Sportbike

A sportbike is a motorcycle designed primarily for speed, agility, and precise handling, balancing high-performance power with light weight and aerodynamic bodywork. These machines emphasize acceleration, top speed, braking performance, and cornering capability over long-distance comfort or luggage capacity. Typical sportbikes use lightweight frames, often aluminum, high-revving four-stroke engines around 600 to 1,000 cubic centimeters, and sport-oriented suspension and brakes. The riding position is aggressive, with low handlebars and rear-set footpegs to optimize weight distribution and aerodynamics.

Advances in electronics have become common, including ride-by-wire throttles, multiple riding modes, traction control, ABS, electronic steering dampers, and quick-shifters. Higher-end models may include selectable power modes, launch control, and sophisticated data logging. While primarily aimed at track performance, sportbikes are widely used on public roads and in sport riding groups, with a market that spans beginner 300- to 500-class bikes to high-end superbikes.

Historically, sportbikes grew from sport-oriented motorcycles of the 1960s and 1970s, with Japanese manufacturers refining lightweight chassis and high-revving engines in the 1980s and 1990s, giving rise to generations such as the GSX-R, CBR, YZF, and ZX models. The term encompasses supersport or superbike variants designed for high-speed competition as well as street-legal models.

Common examples include the Yamaha YZF-R1, Honda CBR1000RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, and Ducati Panigale, among others.