What’s one sportbike you consider as the sportbike to rule them all? Well, in the context of today’s market, your answer would probably be a European hypersport—perhaps the Ducati Panigale V4 or the M 1000 RR. That said, you’d probably be right, but if we were to turn back the clock two decades, chances are your answer would’ve been quite different. Perhaps a lot more Japanese.
Personally, the Honda CBR1000RR was and always will be a bike I credit to getting me bit by the two-wheeled bug. I remember it clear as day—it was the summer of 2004 and my mom took a 10-year-old me to the edge of the highway to watch dozens of motorcyclists zoom their way up the mountain. A vibrant Honda CBR1000RR complete with its Repsol MotoGP-inspired livery immediately caught my eye and had my jaw to the floor. Since then, I've been hooked on bikes.
