Top Ten Bikes 2003: Episode 3 - Dual Purpose - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

In this new series of Top Ten Bikes, presented by Louise Brady, we look at the best bikes around in the biking world as voted for by our Men & Motors panel.  Today we take a look at the top ten Dual Purpose bikes of 2003. Which one will hit the number one spot?  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!  ------------------ Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!   Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!  Our website: http://menandmotors.com/  ---- Social Media ----  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/ Instagram: @menandmotorstv Twitter: @menandmotorstv  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023

Transcript

00:00 Hello there, I'm Louise Brady and welcome to Top 10 Bikes. The Men & Motors panel have

00:20 been fighting it out to come up with the definitive list of top 10 bikes here in the UK. This

00:27 coveted award will be presented to the manufacturer of this week's number one machine. The question

00:32 is which bike will it be? Well, as we run down from 10 to 1, stay with us to unveil

00:38 this week's winner. Now I'll be one of the panellists and as the show progresses you'll

00:43 get to hear all the other panellists give their verdicts and opinions. So let's get

00:48 down to business and we'll start counting down on this week's category, due purpose

00:54 bikes. At 10 it's the cuddly MZ Bagheera. Now I mentioned the name MZ and you instantly

01:02 conjure up images of cheap, smoky two-stroke bikes from East Germany. The engine is taken

01:08 straight from the Yamaha XT660 and as such is well proven to be reliable and fun to use.

01:15 Kicking out 50bhp, the Bagheera is quick enough away from the lines and has plenty of grunt

01:20 for embarrassing sports bikes on your favourite section of twisties. Handling is good and

01:26 the engine is fairly responsive. So let's hear what some of the panel have to say about

01:30 it. The MZ Bagheera is fairly cheap but not as cheap as it should be. The build quality

01:37 is just really not good enough. They've been getting better but they haven't really sorted

01:43 out their distribution properly yet or anything like that. It works surprisingly well. Off

01:48 road it's pretty good and as a commuter it's okay as well but it's going to fall to bits.

01:53 The MZ Bagheera looks like a googly-eyed asylum dodger but what it actually is, is a really

01:58 useful usable town bike. Again using the old Yamaha XT660 motor, the Bagheera is a really

02:06 quirky looking bike. The one thing it does have on its side is it is very cheap, although

02:12 it's probably quite hard to get hold of the bikes now. I don't know if there's any actual

02:16 official importers anymore in the UK. But if your funds can't stretch to a KTM Duke

02:24 then perhaps look at the Bagheera. Much like the XT600 from Yamaha, there's a purity about

02:29 the MZ Bagheera that's hard to deny. Very simple, very straightforward bike with bags

02:34 of attitude. Now I'd say Bagheera have certainly benefited from the use of Yamaha engines but

02:41 they are still ten years behind everyone else. Come on, get with it. The only thing I think

02:46 that is great about that bike is its name. So our combined scores for each category of

02:51 street cred, build quality, performance, comfort and value give the Bagheera a total score

02:58 of just 56%, putting it firmly at the bottom in 10th place of our chart. At 9, the CCM

03:06 R30. Now initially CCM used Rotax engines which were powerful enough but lacked any

03:12 real oomph. CCM have recently started using Suzuki engines from their Freewind model which

03:18 may be reliable but won't be setting your world alight. The R30 certainly looks the

03:23 part in its plain colour schemes but build quality may be a little agricultural. But

03:28 riding is what this bike's all about. And boy, this bike is fun. Who would have thought

03:34 that road wheels and 53bhp could combine to provide such a fun ride. But don't go expecting

03:41 great comfort. Just remember, no pain, no gain. CCM's R30 has got attitude by the bucket

03:47 load. It looks like a praying mantis. It's fantastic through town. It makes you the ultimate

03:53 urban warrior. We've had R30s before on test and the finish has been a bit dubious and

03:59 they've been bikes that have actually been given to a magazine to test. So certainly

04:03 take a look when you're buying one. Similarly, price though to the KTM, it really depends

04:09 if you want to ride British or not. But a really good, mad, fun, sort of urban street

