Aprilia RSVTuono, Honda X11, and Kawasaki Z1000 from the early millennium
Back in the 1980s and early ’90s sportsbikes minus fairings were known as streetfighters and they were usually the result of a prang, and then not enough dough to repair mangled plastics. A decade later the spirit of these cheap post-crash fix-ups spawned a new class of factory produced hybrids that has since redefined what a road-focused sportsbike can be.
Triumph’s Speed Triple was arguably the precursor to the class – stripping away the Daytona’s fairing gave new life to a bike that, let’s be honest, struggled to pull off the sportsbike thing anyway. Then came the super nakeds – pukka race reps, stripped of their fairings, wearing high ’bars, and packing the kind of attitude not seen since hastily ‘repaired’ GSX-Rs, FZRs and ZXRs kicked off the whole streetfighter scene a decade or so before.
Now super nakeds add gravitas to most manufacturers’ ranges, proving more popular and useable – yet no less exciting – than full on race reps. But buying into that current trend isn’t cheap or, for many like us, desirable – we don’t want all that electronic nonsense or myriad riding modes. Give us 120-130 real-world bhp, a fat slab of midrange torque, all wrapped in an exterior of early 2000s attitude, and we’ll be flicking through the online ads before you can say “Who needs a fairing?”
We’re talking about bikes like Aprilia’s original RSV Tuono, Honda’s X11, and Kawasaki’s early millennium Z1000. All a blast to ride, easy on a middle-aged frame, practical enough to be much more than a weekend tool, and cheaper than you think. Here’s how to bag yourself a first generation super naked.
APRILIA
Aprilia had the right idea when creating the Tuono (Italian for thunder and apt given the raucous bark and zesty delivery of the 998cc lump). A super naked can’t truly live up to that name if its performance is clipped during transition from superbike to street machine.
A Tuono is a full-blooded RSV Mille, just minus the fairing and wearing high ’bars rather than clip-ons. And it’s a better road bike for it; more comfortable, easier to boss and wring the best out of, with all the punch and drive of its race rep inspiration.
Like the Mille, the Tuono comes in several different flavours. The basic model comes with Showa forks and a Sachs shock, which were adequate when new but will by now benefit greatly from a rebuild or upgrade. The Limited and Racing versions pack a much higher spec, running forged OZ
Racing wheels, Öhlins suspension front and rear, a smattering of carbon fibre goodies, plus a race kit on the Ra
