Spec Comparo: Triumph Street Triple RS vs Ducati Monster 821 vs Kawasaki Z900 vs KTM 790 Duke

Triumph has launched the 2020 Street Triple RS, the naked roadster from the British bike maker gets revised styling and it looks more aggressive than before. Now, this is a very tough territory with fierce competition, be it in terms of power, performance, electronic nannies and styling. We have put the new 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS against the Ducati Monster 821, KTM 790 Duke and the Kawasaki Z900. Let's see how the bout looks on paper.

Engine and drive transmission
The Kawasaki Z900 gets the highest capacity engine from the lot with a 948cc inline four-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine and it is followed by the Ducati Monster 821 with an 821cc L-twin, water-cooled engine. Up next, we have the scalpel, KTM 790 Duke with its 799cc parallel-twin two-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine and lastly, we have the freshly launched 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS with a 765cc inline three-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine. The Triumph Street Triple RS and the Kawasaki Z900 are the only two bikes from the lot that gets a BSVI compliant engine, the KTM 790 Duke and the Ducati Monster 821 are yet to make the transition.

Power figures
When it comes to power delivery, the Kawasaki Z900 stands in front with a maximum power of 125PS and 98.6Nm of torque and it is followed by the Triumph Street Triple RS that pushes 123PS of power and pulls 79Nm of torque, very close to the Z900 numbers. The BSIV Street Triple RS made 2Nm less torque than the new one, it may look like something not so significant on paper, but it can be a totally different story on the tarmac. The Ducati Monster 821 makes 108PS power and 86Nm of torque and it is followed by the KTM 790 Duke that delivers 104PS of power and 87Nm of torque. The power figures of the KTM 790 Duke and the Ducati Monster 821 could change when it makes the transition to BSVI. But, it will be hard to predict if the power is going to be less or more than the outgoing models. There are cases in which bikes have gained weight with the transition to BSVI while pushing the same output figures. At the same time, some have lost power marginally. This depends on how the manufacturer achieves the desired emission norm. It could be a reworked exhaust, bigger catalytic converter or alterations made to the ignition timing.

Electronics
All these bikes are feature-packed to the brim and at par with each other when it comes to the electronic nannies. The entire class gets traction control, ride by wire, TFT display, riding modes, Bluetooth connectivity (except Ducati Monster 821), bi-directional quickshifter (except for Kawasaki Z900) and dual-channel ABS. The features worth mentioning separately would be the GoPro control you get on the new Triumph Street Triple RS. It is a new and attractive feature in this class. You can also adjust the angle of the TFT screen on the Street Triple RS. The Kawasaki Z900 offers power mode selection that allows limiting the output capacity of the bike and the KTM 790 Duke offers switchable ABS or the Supermoto mode, it allows the rider to lock the rear wheel.

Cycle parts
The Street Triple RS rides on cast aluminium alloy five-spoke 17-inch wheels with twin 310mm floating disc at the front and a single 220mm disc at the rear. It gets a 41mm adjustable USD forks from Showa at the front and Ohlins fully-adjustable piggyback reservoir at the back. The Street Triple RS weighs 166kg. The Ducati Monster gets the beefiest USD forks with 43mm travel and it weighs 206kg. The Z900 weighs 212kg and gets a 41mm inverted fork. And the KTM 790 Duke also gets a 43mm USD fork up front, it weighs 169kg

Pricing
The most expensive of the lot is the new 2020 Street Triple RS which is priced at 11.13 lakh ex-showroom and it is followed by the Ducati Monster 821 that costs Rs 10.99 lakh ex-showrooom. Up next, is the KTM 790 Duke for Rs 8.63 lakh ex-showroom and the cheapest bike among the class is the Kawasaki Z900 with a price tag of Rs 7.99 lakh ex-showroom. The prices may be different for the KTM 790 Duke and the Ducati Monster 821 after the BSVI transition.