2017 Superbike Shootout Preview

Seven superbikes soon sweetly singing in our biggest shootout of the year!

We’re getting a little giddy around here as we begin to gather the gamut of new superbikes for our most intensive shootout of the year! We’ve got a fabulous two-day street ride to begin our testing, stringing together some of our favorite twisty roads on an overnight trip to begin our superbike shootout. And then the hardcore performance testing will take place over two days at Auto Club Speedway with our friends at Fastrack Riders. If you can be near Fontana, California, May 26-27, you should sign yourself up for a fun day at the track with us!
The year 2017 will go down as a banner era in the development of street-legal superbikes, with two totally new literbikes from Japan in the form of Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 and Honda CBR1000RR. They join the formidable ZX-10R that debuted just last year and the sexy R1 that launched in 2015, the last time we put together an all-hands-on-deck superbike shootout.
2015 Six-Pack Superbike Shootout Final Answer!
The GSX-R1000 is new from the wheels up, and it’s a massive step forward from Suzuki, whether talking about the 1000R I rode in Australia or the regular 1000 reviewed by Trizzle a few weeks ago at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas. Troy “Trizzle” Siahaan also was the editor behind the review of Honda’s massively updated CBR1000RR ridden at Portugal’s Portimao racetrack.
Also revving up the category is the recently updated RSV4 from Aprilia, which Tom Roderick reviewed from COTA just a couple of weeks ago. And no literbike comparison in the better part of the last decade could be complete without BMW’s scintillating S10000RR, a bike that has won or nearly won every MO superbike shootout since its debut in 2010.
V-Twin engines have always played a significant part in superbike racing, and that theme will continue in our upcoming shootout. Ducati has, since the beginning of superbike racing, been the V-Twin challenger to its four-cylinder competitors. However, you won’t see one in our shootout, as Ducati didn’t bother stocking its press fleet in 2017 with any of its liter-plus-size Panigales. Maybe it’s because the Italian brand is preparing for a V-4 future in superbikes…
But fear not, booming V-Twin lovers, as EBR has stepped in to uphold the honor of superbikes with less than four cylinders! Yes, the American company is still in business and was willing to supply us with one of its 1190RXs. Although its design is now three years-old, it’s still an appealingly unique cocktail of agility and torque. EBR’s RX also has the lowest price of the group, a wallet-friendly $13,995. Keep in mind, though, this price doesn’t include ABS or an Intertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the only bike in our comparo without both.
2014 EBR 1190RX Review – First Ride
Each of the bikes in our test (except the EBR) are available in versions with higher specifications, but we’re focusing this time on the base models – the 1000R variant of the GSX-R isn’t yet available, so we’re sticking with everyone’s least-expensive versions. Since a couple of the bikes are equipped stock with antilock brakes, we’ve ordered up all the bikes (save the EBR) with ABS.
As such, our $14,999 GSX-R1000 is the least expensive of our four-cylinder superbikes, the ABS adding just $400 to its base MSRP. Kawasaki’s ZX-10R is the next step up in prices, to $16,099 with ABS ($15,099 w/o), followed by Yamaha’s slinky crossplane-crank R1 at $16,699. Honda’s lightweight CBR1000RR retails for just 100 Benjamins more, at $16,799 ($16,499 (w/o /ABS). Sneaking in under the $17k mark is Aprilia’s intoxicating RSV4 RR, and its $16,999 MSRP is a scant $200 more than the Honda!
So that’s four bikes priced within just $900. Or maybe it’s five if we can include BMW’s S1000R. Its retail price for the base version without options starts at just $15,695, and we requested our tester to have as few options as possible. That said, we’ve learned to expect a BMW without options to be as rare as Brough Superiors, and we haven’t yet been able to confirm the state of the S1000 tester we’ll soon pick up.
2017 Superbike Spec Chart Shootout
If you’re a regular MO reader, you’ll recall that Trizzle already primed the superbike pump with a shootout preview you can revisit in the link above. He included more details than we have here, so it’s a good reference for those who are keen to have all the info about what we’re expecting during our week of testing. The specs we put together for Trizzle’s preview can be seen by hovering over the image below.
Meanwhile, we’re licking our chops in anticipation of ripping up the canyons and squeezing out more than 170 mph on the front straight at Fontucky! Keep your browser tuned to MO!

