When you’re king, sometimes you have to defend your throne.

Triumph’s Street Triple R lost its 2009 Motorcycle of the Year crown to BMW’s stunning S1000RR (no other bike really stood a chance against it) in this year’s 2010 Motorcycle.com Best of awards. Yet, had the Beemer not come along, we’re pretty certain the raspy lil’ Trumpet once again would’ve represented itself well for a shot at BoY this year.

In the naked sportbike realm, Kawasaki’s mostly unfaired 2010 Z1000 possesses an advantage on the order of at least 25 rear-wheel horsepower over the Triumph, but the Street Triple makes a case for itself by scaling in 65 lbs lighter than the Z’s 481 lbs in a comparison of wet weights.

Triumph’s Street Triple R was our favorite of all bikes last year. Does the STR still have what it takes to remain one of our most loved motorcycles in 2010?

Regardless of missing out on a winner-take-all title for 2010, the TSTR is still a top dog in the nekkid bike segment.

New naked middleweight contender? Time for a street brawl!

Closer to the Triumph’s class of displacement is a new contender for this year.

Ducati’s all-new Monster 796 expands the Monster lineup to three models. With a useful boost in power compared to the Monster 696’s engine, and a chassis very similar to the Monster 1100, the newest member of the Monster family is in many ways the best combination of its siblings.

A new kid on the block, eh? Best we round this pair up and see what shakes down.

Our first few rides had us thinking the Monster’s slightly lower tech two-valve-per-cylinder, air-cooled 803cc L-Twin didn’t haul the mail quite as well as the Triumph’s liquid-cooled, DOHC, 12-valve 675cc inline Triple.

Ducati’s all-new Monster 796. The midsize Monster is possibly the best combo of what the Monster 696 and 1100 offer, but is the 796 Monster enough to take on the formidable Street Triple R?

Dyno time proved us right when all runs were completed, as the Trumpet’s nearly 97 hp at 12,000 rpm easily surpassed the Monster’s 76.1 peak rwhp at 8400 rpm.

Our Triumph test unit came equipped with an aftermarket Arrow exhaust (available as a Triumph accessory), and is the likely culprit in what is roughly a 6-hp gain compared to the 91 hp thestandard Street Triple made for us a couple years back. But despite the utterly delicious-sounding music this Arrow can makes, Boss Man Kevin Duke couldn’t help but wonder if it contributed to softer low-end response.

Despite the Triumph’s horsepower blow out at the top, the Duc carries a surprising power advantage every place else.

From as early as 3500 rpm the Ducati pulls 4 to 5 hp on the Triumph, and carries that advantage until 6K rpm at which point it made as much as 10 hp more than the Street Triple.

The Triumph’s inline Triple was the dominant force in terms of peak horsepower. Nevertheless, the Duc’s air-cooled Twin proved the more potent engine until it reached its peak power, at which point the Triumph keeps spinning up higher.

Only another thousand rpm later and the Duc whipped the Trumpet’s 54.5 ponies by nearly 14 hp. The 796 continues this 10+ hp spanking until its 8400 rpm peak, at which time the middleweight Triple catches up and continues to build toward its dominating final peak power.

The Triumph’s smooth-running and rev-happy engine doles out wonderfully linear power. Aside from a dip at approximately 7500 rpm in the Triumph’s horsepower graph, the inline Triple’s dyno results are comparatively straight and consistent. It’s so smooth, in fact, the blip at 7500 was imperceptible out on the street.