04:16 tool. The CCM R30 looks like it landed from Mars but again, it's a British bike. It's

04:21 light, easy to use and great around town. It's like the KTM, it's another bike for going

04:25 out on a Sunday and having a good laugh and then getting back quick and having a massage

04:30 when you get home because it hurts. Well I think the CCM R30 is slightly better than

04:35 the MZ but not much. From a distance, it has a fine aggressive stance. It's only when you

04:40 get up close you realise that it's not been finished quite as it should be. There's definitely

04:46 room for improvement. So our panellists combined scores for each category give the stomping

04:52 CCM R30 a total score of 58%, slotting it ninth place in our top 10 chart for dual purpose

05:00 bikes. And at number eight, it's the Yamaha XT600E. Some bikes seem to have been around

05:08 forever and the 600E is one such bike. First revealed back in 1990, it's a testament to

05:15 how good this bike really is that it's gone virtually unchanged for the last 13 years.

05:21 You may well be glad to see a tall, comfortable seat, allied to wide bars and that grunty

05:26 four-stroke single, making this bike ideal around town and perfect for those long treks.

05:32 So here's what our panel have to say. If you like your bikes simple and straightforward,

05:38 this is the bike for you. Bulletproof engine, bags and bags of torque from the single cylinder,

05:43 no bells and whistles. If you just want a bit of fun, this is the bike. It feels pretty

05:49 crude, it's heavy off-road, not a bike I'd recommend unless you can get it very cheap.

05:54 It's been around for a few years now, the XT. It's a really good, solid, honest single

06:00 cylinder thumper. It feels like it's been around for a long time because it has. But

06:04 what it is, is a really good, reliable, honest, simple motorbike and it doesn't cost a great

06:09 deal of money. Personally, I can't believe Yamaha still make this bike. I haven't seen

06:14 one out there on the road for about the last five years. It really was a cracking machine

06:20 and it'll withstand almost anything. So our panel's combined scores for each give the

06:25 reliable Yamaha XT600E a total score of 64%, placing it in eighth place in our top 10 chart.

06:35 And at seven, another entry in this year's chart for CCM, this time it's the 644 Dual

06:41 Sport. The great thing about this bike is whether you buy the trail or supermoto version,

06:47 you can buy a spare set of wheels to allow you to have the best of both worlds. You can

06:52 commute on your supermoto in the week, then come the weekend, put on your trail wheels

06:57 and go and get muddy. Now the engine may not be the liveliest, but allows CCM's models

07:03 to feel a lot smoother and suffer less reliability issues. The problem I think with CCM in general

07:10 and certainly with the Dual Sport is just that you've got to be careful of the finish.

07:16 Even if you're buying second hand, you want to make sure it's been well looked after.

07:19 And people think the air-cooled engine's a bit old-fashioned. Well, it is, but it works

07:23 extremely well, the Suzuki engine, in that bike. The only reason you wouldn't buy one

07:27 is because of the new 404 that's just come out and that is even better. It's very versatile,

07:33 a mixture of Japanese engineering meets English engineering and there's a lot you can do with

07:38 it. There's optional road wheels, you can be an urban warrior during the week and get

07:43 down and dirty at the weekend. Questionable build quality, but no less fun for that.

07:48 Well, I say it's not really an improvement on the R30 and it's a shame that they had

07:54 to lift the Suzuki motor from the freewind and not something a little bit more decent.

07:59 It's halfway there. So I combined scores for each category and that is street cred, build

08:06 quality, performance, comfort and value give the CCM 644DS a total score of 65%, making

08:16 it seventh in our dual purpose chart. If any of you out there have an insect infatuation,

08:22 then this next bike could be right up your alley. It looks like the aftermath of an affair

08:27 between a supermoto and a praying mantis. May I present number six in our chart is the

08:33 KTM Duke. KTM have an awesome reputation as builders of mad, bad off-road bikes and supermotos.

