Heritage Nakeds

Heritage nakeds are the segment that didn't really exist in 1996. Triumph's modern Bonneville arrived in 2001, the R nineT in 2014, the Z900RS in 2018. They're a marketing category as much as a mechanical one — modern engineering wearing 1970s clothes.

Done well (Bonneville T120, R nineT, Z900RS, Speed Twin 1200) you get a perfectly good modern motorcycle that just happens to look like the bike your dad rode. Done badly, you get expensive nostalgia with mediocre handling. The Hunter 350 and Interceptor 650 prove the formula works at much lower prices too — Royal Enfield is genuinely thriving on it.

The real test of a heritage bike is whether you'd ride it a lot, not just look at it. The good ones absolutely pass that test.