Are sportsbike a dying if not dead breed?

[wr6133]

[redeem ouzzer]

As above, just because a bike has smaller pistons doesn't mean it's much cheaper to produce.

Barring the ZXR400, 400's were a hard sell in this country as new bikes (lightly used grey imports are another story). Honda and Yamaha offered the FZR and NC30 but at eye watering prices that meant they were never going to be anything other than small volume niche sellers (i.e. mainly racers). To take this to the extreme, Yamaha looked into producing a UK market version of the 3XV TZR250 but it would have cost more than an FZR600 by the time it hit the showroom floor - as wonderful as a full power official version would have been ain't no one paying that sort of money for a 250.

Given the current nature of the UK bike market I can't see any of the mainstream manufacturers giving small capacity multicylinder bikes another go, hence why we are punished with the high margin crap like the R3 and Ninja 300/400.
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Be a REAL MAN!

[woo]

Yep as I have gotten older I am not into riding sports bikes, never thought that day would happen.

But being on a Grom since 2015 and also having an R1/GSXR 1000 at the same times made me ditch the sports bikes and stick with the Grom.

I thinks its a combination of the more comfortable position but mainly I find it more fun riding a slow bike fast than riding a fast bike slow.
Plus I can do all maintenance on my Grom myself where as with the R1/GSXR1000 I could only do some and it feels good doing stuff yourself.

I am ok with a 125cc after being on R1s & GSXR1000s for the last 13yrs

Part of me wants another R1 but I know it will be a waste of time and money for me as I know when I go touring I would rather be on the Grom going fast on a slow bike knowing I am not going to get tugged by PC William Turner

I am currently following RTW Roxy journeys on youtube with her going Round the world on Fireblade and it looks liike an adventure I would rather do on my Grom or any other small capacity machine between 125cc and 250cc.

Rewind back to 2000 when i first started riding and even the 1st 15yrs of me riding i would have chosen a sports bike to do what shes doing without hesitation or questions...............fast forward to now ahhh Hell Naww would I use a sports bike

Last month just before lockdown me and some mates went out for a ride, 3 sports bikes and me on my Grom, I kept up on the county lanes but on the open A Road dual carriage way I got left for dust.................I was ok with it as I said before we left ill meet you at the pub which we was heading to when you guys loose me in your mirrors. (here is where a 250cc would have been nice though)
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[CorriganJ]

[quote="wr6133"]

[The Tot]

I remember when I first came onto this forum a 16 years ago, it was totally all about the sports bikes. Whether it was your 2 stroke NSR125, RS125 and RGV250s, your grey 400s and your "honestly it's 33bhp officer" 600cc bikes, it was all the rage.

Just remember, for those of you who didn't realise or have never appreciated it, BCF was spawned from the old NSR125 forums!

Licensing and market appeal has changed, and alas, those of us who were 17 and able to get our hands on capable machines have now grown up and ended up with families. Meanwhile our spare time isn't spent down at the Ace or Rykas at Box Hill.

Kids these days will have to jump through endless hoops to even get an A2 restricted bike, and even then, they won't be allowed access to a Daytona 675 or ZX6R, because of their factory power output. Modern "sports bikes" are arguably better road bikes, but the equivalent lust machines just make no sense to contemporary riders.

Whilst I've now got my R1 back after 2 years, I daren't say I've missed it. I've been pottering around on my Fazer just fine.

As an aside, the riding generation above mine who hooned 2000's era litre bikes and supersports have now ended up taking up mountain biking instead . So, it hardly comes as a surprise that if I bump into a 40-50 year old on an ebike or enduro mtb on the trails, he's got a 1st or 2nd gen R1 or Gixxer in his garage, just biding time.

Modern litre bikes are totally irrelevant and heinously expensive to justify, and dare I say, compromised out of the box! Why buy a new bike and then spend £500 to sort out its fuelling to make it run spot on, just because Euro5!
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The Tot 2007 Yamaha R1 4C8 2002 Yamaha FZS1000 Fazer &
www.youtube.com/Titot182 for your bike gear reviews and pop punk covers
Earl Of Easycore Pop Punk Will Never Die!

[Fisty]

[The Tot]

It's been a while. Most of the old BCF crew I'm in contact with are either on facebook and whatsapp, and in the intervening years, the old crew have settled down and I've taken up enduro mountain biking instead, now that I live in the Forest of Dean!

What I find really interesting is the significant proportion of old established members that have taken themselves to the forests.

Put it this way, we all used to love riding criminally fast in our youth to get that buzz, but it's now not worth it for the dopamine fix. Consequences would be a lot worse now, given that the old sportsbike hooners would be riding in groups of 3-6, charging through traffic. - We've got footage from BCF BBQ rides of old

Suffice to say, the hardcore sports bike riders have either retired to do track days or switched to mountain bikes. All the fun, but a safer more controlled environment where you're less likely to injure the public. As for getting injured yourself, well, the likelihood is higher if you pursue said exploits, but you probably won't end up with life changing injuries or death.
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The Tot 2007 Yamaha R1 4C8 2002 Yamaha FZS1000 Fazer &
www.youtube.com/Titot182 for your bike gear reviews and pop punk covers
Earl Of Easycore Pop Punk Will Never Die!

[Fisty]