08:41 They've used their years of competition experience to combine their 625cc single engine with

08:48 a high performance chassis. Twin under seat exhausts allied to that punchy engine give

08:54 the Duke good performance and great sound. KTM 640 Duke packs a good 50 horsepower engine

09:00 into a real street carving chassis with looks to go with it and it makes a great urban scratcher.

09:07 Unbelievable thing to look at, really aggressive features. The only thing is for big lads the

09:13 seat is a bit uncomfortable. It's kind of akin to really getting a wedgie from a school

09:18 bully. Super sports bikes are all very well but they're not going to do you any favours

09:21 through busy traffic where filtering is what you're going to be doing a lot of. You want

09:25 a bike like KTM 640, elevated riding position, no great comfort but the fun makes up for

09:32 that. Now the Duke, now that's a supermoto. It's wicked fun, really good, it's a laugh,

09:39 great for nipping out on a Sunday but have it as a number two bike, not your main bike

09:45 please. Well I love the look of this bike, I love the way it handles, I love the way

09:49 it rides. It might not be the fastest or the lightest but as a package it works superbly

09:55 well. Get it round the twisties, it's great on the B roads, you can take it off road and

10:00 some nutters even take them racing. The KTM 640 Duke scored 67% from our panel's combined

10:08 scores for each category and that places it firmly in the sixth place in our top ten chart.

10:14 Well that brings us nicely to the end of part one but don't go away as we have more split

10:19 personalities coming up in part two. We'll be revealing which bike is top dual purpose

10:25 for 2003.

10:31 Welcome back to top ten bikes with me Louise Brady. Well this week we're counting down

10:36 the top ten dual purpose bikes of 2003. Let's recap the countdowns so far. At number ten

10:43 it's the jungle book favourite MZ Bagheera. At number nine the first of the UK entries

10:49 the CCM R30. And slipping in at eight it's forever reliable Yamaha XT600E. At number

10:57 seven it's the flexible CCM 644 Dual Sport and at number six it's the masterly KTM 640

11:06 Duke. So it's time now to crack on with plenty more bikes as we count down from five to one.

11:13 Stomping in at number five it's BMW's F650GS. Monster trailers are all the rage and that's

11:21 where BMW's F650GS is wanting to be. Styling wise there's hints from the 1150GS in its

11:28 front ten but sadly that's where the comparison ends. Now the 1150 has the looks and the performance

11:35 whereas the 650 has some of the looks but nowhere near enough the performance. Let's

11:40 hear from the panel.

11:42 You might want something a bit more exciting. I mean it's bizarre that in bikes the BMW

11:46 logo doesn't provide as much excitement as perhaps it does in the car world but you know

11:50 you pay your money and for four grand it's a pretty good choice. It's not a trail bike

11:55 in the sense that the CCM is which is very off-road biased but the BMW works, it's comfortable,

12:01 you can use it every day and the dealers are great.

12:04 The BMW F650GS is one of those bikes that you could if you wanted to do the Pari Dacar

12:09 on or you could commute from Windsor into the centre of town on and it's got a really

12:13 good strong engine.

12:14 The BMW 650GS is a surprisingly capable bike. The engine's capable enough although it's

12:20 a little bit underpowered. The one thing that lets it down again is the price.

12:24 I think this is probably the best motorcycle that BMW have ever built. It's a true dual

12:30 motorcycle and I love the fact that you've got such luxuries such as a heated grab rail

12:35 and heated grips to keep your mitts warm.

12:38 So let's take a peek now at the combined scores for each category of Street cred, build quality,

12:44 performance, comfort and value.

12:48 And totaled together that gives the BMW F650GS a total score of 69% placing it fifth in our

12:57 chart.

12:58 And in at four, Suzuki's DRZ400S. First created to replace the venerable DR350 it had a hard

13:07 act to follow. The engine is a single cylinder four stroke 398cc lump pushing out around

13:13 39 brake horsepower. Now this has been fitted into a great chassis that allows the bike

13:18 to handle some serious off-road fun.

13:22 So let's see what my colleagues have to say about that.

