If you were going to buy a liter sport bike 2019-20...

[Capo]

When it comes to sport bikes, or today's naked sports machines like the Super Duke, you have to make your decision based on the engine. There is no use comparing specs...every modern liter bike will be far more than you can handle or is needed on public roads. In fact, even on under 2 mile courses for track days, liter bikes are overkill and rarely get out of 2nd gear. (I have a Daytona 675R for such endeavors and it's perfect.)

The character of the engine...V-twin, Triple, I-4, Cross-plane I-4, V4...is so important to the experience and preferences of the rider in this class of machines, that all of the other aspects pale. If you're not a V-Twin fan, you'll hate the Duke, no matter what. If you love silky I-4's then the CB1000RR SP could be just the ticket. But you're not likely to love both. So, think about that, determine what floats your boat, test as many as possible, and buy the one that makes you all tingly inside.

[the Ferret]

When it comes to sport bikes, or today's naked sports machines like the Super Duke, you have to make your decision based on the engine. There is no use comparing specs...every modern liter bike will be far more than you can handle or is needed on public roads. In fact, even on under 2 mile courses for track days, liter bikes are overkill and rarely get out of 2nd gear. (I have a Daytona 675R for such endeavors and it's perfect.)

The character of the engine...V-twin, Triple, I-4, Cross-plane I-4, V4...is so important to the experience and preferences of the rider in this class of machines, that all of the other aspects pale. If you're not a V-Twin fan, you'll hate the Duke, no matter what. If you love silky I-4's then the CB1000RR SP could be just the ticket. But you're not likely to love both. So, think about that, determine what floats your boat, test as many as possible, and buy the one that makes you all tingly inside.

Those are all great points Capo.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Indeed. Over the decades I have tended to gravitate back to inlines.

[jedd_imp]

Living in Austin, once a yr, during MotoGP week, I get to test ride just about ANY brand new m/c offered by the big mfrs.
All the big tents in the pic below are hosting free demo rides all day long.


This yr, I test rode the 2020 BMW S1000RR for a 25 min spirited ride on the rural farm roads surrounding the COTA track.


This bike is simply beyond incredible!
Docile enough to be street ridden all day long, yet has so much performance that it's track ready right from the get-go. Very confident inspiring at triple digits. It does everything so well. The quick shift automatically rev matches, up or down - the electronics pkg has so much technology packed into it, I didn't even have a chance to dial up anything, but the throttle!

[Novice_imp]

When it comes to sport bikes, or today's naked sports machines like the Super Duke, you have to make your decision based on the engine. There is no use comparing specs...every modern liter bike will be far more than you can handle or is needed on public roads. In fact, even on under 2 mile courses for track days, liter bikes are overkill and rarely get out of 2nd gear. (I have a Daytona 675R for such endeavors and it's perfect.)

The character of the engine...V-twin, Triple, I-4, Cross-plane I-4, V4...is so important to the experience and preferences of the rider in this class of machines, that all of the other aspects pale. If you're not a V-Twin fan, you'll hate the Duke, no matter what. If you love silky I-4's then the CB1000RR SP could be just the ticket. But you're not likely to love both. So, think about that, determine what floats your boat, test as many as possible, and buy the one that makes you all tingly inside.

Those are all great points Capo.

Those are all great points Capo.
Yes, all great points. I think of myself as an I4 person. However, I have never owned or ridden a twin other than a Harley I rented for a day, but I've been a fan of them from afar. Ducati, TL1000, RC51, Moto Guzzi Daytona, Super Duke, etc. the sound alone is enough to make me want one. I was trying to explain to the wife (not a rider) how much of a difference the sound of the bike makes in the riding experience, but she didn't get it. That being said, I'm not sure a big shaky shaky engine is right for me coming from I4s. But it's simply my lack of experience with them that makes me not want to rule them out. How do you know you don't like them if you've never tried one?
Jedd
Thank you! I have looked at the BMW S1000RR and they are awesome. I've even played with the build your bike feature on their website. For some reason though, I'm not as confident with their engineering as I am with the Japanese bikes. Maybe I'm wrong and someone will tell me based on their experience that they are just as solid as any Japanese bike.
Speaking of engines- Does anybody know if there's a practical difference and what it is between the CBR1000RR engine and the R1 crossplane engine other than the obvious engineering difference and the sound when riding them around?

