Super singles then and now

While today's market is full of big powerful multi-cylinder monsters, there are a handful of light and playful singles hanging on. Most thumpers on the market today are dirtbikes, but there are a handful of traditional street bikes and street oriented dual sports. Perhaps the best selling street single on the market is BMW's F650. The F650 was built along side the Aprilia Pegaso and each shared the same Rotax built 650cc liquid cooled single.


Aprilia Pegaso 1990-1998
BMW F650 1994-present
BMW G650 2008-present
In 2008 BMW started to phase out the F650 with the new G650 series.

Buell Blast 2000-present
In the late nineties Harley was looking for an entry level bike for beginning riders. Trouble was Harley's smallest model was the 883 Sportster, not the best bike for novice riders. The blast was born using a 500cc air cooled single, perfect for training soon-to-be hog riders.

KTM Duke 1995-present
For years KTM has been carrying the torch for modern singles. The Duke line is more than a street going dirtbike, it is a purpose built street machine. Today the Duke features KTM's 690cc LC4.

Now there are several other big twins that are around today. This include the Kawasaki KLR650, Suzuki DR650, Yamaha XT660, Honda XR650, and the KTM LC4 Adventure. These bikes are more dirt oriented and they're covered in my adventure bike feature.

Oh, and there's one more big single Suzuki's Savage 650.