13:25 Yeah, this has got a top engine, really excellent off-road engine in particular. You know, it

13:30 will just pull you out of deep sand from no revs and it spins on and it's fast and powerful

13:35 but not quite up, you know, top notch.

13:39 It's almost legendary now, the Suzuki DRZ400S amongst trail riders but it is a truly versatile

13:44 bike. You can commute on it, use it as a winter hack or you can go and ride for two days off-road

13:49 in Wales and it's just a brilliant all-rounder.

13:53 The thing about the Suzuki is it's been around for years in various guises so you know you've

13:57 got a bike there that's going to last. And quite cheap too, about four and a bit grand

14:03 so a really good bike.

14:06 It's got a sweet chassis and a bomb-proof engine and if that's what you're after in

14:09 a bike, what more could you ask for? Look no further than this.

14:13 Now you could chuck on a set of knobblies and go motocrossing and have a barrel of laughs

14:18 or you could sling on a pair of 17-inch rims and take to the streets like a man possessed.

14:24 So our panel's combined scores for each category gives the loads of fun Suzuki DRZ400S a total

14:30 score of 71%, putting it firmly in fourth place in our chart of dual-purpose bikes.

14:38 Ambling in at number three, it's the Honda XL 1000V Varadero. The Varadero is powered

14:45 by the Firestorm 1000cc V-twin engine. Slightly retuned for more mid-range grunt, it now produces

14:52 a claimed 95 brake horsepower. Anyone looking to cover huge miles in a fair amount of comfort

14:59 but on a bike that doesn't fit the usual tourist stereotype need look no further than the Honda

15:05 Varadero. But what do the panel think?

15:08 If you want a bike to cover high mileage without complaint, Honda's Varadero is the one that

15:12 you should be looking at. It might not score you any points in terms of its credibility

15:16 but you won't find too many of its owners finding a lot about it to criticise.

15:20 A real underrated motorcycle. If you want to try some of these dual-purpose bikes, then

15:26 the Varadero is a good place to start. The Honda Varadero is one of those few bikes

15:30 that you could actually do a lot of miles in one day on. It's very comfortable, it's

15:34 got a lazy engine and it's got a massive fuel range.

15:37 Ah, the Varadero. Now there's a bike that's comfortable, it tours well, the engine's quite

15:42 nice and it is the ugliest motorcycle in the world and I wouldn't buy one for that reason.

15:47 Well I think it's one big mother of a bike. It's a Honda. It's well built. It does exactly

15:53 what it says on the tin. Although I personally would have a bit of trouble riding it. Maybe

15:58 they should make a smaller version. So adding up the scores for each category

16:03 given by our panel gives the Honda Varadero a total score of 73%, placing it third in

16:11 our top 10 dual-purpose chart. Just missing the top spot is the Triumph

16:16 Tiger and it's in at number two. Now Tigers have been great bikes for Triumph long before

16:22 this current model. It's been around since 1992 and as the name suggests, shares the

16:27 engine from Triumph's flagship sports model, the Daytona 955i.

16:33 While perfectly capable of steering off-road performance, the Tiger is most at home on

16:37 the black stuff. It's suspension and engine gelling perfectly for you to embarrass many

16:42 a sport bike rider around your favourite twisty bits.

16:45 The Triumph Tiger looks like a dirt bike but what it actually is, is a tourer. It's got

16:49 a really lazy, easy to use engine and it's one of the most comfortable bikes out there.

16:55 Triumph make quirky bikes very well and the Tiger is a quirky bike, even for a dual sport

16:59 bike. You've got that lovely triple cylinder motor which gives an amazing sound when you

17:05 rev it hard. It's one of the best bikes in the Triumph range.

17:10 Triumph's Tiger has its fans and whilst personally I prefer BMW's GS, you're certainly not going

17:15 to lose any street credibility if you're riding a Triumph Tiger. If you like to dominate the

17:20 traffic and look above it as opposed to through it, the Tiger's going to deliver for you.

