In the first part of our bracket-style competition the 2023 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory came out as the winner. In part 2 we are now putting this this machine up with the even more expensive 2023 BMW M 1000 R and 2023 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP 2 to see if a $20k can keep up with the likes of a nearly 30K and 40k machines and crown a 2023 Hyper-Naked bike of the year.
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/hyper-naked-motorcycles-comparison-test-review-part-2-2023/
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/hyper-naked-motorcycles-comparison-test-review-part-2-2023/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 The time has finally come to crown our 2023 Hyper Naked Sport Bike of the Year.
00:05 In part one of our comparison test, the Aprilia Tuono V4 walked away with the win.
00:10 But we wanted to see if that $20,000 Aprilia could match up against BMW's M1000R and Ducati's Streetfighter V4 SP2.
00:18 Let's find out!
00:19 Aprilia's Tuono V4 factory is a multi-time Cycleworld 10 Best winner.
00:25 But can this long-time favorite hang with the latest high-powered competition, like BMW's M1000R,
00:30 which is the most powerful of this trio, pumping out a ridiculous 185 rear-wheel horsepower.
00:35 But is that enough to win it all?
00:37 Not if Ducati's $38,000 Streetfighter V4 SP2 gets its way.
00:41 It may not have topped the dyno charts, but can its class-leading electronics take it to victory?
00:47 [Music]
00:55 Hey, we're back here at the Cycleworld offices after multiple days of testing, both on the street and the track.
01:00 And I'm here with Bradley Adams, in-market editor of Cycleworld.
01:04 And we're going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these three bikes that we just tested
01:08 in the second part of this Hyper Naked comparison test.
01:11 We spent an entire day on the track.
01:13 Had a control tire. We used the Pirelli Super Corsa SP tires on all three bikes.
01:19 And we did a lot of laps out there.
01:21 Well, I mean, first off, we survived 106 degrees out there, so I was happy about that.
01:26 And, you know, honestly, I was really surprised.
01:28 I think one of my big takeaways is for how advanced these motorcycles are, how much horsepower they're making,
01:34 how easy they were to ride.
01:37 Let's jump right in. Let's talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the BMW on the track.
01:43 What do you think that bike did really well at the track?
01:46 Well, I think the BMW, well, actually, if we're going to start with that bike,
01:51 the first thing you've got to say is that it's got the best chassis of the group.
01:55 The amount of feel and feedback that that bike has as you charge into the corner and at lean,
02:01 it's just got way more feel than any other bike. So I think that is absolutely its strongest point.
02:07 And at a track like Chukwala, I would say that we all agreed that the bike feels super light when you flick it into the corners.
02:15 I think the carbon wheels are contributing to that for sure.
02:18 You have less reciprocating mass up there and you can really feel it.
02:22 What else did you think was really good about the BMW on the track?
02:26 Well, I think brakes are another really key area and probably about just as powerful as on the Ducati,
02:33 much stronger than the Aprilia. They didn't overpower the chassis getting in,
02:38 but then you still had great stopping power.
02:41 And then what about the engine? What did you think of the engine?
02:44 You're setting me up here because the engine is great up top, but anywhere outside of high RPM stuff,
02:54 there are some serious weaknesses to that power plant.
02:57 And I guess this helps as a transition and there's some weaknesses here on the bike.
03:00 So yeah, it's got just a big flat spot right in the mid-range.
03:04 You actually experience that a lot on the track and it changes the way you have to ride the bike.
03:09 When you're really trying to push, you realize that the BMW is a little bit more difficult to ride in those situations
03:14 because you're having to make extra gear shifts.
03:16 So there were a couple of places where I would have liked to have rolled through them in third gear,
03:20 but unfortunately I was having to make an extra downshift down into second.
03:23 You're shifting more throughout the track just to keep the BMW in its happy place.
03:27 The other thing, it's not just the physical work of doing that, but now with the bike in a different RPM range,
03:34 now you have to manage the throttle a little bit. So it's a little bit more physically and mentally demanding.
03:39 Yeah. And I would add that that bike, had we been in a different racetrack that had longer straightaways,
03:45 maybe that engine works better there where you're really up in the RPM or you're utilizing that top-end power that it has.
