Top 10: Sports Bikes
If you want to get from A to B as quickly as possible then a sports bike is probably for you, although to achieve this they sacrifice comfort and make use of the latest technology so they they tend to be quite expensive. Here we are looking at legal road use, not the fastest lap times on a track. What is a sports bike?
The Best Sports Bikes / Superbikes:
- Ducati V4S
- Yamaha YZF-R1M
- BMW S1000RR
- Honda Fireblade SP
- Kawasaki ZX-10R SE
- Aprilia RSV RF
- Honda Fireblade
- Suzuki GSX-R1000R
- Yamaha YZF-R1
- Suzuki GSX-R1000
Ducati V4S - £23,900
No sports bike top ten would be complete without a beautiful Ducati, in this case the new for 2018 V4 powered Panigale V4 S. It sets the bar high on looks, power, weight and features all the tech you would expect. There's Ohlins electrically adjustable suspension, cornering ABS, slide control, a lean angle aware quickshifter, gorgeous TFT dash and of course the stunning single sided swingarm with no massive exhaust to ruin the lines.
There's also a £3,750 cheaper V4 without some of the shiny bits, a 2019 track focused V4 R and range topping £35,000 V4 Speciale edition.
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Yamaha YZF-R1M - £20,200
Updated for 2018 the exclusive R1M builds on the regular R1 with Ohlins semi-active suspension, a new quickshifter, improved anti-wheelie system, Carbon bodywork, data logger and Akrapovic full Titanium exhaust system. Capability wise it's very much up there with the Ducati V4S and Fireblade SP.
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BMW S1000RR - £15,290
The S1000RR was game changing when it launched in 2005 although the asymmetric looks did divide opinion. BMW have been constantly evolving it and three generations later the 2019 model is a brand new bike. The wonky headlight is gone, power is up from a new Variable Valve Timing engine, weight is down, the dash is now a fancy colour TFT job and it can be fully spec'd up with semi-active electric suspension. The new M Pack even adds Carbon Fibre wheels but you won't see much change from £20,000.
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Honda Fireblade SP - £19,800
Much like the R1M and V4 S the 2017 Fireblade SP re-design gives you a colour TFT dash, Ohlins semi-active suspension, a quickshifter, high spec Brembo brakes and cornering ABS. There's also a £3,900 cheaper base version without the Ohlins/Brembos/quickshifter and a £3,125 more expensive SP2 version although it's limited to 500 units with only 150 coming to Europe.
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Kawasaki ZX-10R SE - £18,950
New for 2018 the ZX-10R SE has a party trick when it comes to suspension. It's from Showa and electronically adjusts the damping 1000 times per second although the pre-load is still manual. There's also cornering ABS, Brembo brakes, Ohlins steering damper and launch control but the bike is fundamentally the same as the 2011 ZX-10R.
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Aprilia RSV RF - £20,000
The 2017 re-design of the RSV RF introduced cornering ABS, Ohlins suspension, Brembo M50 brakes, a colour TFT dash and up/down quickshifter, all of which make the RF a potent track weapon. If there is a downside though it's likely to be the price versus bikes like the Fireblade SP, which include electric semi-active suspension over the RF's manual set-up.
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Honda Fireblade - £15,800
The new Fireblade for 2017 focused on increased power and reduced weight while adding cornering ABS, wheelie control and a new colour TFT dash. It looks amazing in black and rather cunningly both LED headlights do low and high beam, avoiding that wonky look. There's also a £3,900 more expensive SP version which gets you Ohlins semi-active suspension, better brakes and a quickshifter.
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Suzuki GSX-R1000R - £16,300
Competing directly with the Fireblade is Suzuki's new for 2017 GSX-R1000R. It builds on the £2,850 cheaper base GSX-R1000 with more advanced Showa suspension, a bi-directional quickshifter, launch control and a lighter battery.
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Yamaha YZF-R1 - £16,500
The standard R1 has been knocking about now since 2015 however for 2018 it gains a quickshifter with low and high speed settings. You also get a launch control, an anti-wheelie system, a fancy colour TFT dash and lightweight Magnesium wheels. For £3,700 extra you could have the limited edition R1M with Ohlins semi-active suspension and Akrapovic Titanium exhaust system.
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Suzuki GSX-R1000 - £13,700
New for 2017 the GSX-R1000 re-design focused on more power from a Variable Valve Timing (VVT) engine, aerodynamics and being more compact however the exhaust grew into a bit of a monster. For £2,850 extra you could have the GSX-R1000R with more advanced suspension, launch control and a bi-directional quickshifter.
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What Is A Sports Bike?
Sports bikes have one goal in mind, which is going as fast as possible from A to B. They achieve this by minimising weight while at the same time maximising power (ideally around 1 bhp per 1 kg of weight), a low aggressive riding position, full aerodynamic fairing, state of the art technology and the best lean angle possible for cornering as low as possible. The most expensive bikes are usually closely related to the manufacturer's MotoGP race bike of the time.
Sales have been suffering recently though because they aren't comfortable, pillion friendly, economical or really that practical for everyday riding and if you can only have one bike an Adventure or Sport Touring model probably makes more sense, particularly if you won't be taking it anywhere near a track. The middle capacities, around 600cc, have suffered the most though with the only real option still on sale being the gorgeous Yamaha R6.
Check out the other types of motorbikes.