Like MP3s and Kazaa downloads, three cyclinders is a format on the up and up. Triumph, Benelli, Aprilia, and Petronas in on it, triples seem to offer a balance between twin torque and four-cyclinder power. Big Al finds out where the new Benelli Tornado TRE and Triumph's Stalwart Daytona 955i sit in the big-bike charts.

Last year, the 2003 Suzuki was the old dog trying to learn new tricks from it's 600 sports bike rivals, so can the 2004 GSX-R600 pull a swift one before our very eyes and disappear with the middleweight crown? Now that would be magic.