Toad’s dream garage – Pt 1 Sports Bikes

WE’VE all done it, sat in the sun on a weekend and dreamt of all the bikes we’d buy if we won a significant amount of money. While the chances of actually landing six and the bonus ball are slim, it’s always good to have a plan should the day arrive.

But instead of just splurging your seven-figure sum on any old bike, think about it a bit… Let's break the winnings down into sports bikes, nakeds, cruisers and tourers.

Here’s my starter for ten (million).

5. Honda CBR900RR FireBlade (1992)

You can’t have a dream bike garage of sports bikes without probably one of the most important machines of modern times – the legendary 1992 CBR900RR FireBlade. Prices in recent years have rocketed for well looked after examples and a shed load of homework is needed to prevent you from buying a pup. Using a stroked out 750cc engine, Honda created a machine that was lighter, nimbler and almost as powerful as the 1000 and 1100cc sportsbikes of the time.

4. MV Agusta F3 800 RC (2020)         

Boasting 153hp and weighing in at 165kg, the MV Agusta F3 800 RC is the pinnacle of the current MV sports bike range. The MV also gets four maps for the ride-by-wire throttle, eight levels of traction control, ABS and rear-wheel lift detection. It’ll also be one of the prettiest bikes at the trackday.

3. Kawasaki Ninja H2 R

Look, we know that unless you are an extremely avid trackday rider, the Kawasaki H2 R is a bit of a useless bike. You can’t nip to the shops, pop out with your mates to the local bike meet or take it to work on a sunny day. But you can buy a standard H2 for all of that and save the H2 R for the odd trackday and generally just gawping at while it’s parked in your garage!

With over 300bhp produced from its supercharged inline four-cylinder engine, the H2 R sports bike has been a bit of a holy grail for speed-loving adrenalin junkies since its birth in 2016. It’s gone onto spawn the roadgoing (and equally bonkers) H2 sports bike, the H2 SX SE sports tourer and the new 2020 Z H2 supercharged naked. All of which have rewritten the rule book when it comes to speed and everyday ease of use.

2. Ducati Desmosedici RR

The Desmo’ was one of the first modern era road-going MotoGP bikes that Joe and Joanne Bloggs could actually walk into a dealership and buy. Based upon the Ducati GP6 MotoGP of the time, the road-going Desmosedici RR was so close in terms of spec and shape to the MotoGP machine, it was almost indistinguishable. Price when new were £40k and bikes were limited to 1,500 units. Ducati prioritised sales to Ducatisti who already owned extensive collections, meaning most could only dream of owning this 200hp MotoGP bike for the road.

1. Manx Norton

It may not be a sports bike in the current mould, but the 500cc single cylinder Manx Norton was, to the racers of the time, what the fastest MotoGP bikes are to us.

Built between 1946 and 1962, the Manx found fame in road racing and short course competitions, pummelling the competition thanks to its 130mph + top speed and sweet handling courtesy of its McCandless brothers Featherbed frame.

With period correct examples of this truly iconic sports bike pushing £30k, now might be the best time to snap up the daddy of sports bike before prices go stratospheric.