#Sportbike

Winglets, Euro5+ compliance, a power bump, and premium Factory version highlight Aprilia’s middleweight sportbike

MV Agusta has announced an extremely limited version of its F3, called the F3 Competizione. Based on the standard F3 RR, the Competizione was inspired by MV’s own F4 Claudio, hence why it’s dripped in satin black, silver, and gold just like its inspiration. It’s also littered with carbon fiber all over to lose weight and look stunning. When you’re dealing with special editions of motorcycles, especially sportbikes, there are always numbers to pay attention to. The MV Agusta F3 Competizione is no different.

The wait is finally over! Yamaha has announced that, yes, an R9 is coming to the world, after years of speculation. Motorcycle.com, as well as basically every other motorcycle publication around the world, has written about what we think the bike is going to feature, and our own Dennis Chung revealed what we knew based on CARB filings and social media teasers, but now we know for sure what the R9 brings to the table.

MotoGP has been called the Ducati Cup in recent years because the brand takes up a third of the grid – and they’re all usually at the front. Granted, I suppose the kind of criticism is warranted if you like a little variety with your racing, but the reason behind all those bikes is more nuanced than just wanting to steal the show. Ostensibly, team boss Gigi D’alligna’s job was to bring Ducati back to the top. Doing so meant creating a bike that could win. Creating a winning bike requires data. What’s the best way to get data? By having as many bikes as possible equipped with the best riders in the world, effectively creating the best test team in the world, too. This was the fast track to data collection that Gigi and his team then used to make a MotoGP machine everybody now wants to be on. Here’s a poignant quote from Guilio Fabbri, Head of Communications for Ducati: “In 2007, we had a motorcycle that only one person could ride (Casey Stoner). Now, we have the most desired bike on the grid.”

Beauty is not a sin!

Back in June, Dennis Chung first reported about CARB certifications for the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, indicating an imminent announcement about the bike’s availability in America. Well, that time is now. Honda has officially announced the Fireblade will arrive on US shores later this year as a 2025 model. The move comes after the Blade was first introduced in Europe for the 2024 model year, and while getting left out for a year is annoying, in some ways we should just be glad Honda’s continuing to pump out sportbikes at all – which is more than at least one of its Japanese rivals can say…

Ducati announced the end of the line for its middleweight supersport with the introduction of the Panigale V2 Superquadro Final Edition. The full press release will be included at the bottom of this post, and we’ll summarize the highlights as well, but the announcement does raise a big question: Is this the last time we’ll see a V-Twin power a Ducati sportbike? Judging by the wording of the press release, the answer very well could be yes. But more on that in a minute.

Updates to the engine and chassis confirmed

MV Agusta is nothing if not exotic, and the company introduced its new limited edition Superveloce 1000 Serie Oro to its assembled group of journalists exactly how you’d expect: by emphasizing its beauty. Sure it’s powered by a 200-plus horsepower four cylinder with titanium connecting rods and radial valves, but that’s not really the star of the show here. According to MV’s Stefano Campaci, the Superveloce 1000 Serie Oro had to appeal to both motorcyclists and even non-motorcyclists alike. There had to be an attraction. A romance. “We call this the shape of desire.” Like the Superveloce 800 before it, I think it’s safe to say MV’s delivered another looker of a motorcycle.

After being absent from the 2024 offerings, the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP is poised to return to American Honda’s lineup for 2025 with the updates introduced at EICMA.