03:51 Yeah. I mean, I don't know. It might be a little bit of an apples to oranges comparison,
03:55 but last year we rode the M1000RR out at Thunder Hill, which is a completely different track.
04:01 And it was really kind of the same situation where there was a couple of sections out there
04:05 where I was having to make extra downshifts.
04:07 Any other things that you didn't like on the track about the BMW?
04:11 The biggest thing I think is the electronics.
04:16 And not so much in terms of the way they work while you're riding.
04:21 It's just the interface, especially with the Ducati and even the Aprilia.
04:25 All the information is so well displayed. You know exactly what your settings are for each of the rider aids.
04:31 Yeah, you know what your DTC is at, you know what you've got your ABS set up.
04:36 You know all that on the other bikes and on the BMW, it's kind of hidden in the background.
04:41 So you're always unsure of yourself a little bit, not knowing.
04:44 Let's move on to the Aprilia.
04:46 The Aprilia we've spent a lot of time with because it was in the first part of our comparison test
04:50 and it ultimately won that comparison test to go up against these bikes.
04:54 So now we finally have the opportunity to take the Aprilia to the racetrack.
04:58 So what are the Aprilia's strengths on the racetrack?
05:02 Still going back to the frame, I think the BMW chassis might overall be a little bit better,
05:12 but on the Aprilia, front end feel is just incredible.
05:17 You can run that thing into the corner and you have so much feel at the front tire.
05:21 It lets you charge into the corners quite a bit better.
05:23 I don't think the chassis overall is as well balanced as the BMW.
05:28 I'd start to get a little bit of movement from the rear, but on the side of the tire and getting into the corner even,
05:34 there's so much feel from that chassis.
05:36 You just got to give kudos to the Aprilia engineers who have developed that thing over the years.
05:41 And that bike being able to run similar lap times at a similar pace on the racetrack
05:46 is credit to all the work that they've done over the years because it's still such a good platform.
05:50 Another thing that I would add is that on the street, in the past, we talked about how aggressive the riding position is,
05:56 but then we finally take the Aprilia to the track, the super aggressive over the front,
06:01 slope seat that gets you up over the tank, all of a sudden the riding position makes sense.
06:05 When you're in charge mode, you're just cruising around the track, you still feel a little bit locked in place,
06:10 but all of a sudden when you're actually attacking a corner, you're like, "Oh yeah, this makes sense now."
06:15 And I think all of that is to say how close this is to the RSV4 that it was based on.
06:21 This is a naked bike that clearly has those sport bike roots.
06:25 Another thing that we talked about on the Aprilia in general, when you get into the electronics and you start digging into it,
06:32 you have two separate suites that you can go into.
06:35 You have a road mode that you can go in and adjust just some road stuff, or you have the track side.
06:40 So at the track, we could just put it in the track mode, we could customize multiple segment ride modes and customize them,
06:47 and then you can toggle back and forth between those.
06:50 We could set up some suspension settings in there, set up some different DTC strategies or whatever we were trying to accomplish.
06:56 Yeah, I think still one of the most programmable bikes, and again, really speaks to the kind of race bike roots that are being pulled down into this platform.
07:08 So of course there's some things that we don't like about the Aprilia.
07:13 First off, it's still the heaviest steering bike.
07:15 We kind of felt that in the last test, but here, especially going up against the super light handling BMW and Ducati,
07:23 it's just a noticeable amount more effort to go from upright to lean, or even from side to side.
07:29 And I've experienced with this, probably in the past, that they just don't feel quite as balanced front to rear.
07:34 A big thing for me when I was trying to do some lap times, and I get into the corner and again, the front end feels so good,
07:40 and without that balance, rear starts moving around, and I just felt like that was loading the rear tire,
07:46 and then it was hard for me to manage grip at the rear.
07:50 It's just a little bit more work from mid-corner to corner exit.
07:53 And I know we did some stuff with the setup and we got the bikes close, but it just feels like this bike,
07:58 it's going to take a little bit more work to get that ideal setup, and you're still not going to get that balance,
08:04 that front-rear balance that you have on the BMW.
