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I went on a nice ride on Sunday with a new friend, a rider I had not ridden with before. We covered about 300 miles with about 100 of those through the Mark Twain National Forest... excellent twisty, clean, sparsely populated roads. Top speeds between corners was under 85, typical cornering speeds around 65-70... a good spirited road ride in perfect weather.
I rode my 2003 Speed Four. My companion was on a 2004 R6 with Akropovic silencer. We traded bikes for a fast twisty 12 mile stretch. Here are my thoughts:
The R6 is physically tiny. The bars are closer, lower, flatter, and narrower. The instruments feel like they are below your chin. The bike is very narrow between the knees, and the pegs feel lower. The R6 feels 50 pounds lighter than the Triumph when it's only 25 or so lighter. The R6 feels delightfully small. The word that sticks in my head is jewel-like.
The R6 motor revs quicker, and with the aftermarket can, is much louder at low to mid RPMs. The clutch action is better, with a lighter pull, and more feeling at engagement. The gearbox shifts much more lightly, without the big "klunk" of the Triumph at street pace. Once underway, and especially when riding in a spirited way, the R6 is no louder than the Speed Four. The motor has similar mid range acceleration to the Speed Four between 6k and 9k, but pulls fiercely after that, where the Speed Four maintains its steady acceleration.
The R6 still feels much lighter on corner entries, and has more engine braking at 7k, obviating the need to brake for most street riding. But here's the surprise: The Speed Four requires less effort to turn in. And once heeled over, the Triumph deals much more effectively with mid-corner bumps.
Finally, the seat on the Speed Four is far more comfortable.
So, in a nutshell, I found all the things that the magazines did: The Speed Four feels large, doesn't have that big rush on top, but handles like a champ in the real world, while making cool sounds in the upper rev ranges.
Still, I wouldn't mind riding the R6 a few more times. :-D
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