These Are The 5 Greatest Litre Bikes Ever Made

When it comes to speed and agility, liter bikes rule the roost. Here are the 10 greatest ones ever made.

Speed – a phenomenon that petrolheads have been chasing fervently since the first vehicle was invented. This quest of speed and agility has brought out some amazing motorcycleover the years. 1000cc superbikes these days have a power-to-weight ratio of close to 0.5 hp per pound, which seemed almost impossible back in the day. It has taken decades of continuous research and testing for manufacturers to reach this point, and what we see in bikes today is a culmination of the time spent on the development of these machines.

Here’s a list of greatest liter bikes that have gone through this evolution and managed to cement their place in the hearts of bikers around the world.

5 Triumph Speed Triple

Triumph introduced a new segment named ‘naked streetfighter’ in 1994 with the introduction of the first Speed Triple. This was the original ‘Hooligan’ that had plenty of power on tap and was filled with pure aggression. Over the years, Triumph kept the formula same and enhanced its aggressive character with various developments. It got a 995cc engine in 1999 and the engine size went up to 1050cc in 2005. In its most recent form, it makes 150hp @ 10,500rpm and gets loads of tech including optimised cornering ABS, traction control, five riding modes including a track-focused RS mode.

4 Kawasaki ZX-10R

You might remember Tom Cruise riding a Kawasaki GPz900R in the movie Top Gun. The 900R was, in fact, the predecessor of the ZX10 that came out in 1988. Soon, it was replaced by the ZX-11, which was followed by the ZX-9R, and finally the ZX-10R in 2004. The bike was regularly updated but wasn’t well received. It was not until 2011 that the ZX-10R gained recognition in the World Superbike (WSBK) Championship and actually started to have a fan following. Over the years, it has proved its worth on the track and now has created its own space in the market.

3 Aprilia RSV4

Aprilia replaced the V-Twin RSV1000R with the four-cylinder RSV4 in 2009. From the time it was introduced, it became an instant hit on the track winning the WSBK titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The 2015 model made over 200hp and got plenty of modifications to the chassis to handle that Last year, the premium version of the RSV4 known as the RF was discontinued and the 999cc bike was available only in the RR version. 2019 also saw the introduction of the 201RSV4 1100 factory that made over 217hp that would take on the Ducati Panigale.

2 BMW S1000RR

Back in 2002, BMW wanted to enter the MotoGP. The first prototype wasn’t really light or fast for that matter. After a point, BMW took a call and decided to rather focus on building a WSB-legal road bike. With the Suzuki GSXR1000 in its crosshairs, BMW started working from scratch and introduced the first-ever S1000RR at the end of 2008.

BMW entered WSBK along with Aprilia who enjoyed most of the success. But the S1000RR did well in showrooms and even introduced a track-only version weighing just 320 pounds and making 215hp in 2017. The 2019 model is the first superbike to have variable valve timing and lift technology.

1 MV Agusta F4

In 1998, the MV Agusta brand was resurrected with the introduction of the F4. This 4-cylinder engine had a hemispherical cylinder head chamber. The engine was derived from 1990-1992 Ferrari Formula One engine and Ferrari engineers even assisted in the early stages of development of this engine. The 1000cc engine was used in the Italian Superbike Championship and was introduced in production form in 2005 with the F4 1000 AGO. After various special editions, the second generation F4 was introduced in 2010. The F4 saw its last update in 2018 after which it had to be discontinued due to emission laws.