08:06 And then, you know, another funny thing that's interesting when you make that transition from the street to the track are brakes.
08:13 And in our previous comparison test, the first part of this, we loved the Aprilia brakes.
08:18 We thought that the Aprilia brakes were the best of the three bikes that we tested before.
08:22 But then all of a sudden, you bring in the BMW and you bring in the Ducati, which both bikes have more high-end brakes,
08:30 and we're like, "Oh, the Aprilia brakes all of a sudden in this company aren't quite as awesome as we thought in the last comparison."
08:37 It was definitely noticeable when you're doing fast laps, and I got on the Aprilia and I went, same brake markers that I've been using all day,
08:45 but all of a sudden you're like, I started getting to the corner of the hill, I better start, you know, adding a little bit more pressure here.
08:51 And I had to adjust, essentially, over the next couple of laps because there's just not the same amount of power as what you have on the BMW and the Ducati.
09:01 So with that being said, let's jump into the Ducati.
09:04 We walked into this comparison test, you went to the press launch for the Ducati, a slightly different version of it,
09:10 but I think it was shocking to get it on the racetrack. There were so many things about it that were positives.
09:17 It was one of the best Ducatis I've enjoyed on a track in a long time.
09:21 So let's jump into some of those because you've got to start with the engine.
09:25 It's unreal in so many different ways, and it's not that it just makes a ton of power, but it is such a linear power that it delivers.
09:34 It just makes riding the bike on the track simple.
09:37 I think the best way to describe that engine is as flexible, because if you're low RPM, mid-range, top end, whatever it is, it's making power.
09:47 The things I really like about that engine are the drive off the corners, the way it puts the power down.
09:53 It's just shooting you off of a corner. It's truly an incredible sensation for that thing.
09:58 I think it's a little bit the engine, it's the chassis, the mechanical grip that the bike has, but low-end power on the thing, just incredible.
10:05 And it gives you some gear options, right?
10:07 Yeah, absolutely.
10:08 Like you were talking about on the Aprilia having to downshift more in some places.
10:13 On the Ducati, if you wanted to carry third, you could carry third around three-quarters of the track if you wanted.
10:20 And it's got enough bottom end and then transitions into the mid-range enough that you're saving on shifting, it's pulling out plenty hard, and it makes riding it a lot less busy.
10:32 And it just doesn't stop making power. You're just watching the revs climb and climb, and it's just still pulling.
10:40 It's a truly incredible power plant. Kudos to Ducati for bringing that thing to life.
10:46 Yeah, and then supporting that are the electronics.
10:49 There's two things that I really noticed or that stood out during our track test.
10:55 The first is that the Streetfighter never actually stepped out on me.
11:00 Similar electronic settings on all the bikes as we're riding, but the Aprilia would step out, the BMW would step out.
11:07 And the Ducati, with those electronics, it just managed the grip so well, and it allowed me to not have to focus so much on throttle.
11:15 One lap, I'd actually pay attention to the dash, where they've got that Track Evo display on the bike this year.
11:21 They do a really good job. They've got each of your rider aid settings, and then when a system is activated, it highlights that rider aid.
11:29 And I'm like, "Oh, it's working!" I can see the TC light on, you know?
11:33 But you can't feel it, and it's so transparent.
11:37 And the adjustability is amazing. You're trying to get your engine brake strategy right for that particular track,
11:44 or you're trying to get your TC right so that you feel like you're getting the drive without getting hampered.
11:49 But all that stuff just seemed like it was working so excellent.
11:53 Yeah, no, it's nice to be able to kind of take your mind off some of that stuff and be able to rely on the electronics.
11:59 Little things like trying to grab a couple downshifts on the Aprilia when we were doing fast laps.
12:05 And the Aprilia quickshifter, it's almost as if you have to let the revs fall a little bit.
12:10 It doesn't like rapid downshifts, and I like to miss a downshift, right?
12:14 Because the quickshifter is just not letting me make that last downshift.
12:17 So you just don't experience that at all on the Ducati.
12:22 Ducati has taken their quickshifter strategy to a completely different level.
12:26 It can make adjustments when you're making that one-two shift.
12:30 It's the best quickshifter that we've experienced, I think. I think we would both agree.
