Performance Motorcycles
Factories and roadside gas stations zip by in a flash as the wind whips around your helmet and the sun beats down on your shoulders. You can feel the hum of the bike beneath you, seemingly effortlessly responding to your every move. The miles stretch out before you and you chase after them with adrenaline racing through your veins and nothing on your mind but the ride. Passing slow-moving cars and trucks, you maneuver the bike like its putty in your hands and that is when you get the feeling that this road was put here specifically for you to conquer.
Ever since the invention of the motorcycle in the 1800s, the fascination with them has grown right along with the ever-changing design and concept of the bikes themselves. Because of the versatility of the motorcycle, everyone everywhere can own and drive a motorcycle, enjoying all the benefits it has to offer. Touring, cruiser, street, off road, racing and other types of bikes have found a niche in homes all over the world and included everyone in the alluring phenomenon of the motorcycle. Lawyers, dentists, doctors, laborers, bankers, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers are all taking part.
One of the best-selling and most popular types of motorcycles is the performance motorcycle. A racer at heart, performance bikes are built for speed with sleek designs and aerodynamic bodies that cut through the air like a hot knife through butter and handle like an absolute dream. These particular bikes are loaded with the latest technologies and engine designs that allow for lightweight yet high performance output all in one neat little package.
Performance bikes are designed to have lightweight body structures because speed is the ultimate goal. To achieve this, special materials like carbon fiber are used to construct the bodies of the motorcycles so that rigidity can be maintained and provide a strong frame, yet not add unnecessary weight to the bike itself. The bodies of these bikes are also aerodynamically designed to slice through air resistance while on the road.
The tires of a performance bike also differ from regular bikes in that they reside in a shorter wheelbase and are wider and larger to allow greater maneuverability. These bikes travel faster by nature, and greater ease of movement is needed to help the driver navigate. In addition to this, the breaking systems have been enhanced to combat the higher speeds; traveling at faster speeds naturally requires more force to come to a stop.
Engine design is of utmost importance when dealing with performance bikes. This is where the bikes shine in regards to design and concept. New technologies are allowing advances in engine makeup and bringing forth greater speeds with less engine weight. Most of these bikes make use of a liquid-cooled 4 stroke engine providing smooth engine performance.
Since performance bikes are built for speed, lets take a look at three of the fastest motorcycles on the market; the Suzuki GSX 1300 R Hayabusa topping out at 186 mph, the MV Agusta F4 1100 CC at 196 mph, and the Ducati Desmosedici RR, ranking number one at 199 mph. Although all of these bikes are performance racing machines, there are differences that make them unique. Each one of these bikes is a work of art in and of itself.
Perhaps the most intriguing of the three is the Ducati Desmosedici RR (Racing Replica) with its red-hot looks and carbon fiber body. The RR is the street legal version of the MotoGP model, a four-stroke racing bike developed by the Italian born company, Ducati, to compete in the World Championship MotoGP, the grand champion of all motorcycle races. The Ducati sports a sleek look all its own and is an impressive example of the performance motorcycle class.
The MV Agusta F4 1100 CC is also an extraordinary and noteworthy example. Beautifully designed in both engineering and aesthetics, the F4 is unique in its own right due to the four-pipe undertail exhaust and a radial valved engine, thanks to a Ferrari influence and famed designer Massimo Tamburini.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Suzuki GSX 1300 R Hayabusa. Designed so the rider “hugs” the bike while driving, this bike has a stunning, futuristic feel to it. The GSX has been touted as the “total package.” Uncompromising in its design features, the GSX sacrifices nothing when it comes to the technology of the build or the eye-catching design of the bike itself, pulling both aspects together in one ideal package.