2000-2006 HONDA VTR1000 SP1 AND SP2

OOOOh we’re being a bit cheeky here, because the VTR1000 SP1 and SP2 are already on the cusp of fashion, and might just have crept up in price beyond our £4k limit. But if you hunt hard, we’re sure you’ll come up with something…

The original VTR1000 was the much softer Firestorm (which can be had for proper pennies now) of 1997. Honda had been watching those pesky Italians with their litre V-twin superbikes waltzing off with the WSB titles for years, and finally gave in and built its own version. The Firestorm was a great bike – fast, skinny and light, with a natty half-fairing and proper 150mph performance. But it wasn’t a racer, despite the efforts of firms like Moriwaki who took one superbike racing in the late 1990s. The frame was one of Honda’s funny ‘pivotless’ designs, with the swingarm hanging off the engine with no extra framework round the pivot point, so couldn’t cope with hard use and mega power engine tuning.

Luckily, Honda had the proper job cooking at its HRC division. The engineers there had been working on a far more serious bike, with a proper superbike spec chassis, full fairing, high-end running gear and a totally new motor. Dubbed the VTR100 SP1 RC51, it was the replacement for legendary machines like the RC45 and RC30 V-four 750 superbikes.

The most amazing thing was the price, though. New in 1999, it cost just £9,795 – just over half the price of the 1998 RC45 (£17,780). Under £10k for a genuine WSB homologation machine? Madness.

The original SP1 was a bit of a bugger as a daily ride – the fuel injection was jerky, the fuel consumption rotten (a tank would last under 80 miles if you went hard) and the gearing was on the tall side. It went well on track though, and while it didn’t quite have the measure of the Ducati 916 and Aprilia RSV Mille, it kicked hell out of the Suzuki TL1000R.

The SP2 update in 2002 stiffened up the chassis with help from the WSB team and added a few ponies to the motor, too. It also brought in the white paint job, replacing the red SP1.

Nowadays, the SP1/2 still looks good – anything with a genuine HRC sticker on the bodywork has to be a bit special – and with some subtle updates, you can tickle it up a treat. Modern rubber, a stage-one exhaust and fuelling tune, lithium battery, a suspension refresh, and you’ll have a neat little 200kg 140bhp twin with outstanding style and class.