12:34 And then you take that to a track when you're trying to hustle and you're doing stuff, and you're like,
12:38 "Man, this thing is... You don't have to think about it."
12:41 I think riding this bike on the track, it always reminds me of the saying we always go back to,
12:46 "How can this get any better?" You know, we would have said that a year or two ago, right?
12:50 And you ride this bike, and you're just like, "Oh my God, they made it better."
12:54 You know, whether it's the electronics, whether it's the engine, yeah.
12:57 So another super important thing before we move on to a couple weaknesses on the Ducati is
13:02 I was personally shocked at how comfortable the ergonomics were on that bike.
13:06 You know, you look at the bike, and it is so aggressive-looking.
13:09 Your thought process is, "I'm going to get on this bike, and I'm going to be folded up like the Aprilia,
13:13 and I'm going to be in this attack position." And then you get on the Ducati, and you're like,
13:17 "Oh, this thing's comfortable." Like, you've got room to move around in the seat.
13:21 The rider triangle's really nice. The bar position's nice.
13:24 You still feel like, for a track day, that you can be aggressive. It's amazing.
13:28 Like, I just didn't expect that at all. And you're taller than me, so...
13:32 No, I think that's how I opened my story when I did my first review on that bike.
13:36 It's like, the two things you need to know about that bike is it makes a claimed 208 horsepower,
13:41 and the seat is almost as thick as a multi-strada seat.
13:44 Right. Right? It's just like, it's got some performance, and it's got some comfort to it.
13:48 And it turns out that that makes a little bit of a difference on the track, even.
13:52 Yeah, and we'll talk more about that on the street in a little bit.
13:55 But let's talk about, were there any weaknesses that the Ducati had when we were at Chuckwalla lapping?
14:01 Yeah, I mean, I guess we can consider it a weakness. It's a little bit hard to get used to the chassis.
14:09 It's definitely a different sensation.
14:11 It's just the way that kind of front frame loads.
14:14 Like, going into a corner, as you're putting a load into it, you get a little bit of a movement from the front.
14:19 I think one of the ways we ended up describing it is just more feel.
14:23 You're getting a little bit more movement.
14:25 It's not as consistent and planted as, say, the BMW.
14:28 I would say the electronics and the engine, the benefits of those systems,
14:33 far outweighed any extra little sensations I was getting.
14:36 So, that's the track.
14:38 Yep.
14:39 So, we've got a whole other portion.
14:41 We're able to go do a big street ride on these things.
14:44 Yeah, so we've done a couple street rides on these bikes now.
14:47 We've spent a lot of time on them, which is great, because the reality is they're street bikes.
14:51 Since we have the most experience, we've ridden the Aprilia by far the most,
14:55 because it's the second shootout that we've done a street ride with.
14:58 Let's talk about the Aprilia again and just kind of recap what we like about the Aprilia on the street.
15:03 A lot of the strengths from the track still carry over onto the street.
15:06 On the Aprilia, the biggest thing being the frame.
15:09 What Aprilia has done such a good job at is just balancing the rigidity of that chassis, that frame.
15:15 It really adds to the overall bump compliance, I think, on the street.
15:19 Ironically, the brakes, they were a little bit more lackluster on the track,
15:24 but that kind of smooth, progressive ramp-up of power was actually enjoyable and nice on the street.
15:30 It's actually a pretty easy bike to ride on the street.
15:34 There's some things that we come back to that we think are weaknesses about the Aprilia.
15:40 As much as we talk about how we like the front-end feel of the bike mid-corner and how planted it is,
15:47 it is by far the heaviest steering bike of any of the bikes that we've tested in this whole naked bike comparison test.
15:54 You get that mid-corner stability, but, man, it can be worked on a really tight canyon road.
15:59 That Aprilia is a lot of work to lean into a corner. We tried some suspension changes,
16:04 trying to get that thing to a point where it was balanced in a way where it felt a little bit more flickable,
16:09 but there was almost nothing we could do to override that trait.
16:13 Then we get to the engine. The V4 and the Aprilia have been a favorite of ours for a long, long time.
16:19 It's a fantastic engine, but, man, Ducati has taken the V4 to a completely different level.
