressive is a 22-lb lighter machine that handles like a champ, aided by Showa's fabulous new Big Piston Fork. Doubly impressive is that the Ninja took top honors on both the street and track – no mean feat. Triumph's Daytona 675 gives the ZX a run for its money, but among four-cylinder middleweights, the nasty and nimble Ninja stands clearly at the top of this ultra-competitive heap.

Honorable Mention – Honda CBR1000RR

If you want a literbike that handles like a 600, the lightweight and whippet-quick CBR is for you. It's as light as some 600s but has a burly midrange that out-muscles its 1000cc rivals Already a year old in '09, to win our annual literbike shootout in the face of high-profile new challengers from Yamaha and Suzuki is remarkable.

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