2017 Literbike shootout spec chart | |||||||||
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Aprilia RSV4 RR | BMW S1000RR | Ducati 1299 Panigale | EBR 1190RX | Honda CBR1000RR | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R | MV Agusta F4 RR | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | Yamaha YZF-R1 | |
MSRP | $16,999 | $15,695 | $19,995 | $13,995 | $16,499 | $15,099 ($16,099 w/ABS) | $19,798 | $14,599 ($14,999 ABS) | $16,699.00 |
Type | 999.6cc Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, 65-degree V4, 4 valves per cylinder | 999cc Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, inline-Four, 4 valves per cylinder | 1285cc Liquid-cooled, DOHC, L-Twin, four-stroke, Desmodromic valve actuation | 1190cc liquid-cooled, DOHC, 72-degree V-Twin, four-stroke, 4 valves per cylinder | 999cc Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, inline-Four, 4 valves per cylinder | 998cc Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, inline-Four, 4 valves per cylinder | 998cc, Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, inline-Four, 4 valves per cylinder | 999.8cc, Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, inline-Four, 4 valves per cylinder | 998c Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, Cross-plane inline-Four, 4 valves per cylinder |
Bore and Stroke | 78.0mm x 52.3mm | 80.0mm x 49.7mm | 116.0mm x 60.8mm | 106mm x 67.5mm | 76.0mm x 55.0mm | 76.0mm x 55.0mm | 79.0mm x 50.9mm | 76.0mm x 55.1mm | 79.0mm x 50.9mm |
Compression Ratio | 13.6:1 | 13.0:1 | 12.6:1 | 13.4:1 | 13.0:1 | 13.0:1 | 13.4:1 | 13.2:1 | 13.0:1 |
Rear Wheel Horsepower | 175.8 hp @ 12,400 rpm | 182.9 hp @ 13,100 rpm | 175.0 hp @ 10,400 rpm | 156.0 @ 10,700 rpm (1190SX) | 189.1 (crank) hp @ 13,000 rpm (claimed) | 160.6 hp @ 11,700 rpm | 195 (crank) hp @ 13,400 rpm (claimed) | 199 (crank) hp @ 13,200 rpm (claimed) | 162.9 hp @ 12,300 rpm |
Torque | 76.7 lb.-ft. @ 10,800 rpm | 79.9 lb.-ft. @ 9600 rpm | 92.5 lb.-ft. @ 8900 rpm | 83.0 lb-ft @ 8100 rpm (1190SX) | 84.1 (crank) lb-ft @ 11,000 rpm (claimed) | 73.6 @ 11,200 rpm | 81.7 (crank) lb-ft @ 9600 rpm (claimed) | 86.7 (crank) lb-ft @ 10,800 rpm (claimed) | 72.5 lb.-ft. @ 8900 rpm |
Transmission | 6-speed; multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function | 6-speed; multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function | 6-speed; multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function | 6-speed; multi-plate wet clutch w/vacuum operated slipper function | 6-speed; multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function | 6-speed, multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function, positive neutral finder | 6-speed, multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function | 6-speed, multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function | 6-speed; multi-plate wet clutch w/slipper function |
Final Drive | Chain | Chain | Chain | Chain | Chain | Chain | Chain | Chain | Chain |
Aprilia RSV4 RR | BMW S1000RR | Ducati 1299 Panigale | EBR 1190RX | Honda CBR1000RR | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R | MV Agusta F4 RR | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | Yamaha YZF-R1 | |
Front Suspension | Sachs 43mm fork, fully adjustable | 46mm fork, fully adjustable | Marzocchi 50mm fully adjustable USD fork. | 43mm Showa Big Piston Fork, fully adjustable | 43mm Showa Big Piston Fork with spring-preload, rebound and compression damping-adjustability | 43mm inverted Balance Free Fork, adjustable stepless rebound and compression damping, spring preload adjustability | Marzocchi 50mm fully adjustable USD fork | 43mm Showa Big Piston Fork, fully adjustable | 43mm KYB inverted fork; fully adjustable |
Rear Suspension | Sachs monoshock with piggyback reservoir, fully adjustable | Fully adjustable monoshock | Fully adjustable Sachs shock. Adjustable linkage: Progressive/flat. Aluminium single-sided swingarm | Showa linkage-less single shock, fully adjustable | Showa Balance Free Rear Cushion shock, with spring-preload, rebound and compression-damping adjustability | Horizontal back-link with Balance Free gas-charged shock, stepless, dual-range (low-/high-speed) compression damping, stepless rebound damping, fully adjustable spring preload | Fully adjustable Sachs shock, w/high- and low-speed compression adjustment | Fully adjustable Showa shock, w/high- and low-speed compression adjustment | KYB Single shock w/piggyback reservoir, hi/low speed compression, rebound and preload adjustibility |
Front Brake | Dual 330mm rotors. Twin Brembo M50 monoblock radial 4-piston calipers. ABS with switchable Rear Lift-up Mitigation | Dual 320mm rotors. Twin radial-mount 4-piston calipers. Switchable ABS | Dual 330mm rotors. Twin Brembo M50 monoblock, radial-mount calipers. Cornering ABS standard | 386mm single perimeter rotor, 8-piston caliper. No ABS. | Dual 320mm rotors. Dual radial-mount 4-piston Tokico calipers | Dual 330mm petal rotors, Brembo M50 4-piston radial-mount calipers w/ABS | Dual 320mm rotors, Brembo 4-piston radial-mount calipers w/ABS | Dual 320mm rotors, Brembo 4-piston radial-mount calipers w/ABS | Dual 320mm rotors, 4-piston calipers, UBS, ABS |
