And now moving from a swoopy Italian to an angular Teuton, we have the KTM RC8R. Completely different and equally beautiful. To my eyes, in fact, the KTM’s lines are nearly perfect. The stealth-fighter aesthetic gives it an air of purpose, while being so futuristic and badass that nothing else except the Vyrus even comes close. And as much as I’m in love with the looks of this bike, there’s more to it than that. Having spent some quality time putting an RC8 through its paces, I can unequivocally call it my favorite attainable (i.e. costs less than a house) sportbike. Telepathic handling, light weight, a sweet big-bore v-twin, monster brakes, and it’s ergonomically suited to taller riders. Plus RC8s are rare enough that in 3 years, I’ve only seen 1 other on the roads of Los Angeles. I don’t own one now, but I will someday. Hopefully without needing to give up a toe, but hey, if it comes to that I won’t think twice.
This next one is a little esoteric. It’s not a factory-produced bike, and it’s the only 2-stroke on the list – the Aprilia RS500. If you’re scratching your head, it’s because you’ve heard of the RS250 – the super-light, incredible-handling (some say the best), purposefully-styled replica of the GP machine that guys like Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, and Valentino Rossi dominated the 250 class on back in the day – but not the RS500. See, Aprilia never made it. But some crazy/brilliant Aussies decided to take an RS250 donor bike, heavily modify its motor to DOUBLE the displacement, and shoehorn the monster back into the same chassis. We’re talking 250lbs gassed up and ready to go, propelled by 130 horsepower. It’s by far the lightest bike on this list, and would be just about untouchable on a racetrack. I’d probably grind a toe off just from the lean angles.
Okay, enough with the sportbikes. Here’s a few that fall in more of the “standard” genre, although they may stretch that category’s definition a bit and certainly wouldn’t be slouches on a twisty backroad. What these final two have in spades, though, is style.
The Norton 961SE is just the ticket for someone who’d like some performance along with that style. It’s got the best of both worlds – the classic, masculine, uncluttered looks of a British café racer, with modern performance updates like top-shelf Ohlins suspension, Brembo disc brakes, carbon fiber wheels, and a super torquey motor. Hard pressed to find a cooler machine that could still burn down a backroad with the best of ‘em. The only color scheme offered is black and gold, as it should be…
But if, for you, style trumps all, or if you have an appreciation for the stripped-down, raw, real essence of motorcycling, here’s your bike. It’s certainly been on plenty of custom bike sites, and in the magazines, so you may well have seen it before. I’m not usually one to jump on the bandwagon but there’s just no denying greatness of this scale. I present to you the final bike on my list, Falcon Motorcycles’ Black Falcon, which quite simply is a masterpiece. Falcon took a Vincent Black Shadow, already one of the world’s rarest and most desirable bikes, and stripped it. Re-engineered, modified, and detailed every part. It’s completely handmade, and required a year of labor – from a team of 6 men. At only 75 horsepower, and with a 59-year old frame and suspension, it’s got by far the weakest spec sheet of any bike on my list. But Vincents have always been known to handle, and you can be sure that those 75 ponies are delivered with enough character to make your rate of travel rather irrelevant. Forget the toes, I’d give up a pinky finger for this one.
Just look at the details…really is there anything else to say?
