Manufacturers love naked bikes, especially if they are simply a faired sports bike with the fairing removed and the riding position eased a little: it’s two models for the price of developing one! Among riders, naked bikes are extremely popular, not only for their easier ergonomics but also for their ‘purer’ riding experience, with no fairing or screen to get in the way.

Supremely capable on road or track, what they lose out on in terms of wind and weather protection, they more than make up for in dynamics and sheer exhilarating fun. There’s a huge choice on the market and any list is always going to be subjective but here is what we feel are the best on the market right now.

Updated August 2023: Naked bikes are all the rage these days, and manufacturers release new models and updated versions every year. To keep our readers up to speed on all the latest developments, this article will be updated periodically.

RELATED:Best Naked Bikes For Beginners

10 KTM 390 Duke

One of the best naked bikes irrespective of engine size. There is just something about a physically small motorcycle with excellent suspension and braking components contributing to the sporty dynamics, coupled with a punchy 44 horsepower single-cylinder engine. The package as a whole enables you to make use of every single horsepower without feeling you will ever be reaching beyond your skill level while, at the same time, helping you build on that skill level. It looks really funky and is just so much fun you’ll never want to get off.

Model Highlights

• Excellent suspension
• Sporty dynamics
• Punchy single cylinder engine

RELATED: 2024 KTM 390 Duke vs Triumph Speed 400 - Which Entry-Level Naked Is Better?

9 Yamaha MT-07

Yamaha has a lot of naked sports bikes in its catalog and any of them would be worthy entries in this list but the mid-sized MT-07 has everything you need for less money than all of its siblings, barring the MT-03. It just has the right balance of every important element: power, handling, braking, comfort and (important for some) economy. The 689cc parallel-twin engine pushes out 72 horsepower which is enough for any situation, even highway cruising. The chassis can handle everything the engine and the road can throw at it while the electronics would not disgrace a much more expensive model.

Model Highlights

• Relatively inexpensive compared to competitors
• Balanced in power, handling, braking, comfort and economy
• Capable chassis

8 Suzuki SV650

Getting long in the tooth, maybe and about to be replaced by a new parallel-twin engined 800cc model, the Suzuki SV650 is marked by its lovely V-twin engine that is as bullet-proof as it is punchy and characterful. Talking of punch, this is a bike that punches way above its weight, and you’ll have to travel a long way to find anyone who has a bad thing to say about it.

None of the components are top-spec and there’s little in the way of electronics but all that only goes to showcase what a great all-round package it is, with perfectly good handling and chassis dynamics and decent performance. Having been around for so long, there are plenty of after-market parts to help you customize it but, as it stands, it’s one of the most honest motorcycles you can buy.

Model Highlights

• Reliable and simple v-twin engine
• Great all-round motorcycle
• Large aftermarket for parts

RELATED: Best Naked Sport Bikes Of The 2000s

7 Triumph Street Triple 765 R

The Triumph Street Triple has always been revered for its sweet handling chassis and the sonorous and punchy three-cylinder engine and now, for the next generation Street Triple 765 R, Triumph has turned all the dials up to 11, including the accessibility and, just as important, the quality. The ‘R’ version is the ‘base’ model but don’t let that make you think it is missing something: everything you need to fall in love with twisty roads is here.

The engine pushes out 118 horsepower and has so much grunt, drama and excitement which is somehow allied to completely unintimidating (and yet exhilarating) performance. The handling is barely matched by the most expensive dedicated sports bikes. The RS has higher-spec brakes and suspension but, in the real world, the Street Triple 765 R is all the motorcycle you will ever need.

Model Highlights

• Characterful three-cylinder engine
• Powerful yet accessible

6 KTM 1290 Super Duke R

Not for nothing does KTM refer to the 1290 Super Duke R as The Beast! Like two others bikes on this list, the KTM1290 Super Duke R is not a sports bike with the fairing stripped off, but a naked bike from inception. That doesn’t mean it can’t kick a sports bike’s butt in the right hands. 178 horsepower, 103 foot pounds of torque and a mere 432 pounds of weight adds up to barely contained insanity.

The Evo model adds WP semi-active suspension to try and contain the ferocity of the performance. Without the confines of a fairing, the rider can adjust the ergonomics much wider to suit his or her style, which is one of the benefits of the naked bike: they’re just so much more comfortable. In existence since 2014, you have to wonder just how much further KTM can go with the 1290 Super Duke without having to re-draft the laws of physics.