Rear Brake | 220mm rotor. Brembo twin-piston caliper | 220mm rotor. Single-piston caliper | 245mm rotor. Twin-piston caliper w/Cornering ABS standard | 220mm rotor. 2-piston caliper | 220mm rotor, single-piston caliper w/ABS | 220mm petal rotor, single-piston caliper w/ABS | 210mm rotor, Nissin 4-piston caliper w/ABS | 220mm rotor, Nissin single-piston caliper w/ABS | 220mm rotor, UBS, ABS |
Aprilia RSV4 RR | BMW S1000RR | Ducati 1299 Panigale | EBR 1190RX | Honda CBR1000RR | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R | MV Agusta F4 RR | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | Yamaha YZF-R1 | |
Front Tire | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70-17 | 120/70 ZR-17 |
Rear Tire | 200/55-17 | 190/55-17 | 200/55-17 | 190/55-17 | 190/50-17 | 190/55-17 | 200/55-17 | 190/55-17 | 190/55 ZR-17 |
Rake/Trail | 26.5 deg/4.1 in | 23.5 deg / 3.9 in. | 24.0 deg / 3.8 in. | 22.4 deg / 3.8 in. | 23.3 deg / 3.8 in. | 25 deg / 4.2 in. | TK / 3.9 in. | 23.2 deg. / 3.7 in. | 24 deg / 4.0 in. |
Wheelbase | 56.5 in. | 56.6 in. | 56.6 in. | 55.5 in. | 55.3 in. | 56.7 in. | 56.3 in. | 55.5 in. | 55.3 in. |
Seat Height | 33.0 in. | 32.7 in. | 32.7 in. | 32.5 in. | 32.8 in. | 32.9 in. | 32.7 in. | 32.5 in. | 33.7 in. |
Curb Weight | 450 lbs. (claimed) | 420 lbs. (claimed) | 427 lbs. | 450.5 lbs. (calculated) | 425 lbs. (Euro-spec) | 454.2 lbs. | 421.1 lbs (claimed dry weight) | 443.0 lbs, 445.0 lbs(CA, both claimed weights) | 438 lbs. |
Fuel Capacity | 4.9 gal. | 4.5 gal. | 4.5 gal. | 4.5 gal. | 4.2 gal. | 4.5 gal. | 4.5 gal. | 4.2 gal. | 4.5 gal. |
Aprilia RSV4 RR | BMW S1000RR | Ducati 1299 Panigale | EBR 1190RX | Honda CBR1000RR | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R | MV Agusta F4 RR | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | Yamaha YZF-R1 | |
ABS | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Cornering ABS | X | X | Available on SP model | X | Available on GSX-R1000R | ||||
Magnesium wheels | X | ||||||||
Forged aluminum wheels | Optional | Available on S model | |||||||
Titanium connecting rods | X | X | |||||||
Titanium valves | X | X | X | X | X (intake only) | ||||
Aluminum fuel tank | Titanium tank available on SP model | X | |||||||
Smartphone app | X | Optional | |||||||
Electronic suspension | Optional (included as tested) | Available on S model | Available on SP model | ||||||
Quickshifter | X | Optional (included as tested) | X | Optional | Optional (standard on SP model) | X | Optional | Optional | X |
Clutchless downshift ability | X | Optional (included as tested) | X | Optional (standard on SP model) | |||||
Aprilia RSV4 RR | BMW S1000RR | Ducati 1299 Panigale | EBR 1190RX | Honda CBR1000RR | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R | MV Agusta F4 RR | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | Yamaha YZF-R1 | |
Power modes | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
Traction control | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Slide control | X | ||||||||
Launch control | X | Optional (included as tested) | X | X | X | ||||
Wheelie control | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||
Engine brake control | X | X | X | ||||||
Inertial Measurement Unit | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
GPS telemetry | Via smartphone app | Optional | Optional | Optional | |||||
Aprilia RSV4 RR | BMW S1000RR | Ducati 1299 Panigale | EBR 1190RX | Honda CBR1000RR | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R | MV Agusta F4 RR | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | Yamaha YZF-R1 |
Comments
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Its a shame that Buell EBR is getting ink/attention now! Where were the reviews last year, the shoot out, the tests, the long term run on the only American sport bike??? Although I love the fact it was included in this test, it's a little bit too late!
EBR will have the last laugh.
Now that the closure of the company is final (as of May 24th, 2017), the 1190RX and SX will sell during a two month auction. This means anywhere from $4,000 to $9,000 per bike.
Although Just a few hundred (?) bikes, that will significantly interfere with the sales of all the other super bikes tested. That means 1.5 to 2 million dollars of foreign super bikes will be sidelined on dealers floors while the EBR inventory gets cleaned out.
To top it off, many HD dealers will repair the bikes and Liquid Assets will be selling parts for quite a while. Someone said the bike is dated. It sure beats about anything he or anyone else could afford currently, for the same amount of money.
Let's see, a Ducati or Aprilia for $20,000 or an EBR for $5,000....... yep!! Now do you get the point???
Competitors will (for the short term) rue the day that EBR shut down.
Follow the money.