For as long a history motorcycles have, and as long as racing has been associated with them (I think the first race started when the second bike was built), the modern concept of a sport bike is still pretty young.  Honestly, if a sport bike was aged, it would have just been old enough to get that 25 year old insurance discount (which it would need for its size and power!). 

Whenever I think about the first ‘modern’ sportbike, I think of something that came from the factory with body work on it.  Not the CB’s and KZ’s (or GPz’s) of the 70′, but more like what we see today.  It seems that, to most, the VF750F Interceptor was hailed as the first ‘production’ sport bike created.  It was built in 1983, and it was built to race.  This was basically the first bike created for the showroom floor so that Honda could take it racing.  And, it was impressive.  A V-4 engine, 750cc’s, 140mph claimed top speed; this thing was an animal!  One of the most famous lines that I have read/heard was “In 1983, there were two types of motorcyclist: the one that owned an Interceptor, and the one that wanted to.”  Pretty true words for the time.  Now the choices are almost unlimited for a sport bike, from a 250 to a 1400, there are countless choices from more than 5 manufacturers, most having 3-5 different models.  Then, if you wanted a full faired bike, it was the 750.  It started a revolution that has continued to this day.

Though, looking at Landmarks, I’d say that there are just a few that really  impress me.  I am pretty baised towards Japanese motorcycles, so here is my short list:  ’83 Interceptor 750, ’84 Ninja 900, ’93 CBR900RR.  Very short list.  Now, don’t miss understand, there were countless variations out there that raised the bar- Suzuki’s GSX-R series (both the 1100 and the 750), Kawasaki’s first production 600 Ninja in 1986 (which could just about be added to the short list, since, in my opinion, that led directly to the current 600 supersport series’), Honda’s Hurricane 600 and 1000, and the Yamaha’s FZ series.  Actually, the newer Yamaha R1/6 series could really be on that short list as well, but for straight up difference in the world, the first 3 really do it for me, especially the ’93 900 RR!

The 900 Ninja took what the Interceptor did, but just raised the bar.  An article I read said that the 900 was the first bike to feature the aircraft style fuel cap that was flush to the tank. The list of advanced features could go on and on, but one that I always liked was using the engine as a stressed member of the frame.  Until then, bikes used the fram to enclose the engine, which led to big, heavy frames.  This allowed the engine to be placed lower, and to reduce the weight.  Great foresight, that one.  Actually, the 900 was almost ahead of its time– it was only around the states for a few years, and many riders seemed to prefer the 600’s and 750’s.  It was the ‘lets take a big bike and make it a little smaller and meaner’ bike of the 80’s.  It took almost a decade before another 900 would set the market on its ear.  Oh, and when Tom Cruise hit the roads in Top Gun, he was riding a 900 Ninja– at the time, that was the height of cool.

So, fast forward through close to 10 years of 600 Ninjas and ZX-10’s, Hurricane 600’s and 1000’s, GSX-R 750’s and 1100’s, as well as FZR 600’s, OWO1 750’s, and FZR 1000’s, Honda dropped a bomb: CBR900RR!  This bike was as close to sex on wheels as anyone could ever get– and, in my opinion, still is.  This bike set a bar that has been improved on, but I don’t believe has ever been over come.  Many bikes are leaner, meaner, faster, lighter, and possibly better looking, but none of the bikes produced since 1993 have impacted the market the way that bike did.  Up until that point in time, it seemed as if your bike was either a light (for the time) 600, with no power below 7k, or a big, heavy bike that had tons of power from the bottom to the top, but felt pretty heavy all over.  The 900RR took the weight of a 600 (only 4 lbs more than the ’93 CBR600F2 and 76 lbs lighter than the lightest liter bike!!), and stuck the power of a 1000 (124 hp) in it to produce something that was both heaven and evil at the same time.  It made power from the starter button to the red line, and it did it while laughing loudly at every bike it passed on the road.  In 1999, I saw a ’93 on a dyno, and it put out more hp then, at 22k miles, than stock– the dyno tech told me that ‘..a Honda is like a swiss watch, the more they run, the better they get..’  I can still remember the first time I saw one.  Rolling on a ’88 EX500, in KCMO, I pulled into the local bike hangout to see this thing sitting there… huge rear tire, screaming fast with the key off.  This guy had driven from KC to Davenport IA to get this thing.  There was nothing hotter on the street.  Only a year later, I saw one pulling out of a dealership in Iowa, full exhaust, howling and awesome (I wonder what ever happened to that bike).  Oh, it had some downsides– the ridiculous front wheel at 16″ was insane, I don’t care what the engineers say.  As time went by, it lost some weight, gained cc’s and power, but that original red, white, and blue, with the massive fuel tank, still speaks to me of power and promise. 

Some would argue that the R1 was almost as revolutionary, or the GSX-R750 of the late 90’s.  Maybe the latest edition of the GSX-R1000 or the ZX-10R.  Heck, throw in the Ducati 1098 (ok, the 916 is the next closest bike in terms of cool– and out does the RR in sex appeal) or MV Agusta F4.  But all of those bikes felt to me like an awesome copy of the original. 

Honestly, I could go on all day long about bikes that are powerful, beautiful, and feed into the cool factor.  However, at a certain point, many of the bikes get lost in the crowd.  Today, one 600 or 1000 doesn’t really stand out from the other, it becomes brand preference.  Everyone has a liter bike, everyone has a 600.  But, when these three bikes came out, the Interceptor, the Ninja and the 900RR, there really wasn’t anything like them on the market.  I call them defining.  We could debate this all day long, and others will have their opinion– but every spring, I wait to see the next 900RR roll onto the showroom floor.