16:25 When you're riding them back-to-back, all of a sudden, some of those flaws that the Aprilia does have become more pronounced.
16:32 One of the things that we've talked about is it's got this mid-range lull that then spikes out of there,
16:40 and it doesn't have that progressive horsepower delivery and torque delivery that the Ducati does.
16:46 Right at 5,000 rpm is where I really noticed it. It's like you'd accelerate out of a corner.
16:51 It's not very far to the next corner. You're still accelerating, and it gets to that 5,000 rpm area.
16:57 Just when you start thinking to roll off, you'll roll into it, and all of a sudden, it'll lunge forward,
17:02 and then you're having to roll off the throttle, so you get that spike.
17:05 You're having to ride around that engine, essentially, which is a little bit frustrating.
17:10 Again, it's a little bit road-specific in the type of road you're riding on.
17:14 Another thing that we've talked about multiple times are the ergos.
17:18 I know where you're going.
17:20 We just said that they all of a sudden made a lot of sense for the racetrack,
17:24 but man, when you're going from the Ducati or the BMW even onto the Aprilia, the ergos are so aggressive.
17:32 At the end of the day, we came down Tuna Canyon in Malibu, and it's just all downhill, super tight braking.
17:38 You get to the bottom, and you're like, "I'm worn out. My wrists hurt." It's tight.
17:43 You're so locked in place. The way the seat ramps up toward the back, it's pushing you up over the front of the bike.
17:49 You're locked up against the tank.
17:51 The shape of the seat doesn't really allow for much movement, I would say.
17:56 It was really interesting to get to ride these things on the track and the street.
18:00 It's nice to see that there are some benefits to the rider triangle on the track,
18:04 but I think it's important for everybody to realize that, hey, on the street, it's a pretty demanding rider triangle.
18:10 Now we're going to move on to the BMW.
18:13 The BMW, I think, really surprised us when we all rode it back-to-back with the other bikes
18:18 because, as a street bike, it's a really, really good bike, especially in terms of the chassis,
18:23 which is one of the things that we loved on the track.
18:26 You get out on a tight canyon road, and it feels flickable and light.
18:31 You can feel those carbon wheels making the turning really easy,
18:35 but the compliance of the frame and making the bike feel really good on the type of canyon roads that we were on.
18:42 The best word there is just versatile.
18:44 It really doesn't matter the road conditions, whether it's rain grooves on the freeway,
18:50 whether it's a really bumpy, tight canyon road or a very smooth road.
18:56 That chassis just really works. It's just a really good frame in that bike.
19:01 Another thing that we talked about with this bike on the street is the brakes.
19:05 It worked really well on the track, but there were some benefits to the setup on the street, too.
19:09 Yeah, for sure.
19:11 First of all, let's say that the brakes look cool. They're anodized blue, but they're Japanese Nissans.
19:16 They're not Brembos like pretty much everything else that we've been testing.
19:20 These brakes are fantastic. They have the power.
19:23 I would say that they're in between the Ducati and the Aprilia as far as feel goes.
19:29 I think they've got a little bit more lever travel, which I like.
19:33 They don't just bite super aggressive right away, but they don't require as much lever travel as the Aprilia.
19:40 They're really predictable, and you get a lot of feel from them. I really liked that.
19:45 Another thing that we talked about was the suspension.
19:49 We got in there and we finally found some settings that really worked on the street and were great.
19:55 You can find a good setting on the BMW.
19:57 It's not always as easy to access and as easy to customize as the other two bikes.
20:02 That kind of transitions it almost into a weakness.
20:05 Even though there's nothing wrong with the suspension, it's how you interact with it.
20:09 Can you talk a little bit about that?
20:11 Yeah, I mean, basically our experience ultimately, I think what we landed on is for the most part,
20:16 I'd say 80% of our riding on the street, their road mode is great and works well.
20:23 The problem is you almost don't even know what all the settings are with that road mode.
20:27 They don't really even show you the settings for each of the systems and the suspension.
20:31 You can build the Race Pros. You can customize those.
20:34 We were able to get a couple of Race Pro modes set up with suspension settings that we liked.
