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When watching a recent Superbike race, I wondered: When did bikes become ‘superbikes’? What bike would be considered the first superbike, and how did these bikes give birth to the World Superbike championship?
To answer that, we must look at the history and evolution of sports bikes and how they transformed into the superbikes we recognise today.
One of the first motorcycles called a “superbike” was the Honda CB750, introduced in 1969. It featured a 750cc engine, considered very large and powerful at the time, and advanced features like a front disc brake. But to me, it doesn’t have the DNA of the current crop of superbikes. The sit-up and beg riding style and big comfy seat don’t scream superbike.
Next up was the Kawasaki Z1, a mean old thing with a 900cc engine. Again, I’m seeing a quick bike for its time, not a superbike.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that the motorcycle industry evolved rapidly, so more contenders started to appear. The Kawasaki GPX900R was released in 1984, and it was widely regarded as the first ‘Sportbike.’ Made famous by Tom Cruise in Top Gun in 1986, it was the first liquid cooled 16 valve motorcycle engine ever produced, so the DNA of modern bikes was in it. However, the rest of the bike used fairly standard technology elsewhere, and it still had a steel tubular frame. It was quick, but I still think it looks like a sports tourer rather than a superbike.
The Ducati 750F1 was released in early 1985, but it was essentially a race bike converted to road use, and it still used a steel tubular frame and swing arm. The engine was from the Ducati Patah, released years before, originally developed in the late 1970s. It was not exactly a user-friendly motorcycle, and with a price tag of more than $6500, it was not within reach of your average biker, so I’m not calling that the first Superbike either.
Then we came to late 1985, when Suzuki unveiled the GSX-R750 at the Cologne Motorcycle Show.
Enthusiasts wanted bikes that were not only fast and powerful but also closely resembled the 500GP machines seen on racetracks, and the Gixer did that to perfection. When the GP team unveiled the RGV500 a couple of months later, you could see that there was more than a passing resemblance to the GSX-R.
To me, GSX-R750 was the first proper superbike, as we would recognise today. It featured key innovations such as an aluminium frame and an oil-cooled inline-four engine. These advancements made the GSX-R750 incredibly fast in its day, agile, and easy to handle.
The GSX-R750 produced 100 horsepower and could hit 150 mph. These figures seem incredibly tame today, considering the current GSX-R1000 is pumping out 200bhp, but they were remarkable figures for their time. Its success set a new benchmark for performance and design in the sportbike category, which soon became known as the Superbike.
The success of the GSX-R750 prompted other manufacturers to get their act together and develop high-performance sports bikes as well. Between 1985 and 1988, several notable models were introduced:
The Yamaha FZR750 (1987) Featured the new Genesis engine with a unique five-valve-per-cylinder configuration and an aluminium Deltabox frame.
The Honda VFR750R (AKA the RC30) (1987) was known for its V4 engine with gear-driven camshafts and single-sided swingarm, aimed squarely at racing success.
The Ducati 851 was released in 1987 and featured a booming 4-valve per cylinder, fuel-injected V-Twin.
So, how did these new superbikes give birth to the WSBK championship?
2 Comments
bike go zooom 🏍🌪
Where does the 1996 GSXR 750 rank in terms of 'significance of advancement' in your opinion? I find a lot of these types of videos (not this one in particular) tend to gloss over it. It was a completely new redesign and weighed 60lbs less than the ZX7R and YZF750. For me, it was the bridge between first and second generation superbikes.