Manufacturers have made going racing easier than ever, many of them delivering homologation specials or ready-to-race models that require no more than a tank of fuel. It's a great time to be a racer. There are, however, a number of production motorcycles that will fit the bill too, provided you're willing to spend a few hours in the garage prepping them for competition.
Seeing a batch of these motorcycles being unveiled at the 2019 EICMA show in Milan got us itching for the green flag to drop. Keep reading for the top five bikes we're dying to race in 2020.
Husqvarna pulled the wraps off the FR 250 GP—a rebadged KTM Moto3 RC 250 racer. This purpose-built racebike marks Husky's reentry into the Moto3 World Championship in 2020 after a five-year hiatus, looking to expand the brand's identity in the street segment. The motorcycle above appears to be a works machine, boasting twin dual-piston Brembo brake calipers, WP suspension components, twin Akrapovič mufflers, and of course a high-revving, liquid-cooled, 249cc, DOHC single. Serious stuff.
Sure, the FR 250 GP is a full-blown race machine built to compete at a World Championship level and surely requires deep pockets (no pricing has been made available), but who wouldn’t want it to tear up the local races?
The Aprilia RS 660 may not be the obvious choice for a race platform but, damn, would it be fun. The all-new Aprilia is powered by a 660cc, forward-facing, DOHC, parallel-twin engine that Aprilia says is good for 105 hp. Combine that with a claimed 373-pound dry weight for a strong power-to-weight ratio and the Aprilia Performance Ride Control (APRC) ride-by-wire electronics package, and this is set to be a motorcycle that threatens the current middleweight twin competition.
Honda officially broke the news of the all-new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP at EICMA 2019, which is aimed at conquering World Superbike competition in 2020. Big Red spared no expense on the SP, reengineering the open-class literbike from the ground up with trickle-down technology from its efforts in MotoGP. In fact, Honda entirely reworked the engine structure, giving the Fireblade the same 81.0mm x 48.5mm bore and stroke as the RCV213V-S and claims 214 hp at 14,500 rpm and 83 pound-feet of torque at 12,500 rpm. Besides those impressive claims, the RR-R comes with top-shelf Brembo Stylema brake calipers, Öhlins semi-active suspension, and GP-derived winglets. All trick stuff and available to the public in limited numbers.
Besides, if the new RR-R is good enough for WSBK front-runner Álvaro Bautista, a set of fiberglass fairings and racing slicks should make it a competent club race weapon.
The KTM 790 Adventure R Rally means business. Obviously influenced by the lower-spec 790 Adventure and 790 Adventure R models, the Rally takes off-road prowess to the next level with the inclusion of top-shelf WP Xplor 7548 front and 6746 rear suspension and an additional 30mm (1.2 inches) of travel. The new up-spec model also gets D.I.D Dirt Star rims and a redesigned seat aimed at easing rider movement in the tough stuff.
A $19,499 MSRP and very limited production means it will take some luck to score the 2020 790 Adventure R Rally, but our blood is flowing just thinking of tackling a desert race aboard it. That would be the closest we will ever be to feeling like Baja 1000 champ Quinn Cody or ADV ripper Chris Birch.
Ducati does racing. Proof? The Panigale V4 R—a short-stroke, homologation-special literbike with MotoGP DNA. The R model is powered by a World Superbike-legal 998cc liquid-cooled V-4 that's worthy of 203.99 hp at 15,820 rpm and 76.65 pound-feet of torque at 12,300 rpm on the Cycle World dyno. But that's not to discount the Öhlins gas-charged, titanium-nitride-coated NPX 25/30 fork and TTX 36 shock or the various racing-focused upgrades, including the racing-derived aerodynamic winglets!
That said, the Ducati V4 R is darn near ready to race, hold for some safety wire and a set of race bodywork.
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