[Cormanus]

When it comes to sport bikes, or today's naked sports machines like the Super Duke, you have to make your decision based on the engine. There is no use comparing specs...every modern liter bike will be far more than you can handle or is needed on public roads. In fact, even on under 2 mile courses for track days, liter bikes are overkill and rarely get out of 2nd gear. (I have a Daytona 675R for such endeavors and it's perfect.)

The character of the engine...V-twin, Triple, I-4, Cross-plane I-4, V4...is so important to the experience and preferences of the rider in this class of machines, that all of the other aspects pale. If you're not a V-Twin fan, you'll hate the Duke, no matter what. If you love silky I-4's then the CB1000RR SP could be just the ticket. But you're not likely to love both. So, think about that, determine what floats your boat, test as many as possible, and buy the one that makes you all tingly inside.

Those are all great points Capo.

Those are all great points Capo.
Yes, all great points. I think of myself as an I4 person. However, I have never owned or ridden a twin other than a Harley I rented for a day, but I've been a fan of them from afar. Ducati, TL1000, RC51, Moto Guzzi Daytona, Super Duke, etc. the sound alone is enough to make me want one. I was trying to explain to the wife (not a rider) how much of a difference the sound of the bike makes in the riding experience, but she didn't get it. That being said, I'm not sure a big shaky shaky engine is right for me coming from I4s. But it's simply my lack of experience with them that makes me not want to rule them out. How do you know you don't like them if you've never tried one?
Jedd
Thank you! I have looked at the BMW S1000RR and they are awesome. I've even played with the build your bike feature on their website. For some reason though, I'm not as confident with their engineering as I am with the Japanese bikes. Maybe I'm wrong and someone will tell me based on their experience that they are just as solid as any Japanese bike.
Speaking of engines- Does anybody know if there's a practical difference and what it is between the CBR1000RR engine and the R1 crossplane engine other than the obvious engineering difference and the sound when riding them around?

That's a wise observation. How many of your shortlist will you be able to test ride?

Members of this forum who own a number of bikes are able to reconcile themselves happily to different makes and styles of bike.

[LongRanger_imp]

"Big shaky" does NOT describe the characteristics of a modern high-performance V-Twin. Quite the contrary! You need to ride one.

If you love the S1000RR, that's a good start. I wouldn't hesitate to consider the engineering of the bike to be at the same level, if not superior, to the other brands you've mentioned. It's quite a high-tech thoroughbred. At least you can demo the bike any day you choose at your local dealer. However, my initial opinion about overkill for the street still applies.

[Henrik_imp]

I totally agree with the overkill for the street. Most of these top sports bikes are close to or just above 200 hp, which is just crazy. That was also one of the things that I appreciated with the Ducati 939 SuperSport as it quotes 113 hp, something much more realistic. As I mentioned before, at the track you may find it lacking, but on the street I really doubt it.

[Novice_imp]

I also agree it's overkill. The fact of the matter is that the CB is perfect for the street IMHO. Even though the it's nowhere near the power levels of the bikes we're talking about here, I broke every speed limit law in the U.S. yesterday while casual riding (just to keep up with traffic) and left everyone at every stop light (That was just for fun).

But...

From Ballad Of The Frogman (I'm not a frogman just like the sentiment) "Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards."

I did go kick the tires on the Ducati! No test ride though. I have a concern about the cost of aftermarket parts for Ducati in general. For example, one youtuber with a Ducati 959 was talking about the cost of slip on mufflers being a couple thousand dollars.

[the Ferret]

I think my son paid about $1500 for the slip on Termigoni's for his Ducati Monster (although there are two of them)