20:39 It gives you some of that control that you otherwise feel like you're missing.
20:43 The other thing, the Ergos are pretty comfortable on it. It's not overly demanding.
20:47 There are some things about that bike, the biggest one being the handlebar that they're using.
20:52 I know you've spent a decent amount of time commuting on that thing, just freeway stuff, and had some thoughts on that too, right?
20:57 Yeah, I mean, it's really noticeable when you're doing a long 100-plus mile commute.
21:04 The ends of the bars vibrate at a frequency that not only were my fingers going numb from resting on the brake lever,
21:12 but the bar and mirrors, the mirrors are mounted at the end of the bars, they are completely useless at that point
21:18 because they're vibrating with the ends of the handlebars to the point that you can't see anything behind you.
21:25 I mean, it's got a noticeable amount of vibration on that bar.
21:29 Yeah, it's an interesting setup, that kind of flat, long, low handlebar, add the vibrations to it,
21:36 and that takes away a little bit from the overall comfort of that bike.
21:40 The other thing I did want to mention too is that engine tune.
21:43 So you go to roll on the throttle and it's just almost dead.
21:46 There's really just no power there, and it's not accelerating off the corner.
21:50 So that engine tune definitely affects you not only on the track, but on the street too.
21:54 Yeah, I mean, for sure it's really noticeable.
21:57 Which brings us to the Ducati, because on the street, that engine is freaking unbelievable.
22:05 It provides so much performance, and yet it's so easy to ride.
22:09 And so our day on the street just confirmed that again.
22:12 Yeah, we can save this discussion for another video, but I would argue one of the best engine motorcycling right now.
22:18 It's just truly brilliant. All that flexibility that pays off on the track, it pays dividends on the street as well.
22:25 It just gives you so much freedom in terms of gear selection.
22:28 You're not having to think about that quite as much.
22:31 Tons of grunt coming off the corner, and just in the really tight stuff we were riding,
22:35 you just roll it along, it leaps off the corner.
22:37 And I noticed on some of the tight roads that we were on, on the Aprilia,
22:41 I was having to use first sometimes to overcome some of that bike's jump off the corner,
22:47 whereas the Ducati, you don't need to use first ever.
22:50 You might even be in third in some of those same corners, and it chugs out just with super smooth power delivery.
22:57 Then you hit a straightaway and just open the throttle, and you're like, "Oh my god, this thing is a rocket ship."
23:02 So, really fun. But also adding to that, just like on the track, the electronics are just absolutely top level.
23:10 Yeah, that's just an example of the overall refinement of this bike.
23:14 And that quickshifter, it's got that track and street programming to it.
23:18 It's so brilliant on the street.
23:20 It's as good as any I've ridden on the street.
23:23 Oh, it's better than anything I've ridden on the street.
23:25 There's no better quickshifter for a street bike.
23:27 The thing to understand here is we're not just talking about the quickshifter,
23:32 but it's really showcasing the electronics as a whole on this bike,
23:35 and how all of the rider aids that they've built into this package.
23:39 So then, going back to what you had talked about from the press launch that you did,
23:44 once again, we've got a Ducati Streetfighter that you look at the side of it,
23:48 and you're like, "Oh my god, I don't know how that thing's going to be to ride."
23:51 And then you get on it, you could argue it's the most comfortable ergonomically.
23:54 Yeah, I'm absolutely going to argue that it is. It is the most comfortable.
23:58 It is the bike that I wanted to be on when we had big miles in between stops or locations.
24:06 And when I was riding home, and I've got a 100-mile ride ahead of me,
24:09 I'm like, "That's the bike I want to be on."
24:11 I can't believe that that bike is the Ducati.
24:14 In the past, we've never quite had that from Ducati.
24:18 And man, they nailed it. The seat's great. The bar position's great.
24:23 The rider triangle to your legs is really comfortable.
24:26 I mean, they really nailed it. It's a great street bike. It really is.
24:31 Yeah, it sounds funny, but again, that seat, it's thicker than any other seat.
24:35 I think we've ridden in any of these naked bike tests, and the cushion is so much better on it.
24:41 It really is an enjoyable bike to spend a long amount of time on.
