ADJUST FOR INFLATION AND THE 2024 MODEL (£10,499) IS THE CHEAPEST A HONDA CBR600RR HAS EVER BEEN IN THE UK
Zoom out again to look at the entire motorcycling planet and the picture looks even brighter. ‘In the past two years alone, sales in the middleweight sportsbike segment have more than doubled,’ reveals Steve Sargent, Triumph’s chief product officer. ‘Globally, this has been one of the fastest growing segments in the past few years.’
Sport is in style
Alright, you’re thinking. So this motley crew of affordable middleweights is holding up better than a load of £20k+ litre bikes during a cost-of-living crisis. Hardly a surprise, is it? Perhaps, but it’s equally clear these new-generation sportsbikes are proving more popular than similar bikes from non-sports categories. Last year the R7 was Yamaha’s second-biggest selling bike over 125cc in the UK, outselling the Tracer and Ténéré 700. The RS660 was Aprilia’s most popular bike in Britain, selling more than all Tuareg and Tuono 660s combined. The Ninja 650 was Kawasaki’s biggest-selling parallel twin, comfortably outstripping its Z650, Versys and Vulcan siblings. When it comes to middleweights, it really does seem like sporty style is back in fashion.
Don’t I know you?
This surely explains why a few familiar supersports models are returning. Honda have reintroduced the CBR600RR, updated with modern must-have tech like winglets and an IMU, and boasting a competitive price tag. Adjust for inflation and the 2024 model (£10,499) is the cheapest a CBR600RR has ever been in the UK. It’s no coincidence this has
‘We sell a lot more RS660S than RSV4S. Since it came out it’s had rave reviews’
happened in the same year Kawasaki have reintroduced the ZX-6R, which also features an updated motor and similarly eager pricing. But another returning name has tackled the ‘middleweight sportsbike’ notion from a different angle. Triumph’s new Daytona 660 is not an update of the track-focused 675 or 765. It doesn’t boast about lap times, power figures, cutting-edge tech or elbow-scraping lean angles. Accessible and affordable, it’s closer in spec and spirit to the CBR650R than the CBR600RR. So what gives? If we’re all back in love with sportsbikes, why don’t Triumph just bring back the old Daytona?
Supersports goes full circle
‘The middleweight sportsbikes of the 1990s were incredibly popular,’ recalls Triumph’s Sargent. ‘They were affordable but delivered exciting performance combined with practicality. You could use them for commuting, taking on a trackday and for touring Europe. This all changed in the 2000s when manufacturers focused a lot more on racing. As performance and technology were pushed further, the bikes became more expensive and less road-focused, to the point where they became more of a niche product. Eventually manufacturers dropped out of developing new bikes.’ He’s not kidding. The frantic supersport arms race of the mid-2000s produced some astonishing bikes. But it also killed the class. In 2001, British riders bought more than 12,000 brand-new supersport 600s. By 2011 sales had plummeted to just 2000. By 2021 it was less than 100. Having discontinued the Daytona 675 in 2017 for precisely this reason, Triumph know first-hand which way the supersport wind is blowing.
Back to the future
‘The market has changed,’ continues Sargent. ‘The Daytona 660 is a real-world sportsbike that’s developed to be exhilarating on the road, practical and affordable. Out-and-out track performance isn’t the main focus. The balance between a bike which is great fun on the road, to one which only makes sense on the track, is the difference between this new generation and the middleweights of 10 years ago.’ In short: Triumph want to build a bike that riders want to buy in proper numbers. So they’ve pivoted to build a bike for what today’s customer wants, rather than what caused the class to crash. A new generation of sportsbike for a new generation of rider.
‘The Daytona 660 will appeal to a younger customer looking for an all-round capable sportsbike,’ continues Sargent. ‘The Daytona 660 can be converted to A2 licence spec, so it will be a great option for people coming into biking in their 20s. Interestingly, younger riders in the US are also particularly into sportsbikes, and south-east Asian markets have a lot of younger riders who prefer this kind of bike.’
Spirit of the screamers
That’s not to say there isn’t still an appetite for hardcore supersports machinery – only on a different scale and from a different demographic. Wheels Motorcycles reports healthy interest in the relaunched CBR600RR, with a strong number of pre-orders placed. ‘And that’s without anyone riding it,’ adds Gudgeon. ‘Nobody’s tested one, nobody’s demo-ridden it. So people must have got their information from somewhere – and it’s probably past experience.’ That suggests riders old enough to have ridden an RR the first time round, rather than fresh blood.
It’s a similar story with Kawasaki’s new ZX-4RR screamer. ‘We’ve already sold our allocation of the 40th Anniversary Edition,’ smiles Darren Doig, also a sales manager at Wheels. ‘It’s incredible really. And that’s not even an A2 bike – you can’t restrict it.’ So if it’s not younger riders, then is it folk who fondly remember 400s from the 1990s? ‘I’d say, particularly with the Anniversary one, yes, because it’s got that look, that’s definitely who’s bought that.’
So, is this good news?
Broadly, yes. Unless you’re a Japanese manufacturer trying to sell 1000cc superbikes, apparently… For the rest of us, 2024 brings the broadest, deepest, most eclectic choice of sportsbikes ever offered at any point in motorcycling history. Gone are the days when shopping for a sportsbike meant picking from four similar 1000cc inline fours and four similar 600cc inline fours. Now you can aspire to ride something sporty-looking and be presented with offerings at 400, 450, 500, 600, 650, 660, 700, 800, 1000 and 1100 engine capacities, in a range of engine layouts, built by a range of European and Japanese manufacturers, for sale at a range of price points. Whether you’re a fresh A2 novice after a welcoming, road-focused sportsbike for everyday use, or a grizzled trackday veteran seeking the latest Motogp tech, there’s an option for you in 2024. Welcome to Sportsbike Britain, version 2.0.
‘2024 brings the broadest, deepest, most eclectic choice of sportsbikes that’s ever been offered at any point in history’