World Superbike road bike shootout
We pit the five factory-backed World Superbike contenders for 2020 against one another – which one deserves space in your garage?
DESPITE stuttering start to the 2020 season, World Superbike, along with MotoGP, looks like it may, at last, begin racing again.
To celebrate the beginning of the World Superbike season, slated for August 1st at Jerez, we thought we’d pitch the five contenders from the official World Superbike factory teams for 2020 against each other.
Having spent time on all the main protagonist's bikes this year, we’ve been lucky enough to spend time on the track, on-road and even the Autobahn to bring you our verdict on the road-going WSBK machines. We’ve taken into account the performance on road and track, real-world comfort and technical specifications to bring you the most in-depth comparison we can during these testing times.
With no official entries from Suzuki or Aprilia for 2020, the test includes the BMW S1000RR, Ducati Panigale V4, Honda CBR1000RR-R, Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja and the Yamaha R1.
Despite less factory back machines, the World Superbike grid still boasts a massive variety of designs, engine configurations, and styles of sports bike, each with a distinctive take on maximising speed around the planets most arduous motorsport venues.
Surely one of the bikes that most of the motorcycling world’s eyes on this year will be the Honda CBR1000RR-R SP of the Honda World Superbike team. It’s all-new design and superstar rider of Alvaro Bautista have a large amount of HRC-shaped pressure on their shoulders this season. Can they do the unthinkable and take the team and rider titles in the bike’s first year of racing?
Only time will tell.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