17:25 If you take one of these off-road, please write to me and let me know because I want

17:30 your autograph. I mean this is a touring bike. It's styled to look like a trail bike. You

17:37 can probably go up a dirt track and maybe the old gravel drive but don't go any more

17:40 than that. Having said that, the engine's lovely. It does tour extremely well and I'm

17:46 quite fond of those. Well I think it's a very important bike for

17:49 Triumph and they're still adding bits onto this crazy toy. It's got macho styling, an

17:55 aggressive stance and that wicked Tiger paint job. I love it but again, it's far too big

18:01 for me to ride. The combined scores for each category of street cred, build quality, performance,

18:07 comfort and value give the Triumph Tiger a total score of 75% putting it firmly into

18:15 second place in our chart. But before we reveal which dual purpose the

18:20 Men and Motors panel of experts voted the number one, here's a quick rundown of the

18:24 chart so far. At number 10 from the Eastern Block, it's the MZ Bagheera. And in at nine,

18:31 it's the superb Moto CCM R30. At number eight, it's the reputable Yamaha XT600E. And in at

18:40 seven, it's the flexible CCM 644 Dual Sport. Muscling in at number six, it's the KTM 640

18:48 Duke, while at five, the ever evolving BMW F650GS. Slipping in at four, it's that sexy

18:56 Suzuki, the DRZ 400S. So that leaves the top three and at number three, it's the Honda

19:04 Varadero. At number two, the terrific Triumph Tiger. So have you guessed what's at the end

19:12 of this week's biking trail? And in the number one spot, it's the BMW R1150GS. Now what happens

19:21 if you take BMW's R1150R and force feed it steroids? Well, you get the world famous R1150GS.

19:31 Taking the basic mechanicals from the 1150R and then giving it off-road suspension has

19:36 created a monster of a bike that is as adept on the road as it is off, once it's fitted

19:43 with an overly tire. The 1150GS can basically do a bit of everything. If you want to go

19:47 off-road, you can go off-road with it. If you want to commute, you can commute on it.

19:52 If you want to tour, you can tour on it. And I tell you what, you can even go and scratch

19:56 on it as well. It's a real sleeper motorcycle. If you see one of these in your mirrors, it

20:00 can be very hard to shake them off. And a good thing as well, if you're actually looking

20:04 at buying one, is residual values are brilliant. If you buy one, don't expect to lose a big

20:10 wedge of money. The 1150GS is another very surprising bike. This is because you can use

20:17 it off-road. I've done a 200-mile trip off-road, all off-road in Spain on one of those, and

20:23 it was, it's pretty big and heavy, but it works. And then on-road, it's a very good

20:28 touring bike, very comfortable, high up riding position, engines nice and torquey. BMW's

20:33 boxer engine pops up again in the 1150GS, which for me personally has to be one of the

20:37 best bikes as an all-rounder that are out there. The embarrassing mates on this sports

20:42 bike through the twisties because the wide bars make it a breeze to move from side to

20:47 side and tip it into the corners. Touring, trekking, commuting and worldwide adventures

20:52 are all possible for this bike. It's unrivalled in its ability, and whilst its looks may be

20:58 love 'em or loathe 'em, there's no denying this bike is very good at what it does. Our

21:04 combined scores for each category of street cred, build quality, performance, comfort

21:09 and value gave the BMW R1150GS a total score of 83%, giving it that well-deserved number

21:18 one spot. Thanks Men & Motors, we're delighted to accept this award for the R1150GS. It's

21:24 our top-selling motorcycle and one of the few that can truly be called a genuine all-rounder.

21:29 Kevin and Julia Sanders recently returned from smashing the Guinness World Record for

21:33 the fastest crossing of the Americas on a standard R1150GS adventure. It's an absolutely

21:39 brilliant bike, it's our best-selling model as I said, and we're delighted to accept this

21:43 award. So congratulations to BMW. It's a good-looking

21:48 machine and very capable. It should give you miles of smiles, but it's a little bit too

21:53 German for my liking. Well, we've come to the end of this week's chart and sadly the

21:58 show. I'll see you next week for another Top 10 Bikes.

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Top Ten Bikes 2003: Episode 3 - Dual Purpose

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