24:45 So let's talk about the weaknesses about the Ducati on the street.
24:50 Are there any? What do we think about that?
24:52 I mean, it's a hard bike to find weaknesses on.
24:55 Again, that chassis design, I think we experienced it on the track,
24:59 and maybe even more so on the street with rougher, torn-up asphalt.
25:03 You get so much feel. It's not quite as compliant, you know, mid-corner in some of the rough stuff.
25:10 Another thing that, you know, we have to bring up,
25:13 the Ducati arguably is the leader in electronics in this threesome,
25:19 and yet it doesn't have cruise control.
25:21 Yeah.
25:22 I mean, you don't know you need cruise control until you've had cruise control,
25:26 but when you're on the BMW and the handlebar's vibrating a little bit,
25:29 and you can set the cruise control and give your hand a little bit of a break, it's nice.
25:33 I don't know how many people are going to be doing long distances on this,
25:36 but to just be able to put it on cruise control for a mile or so
25:40 and give yourself a little bit of a break is refreshing sometimes.
25:43 With all the other electronics they have, they have the ability to do that.
25:47 They have it on the Multistrada, they have it on other bikes.
25:49 It's like, it would have been a nice thing to just put on this, because it's kind of a no-brainer.
25:54 A little bit of a silly omission.
25:55 The dash, there is a lot of strengths to that dash and being able to adjust the electronics.
26:01 The screen is a little bit smaller than the BMW's, and it can feel a little bit busy.
26:05 Outside of kind of nitpicking at it, it doesn't really have too many weaknesses on the street.
26:11 It didn't really have too many weaknesses on the track.
26:13 It's, I think, really surprised us.
26:16 It's a pretty incredible package, a combination of style, performance, and comfort.
26:23 So one of the things that we were tasked with answering in this comparison test was,
26:27 can the $20,000 Aprilia come in and compete against these more expensive bikes from BMW and Ducati?
26:35 And I think ultimately, the answer is no.
26:39 What do you think about that? How did the Aprilia hold its own?
26:43 I was actually pretty surprised by that extra level of refinement of those bikes.
26:49 There was a noticeable step between the Aprilia and the BMW and Ducati.
26:53 And I think a lot of people can really relate to is kind of comparing it to like an iPhone.
26:58 You look at a two or three generation old iPhone, still gets the job done.
27:02 There's plenty of people that are happy to have that.
27:04 It's going to be everything that they need, right?
27:06 But there is that latest generation phone.
27:09 And to me, that's what the BMW and Ducati are.
27:11 They are that latest generation.
27:13 There is that extra level of refinement.
27:15 And they are, at this point, the best of the best.
27:18 I think there is still one that's a little bit better.
27:21 In my opinion, that's the Ducati.
27:22 I think you've got some kind of final thoughts on that too.
27:25 The BMW performed really excellent.
27:28 But the one thing that held it back was the engine.
27:31 I mean, we've already talked about the fact that we love the chassis.
27:34 And there's so many things that we like about that motorcycle.
27:36 But the engine ultimately just couldn't live up to the performance of the Ducati.
27:41 And it really boils down to that.
27:43 I think everybody agreed that the Ducati was our favorite bike at the track.
27:46 It had the best performance.
27:48 It had great electronics.
27:50 The suspension was great.
27:51 And then we go on the street.
27:53 And not only did it bring those other things with it,
27:56 it was the bike that everybody wanted to ride home, which is interesting.
27:59 It has the most comfortable ergonomics.
28:01 It performed really well on the street.
28:03 It just basically blew the socks off of us in both settings.
28:07 So ultimately, its overall balance, its overall performance,
28:11 it is hands down the best hyper naked of 2023.
28:15 I absolutely agree.
28:16 Yep, it's fun, it's comfortable,
28:18 and it's got all the performance you could ever, ever really need.
28:22 And there you have it.
28:23 The winner of our 2023 Hyper Naked Sport Bike Comparison
28:27 is Ducati's Street Fighter V4 SP2.
28:30 For the full story, go over to CycleWorld.com for more information, facts, and figures.
28:34 And as always, if you like what you see, like, comment, and subscribe.
28:39 Thanks for watching.
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