Conclusion
Initially, during the planning stages, this test sounded crazier than Donald Trump after one of his class A parties. Having been engrossed in the subject matter for nearly a week, it’s anything but crazy. 99% of us won’t have the readies to participate in such frivolous frolics, and 99% of us probably won’t have the mental capacity to even think about such lunacy.
But think about it now – a 1299 R, just one bike, or all five of these? I know which option I’d take. This isn’t your normal
Fast Bikes test per se: more of a congregation, an example of making the inconceivable entirely conceivable, which makes a conclusion almost inane. Of course, this isn’t a set template and there are endless possible ways to spend £35k, but it’s not a bad starting point. To pre-empt a few questions, there wasn’t the budget to stretch to toys like supermotos or motocross bikes and we ended up ‘spending’ a little over at £35,690 – albeit at dealer prices.
If you take one thing from this test, go and spank a pit bike around an outdoor kart track. If you take two things from this test, add spanking a K 1600 GT to the former. If this motor was in a thoroughbred superbike, we’d all be drooling over it. As it happens, given the sheer size of the lump, it’s not and never will be. But what a bike – right up there with my surprises of the year so far.
The obvious grey area in this test is the inclusion of the Fireblade, as 1000cc sportsbike options are infinite and it’s down to personal preference above all else. That said, you can’t go wrong with a 3,000-mile new ’Blade for just over £8k. There’s certainly no disputing the Street Triple R’s presence in this line-up. Other supernaked options that nearly made the cut include KTM’s 1290 Super Duke R: a firm FB favourite, the SD-R pulls wheelies for fun although some would argue it lacks the refinement for an everyday ride. And you’ll have to pay at least £10,000 for a clean example. The Street Triple R remains one of the UK’s greatest engineering feats and, on the year if its 10th anniversary, it’s yet to be beaten.
THERE WASN'T BUDGET TO STRETCH TO TOYS LIKE SUPERMOTOS.