How They Compare
Engine
Though the old Suzuki is a hefty 30 HP down on the Ducati you'd be hard pressed to discern the difference between the two if you were blindfolded for a 0-60 mph sprint (
that could be interesting-Ed.).
The shorter gearing and instantaneous snap of the TL allows it to keep pace at street speeds. The Duc has high-RPM shove, but with 160-ish mph gearing softening the blow you have to spin the rpms up to win.
When it came time to tally the votes it was close. The high-rpm hit and big power of the Ducati was intense and addictive, while the "around town" snap of the TL was equally enjoyable. But remember the Ducati is on stock gearing, and with a larger rear sprocket would trounce the TL in the lower gears as well.
Winner: Ducati
Chassis
The Ducati might seem foreign at first, but once you use the long wheelbase and wide bars to your advantage you can make quick work of a twisty road or a sea of traffic.
In stark contrast, the TL was a mix of top-shelf components bolted onto old-world tech. The high-end parts helped overshadow some of the chassis' flawed design, but the clip-ons didn't offer as much leverage as a bike like this should have.
Speeds were kept under 90 mph, and in this realm neither bike showed signs of chassis woes. But, the advantage goes to the Ducati for its usability and stability. With handed down heritage from the racetrack it would be quite a task to one-up the Ducati.
Winner: Ducati
Style
While this criteria is rather subjective we can't help but judge these books by their covers. The Ducati is...well, a Ducati. It's like a sexy Italian girl that you just can't keep your eyes off. From head to toe the Duc is a looker and the only fault we found was the color of the rims. With a quick change to lighter silver, white, red or even blue the Ducati would have the total package.
Much like Yin and Yang, the TLS is the complete antithesis of the Ducati. Where the Streetfighter is fresh and clean like the girl next door, the TL is sinister and nasty-like your favorite stripper.
In the end we cast these two bikes as equals for completely different reasons: one angelic, one demonic.
Winner: Tie
Street Cred
Like we've said before, this may seem like an odd statistic to measure, but whether you admit it or not we all enjoy a few looks when we pull up on our bikes.
Much to our surprise, no matter the location the old TL got the most questions and biggest number of fans.
That's not to say the Ducati went unnoticed because that's impossible, but more people flocked to the dark knight than the white widow.
Winner: TL
In the Real World
The Ducati handily defeats the TLS in outright performance numbers, but life on the street is a lot different than on a controlled circuit or a sheet of paper. Thus, our testing regiment took place in the canyons as well as the urban landscape to run 'em where they belong-in the real world.
Out in the urban battle ground both bikes proved to be great mounts under a variety of conditions. Both can kill the canyons, double as commuters, look good at a bike night or cruise for some coffee. But neither is without its compromises.
The Ducati uses a dry clutch that's good for acoustic greatness but turns into a finicky mess when hot. In addition to a cantankerous clutch the Duc also warms up quickly, so steer clear of stop-and-go riding when the air temps are high.
The Suzuki is a bit more civilized in function, save for lower clip-ons that put pressure on your neck and wrists as well as rearsets that are equally good at bending you into a pretzel.
Both bikes also suffer from zero wind protection and neither will go past 100 miles without a fill-up. Neither are problems when you consider what you're riding, but don't think either will make a great sport tourer.
After much debate we found faults and attributes in both bikes but the Ducati ultimately was a tighter overall package under the street-testing criteria.
Winner: Ducati
Performance Breakdown
Acceleration Tests |
| 2010 Ducati Streetfighter |
1997 Suzuki TL1000S Streetfighter |
| 50-100 MPH, Third Gear Roll-On: 5.1 Seconds |
50-100 MPH, Third Gear Roll-On: 5.3 Seconds |
| 60-120 MPH, First-Third Gear Roll-On: 5.2 Seconds |
60-120 MPH, First-Third Gear Roll-On: 5.6 Seconds |