Top 10 Sports Bikes
If you want to get from A to B as quickly as possible on the road then a sports bike is probably for you.
To achieve this they sacrifice comfort for an aerodynamic advantage and maximum lean angles, make use of the latest technology and tend to be quite expensive. What is a sports bike?
The Best Sports Bikes:
Ducati V4S
★ Sports Bike of the Year ★
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. Read the review.
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BMW S1000RR
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 electronic suspension.
The new M Pack even adds Carbon Fibre wheels but you won't see much change from £20,000.
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Yamaha YZF-R1M
It builds on the standard R1 with semi-active Ohlins electronic suspension, a new ERS NPX fork, Carbon bodywork / front fender / tail cowl and a range of apps to set custom ride modes, track all the data from the bike and to display a re-run of the race on Google Maps.
It's a limited production run with the number stamped on top of the tank.
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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. Read the review.
There's also a £3,125 more expensive SP2 version although it's limited to 500 units with only 150 coming to Europe.
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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
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 electronic semi-active suspension over the RF's manual set-up.
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Yamaha YZF-R1
The standard R1 has been knocking about now since 2015 however for 2018 it gained a 2-level quickshifter, launch control, an anti-wheelie system and a fancy colour TFT dash.
For 2020 there's an upgraded chassis, fuelling tweaks, a sharper front end, new side fairings, a smoother tank, 5% improvement in aerodynamics, new lighter Titanium lower fairing and new multi level ABS and EBC systems.
Other improvements include a more rigid airbox design, new lighter throttle sensor, suspension / steering damper tweaks, updated tyres, updated launch control, better brake pads, new tail light design and some Euro 5 exhaust tweaks.
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Honda Fireblade
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. Read the review.
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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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Suzuki GSX-R1000
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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How Did We Rank Our Top Ten?
We looked at all the best road focused sports bikes you can buy new and picked the top contenders, taking into account style, power, technology and value for money.
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 that 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.