Model Highlights

• Comparable to sport bike in power and handling
• Better ergonomics than fully faired bikes

5 BMW S 1000 R

As revolutionary for BMW as the original S 1000 RR sports bike was, the naked S 1000 R gave a hint that BMW engineers had a sense of fun behind the Teutonic efficiency. Less horsepower than the S 1000 RR - 164 horsepower is still massively respectable - and 84 foot pounds of torque is one more than the S 1000 RR. Weight, strangely, is higher than the sports bike, at 452 pounds, compared to 434 pounds, but this has absolutely no impact on the way it will handle, corner, accelerate and brake.

The flexibility of the engine is impressive, as happy to potter around in fourth gear as it is trying to pull your arms out of their sockets. The riding position is all that is best about naked bikes: roomy, comfortable and not requiring you to fold yourself up like Origami. Add in BMW build and engineering quality, and it’s a hard argument to ignore.

Model Highlights

• Flexible engine dynamics
• Roomy and comfortable
• Renowned BMW quality

4 Suzuki GSX-S1000

Suzuki has not only taken the fairing off the GSX-S1000F to create the naked GSX-S1000 but it has also taken the engine from the 2005 GSX-R1000R to further save on development costs. This is a seriously underrated motorcycle: the engine is massively powerful, with 150 horsepower, and a seemingly - unlike many four-cylinder motorcycle engines - endless spread of torque which makes it so relaxing to ride if you’re in the mood to potter around. But unleash those horses, and you’ll find that the whole bike works in beautiful harmony. The riding position is almost perfect: not too much weight on the wrists but racy enough to give a thrill while avoiding the contortions needed to fit on a superbike. Typical Suzuki build quality makes this a bike to seriously consider, even if you might find the front-end treatment not to your taste.

Model Highlights

• Underrated, powerful engine
• Plenty of usable torque
• Comfortable ergonomics

3 Kawasaki Z H2

The Kawasaki H2 was more of a sports tourer than an out-and-out sports bike and this is something that the naked Z H2 goes some way to addressing. Not that the recipe has been diluted at all - there’s still 197 horsepower and 101 foot pounds of torque, both at reduced revs compared to the faired H2.

No matter which way you look at it, this is still an insanely fast motorcycle, just with a bit more real-world practicality in terms of rider comfort. The styling is aggressive, set off nicely by the green-painted trellis frame and other accents contrasting with the black of what little bodywork there is. It’s no lightweight, at 527 pounds, but this only serves to enhance the stability which, in turn, gives the rider so much confidence.

Model Highlights

• Real-world practicality
• Stable at all speeds
• Confidence inspiring dynamics

2 Ducati Monster SP

The Monster has been a hugely important model for Ducati, its success laying the foundation upon which modern Ducati has been built. Over thirty years of production, the Monster has just got better and better and the recent redesign has made an already impressive platform even better. 109 horsepower is more than enough for modern riding conditions, and you could say that a greater proportion of the Monster’s performance is accessible to mere mortals than aa motorcycle with over 200 horsepower.

Best of all, however, is the sheer character of the bike: full of Italian flair and style, not to mention the exhaust bellow from those two large cylinders. Swing a leg over a new Monster, and you’ll immediately detect the DNA from the very first in 1993 and this familiarity keeps it at the top of many motorcyclists lists of favorites.

Model Highlights

• A legacy model only made better over time
• Typical Italian premium feel and characteristics

1 Kawasaki Z900RS

If retro is your thing, then why not celebrate naked motorcycling with one of the first ‘superbikes’ or, at least, a reproduction. The modern Z900 is the base for the Z900RS, with its funky retro styling recalling the first Z1 of 1972. In fact, the RS works much better as a styling exercise than the ‘modern’ Z900, while losing none of its typical Japanese user-friendliness. The inline four-cylinder engine pushes out 109 horsepower which the chassis can handle with no problems.

The Japanese have only partially embraced the retro or ‘modern classic’ movement and, when they are as good as this, it makes you wonder why they haven’t trawled their respective catalogs for more inspiration. A modern six-cylinder Honda CBX1000, anyone? We can only hope.

Model Highlights

• Retro styling with modern underpinnings
• Accessible and user-friendly
• Powerful with a capable chassis