Red Bull Motorsports
MotoGP
5 street-legal MotoGP bikes for your daily commute
You can't buy a full MotoGP beast, but these bikes are the closest thing you can get to owning a race-spec machine for the road.
One of the biggest misfortunes of our generation is that you can't walk into a showroom and book yourself a MotoGP bike. Even if you could, with all the carbon fibre, titanium and R&D that has gone into making one of these, you'd be writing a cheque in excess of Rs 15 crore. And then you couldn't ride the bike anyway – these machines are track-only and require a special racing license.
But all hope is not lost. You can still go out and get yourself the street-legal cousin of a MotoGP bike. Here are five physics-bending motorcycles to whet your hyperbike appetite.
1. Ronax 500
The Good: Two-stroke engine and '90s styling
The Bad: Only 46 were manufactured
If you think that the Ronax 500 resembles the Honda NSR500 racer, you’re not wrong. It's the 21-gun salute to the two-stroke 500cc World Championship bikes of the 1990s. The bike is strikingly similar to 2001 Honda NSR500 – the last two-stroke engine bike to win a Grand Prix, at the hands of a certain Valentino Rossi.
This street legal beast was produced in limited numbers. How many, you ask? Rossi’s favourite number, 46. Don't think this ode to yesteryears is all show and no go. Its four-cylinder two-stroke heart will crank out 160bhp at 11,500rpm, with MotoGP-spec Brembo disc brakes fitted to ensure you ride faster and brake deeper into corners.
Following the law of demand and supply, Ronax 500's exclusivity comes at a price. Each example will cost €100,000 (approx Rs 85 lakhs) excluding taxes.
2. Aprilia RSV4 RF
The Good: That paint job
The Bad: Gets beaten by the Aprilia RSV4 FW
Derived from the same DNA as its WSBK cousin RSV4, the Aprilia RSV4 RF is a road-legal version of the bike that made Max Biaggi Superbike World Champion in 2010. The 2017 bike comes with a full Ohlins suspension system.
The RSV4 RF is the most badass Aprilia you can buy with a standard license. While it has 50bhp fewer than the RSV4FW (Factory Work) model, it’s completely street legal unlike the FW, which is a track-only bike reserved for WSBK and other racing series. Hence, if you don't have a crew or your own a race track, the RF should be your weapon of choice. But don’t be disappointed, at 201bhp the RF is no slouch, and priced at $22,000 (approx Rs 16 lakhs) it's also one of the cheapest from our pick.
3. Yamaha YZF-R1 M
The Good: The closest thing to Mr Rossi’s ride
The Bad: Doesn't come in Vale Yellow 46 trim
The Yamaha YZF-R1M is the closest you can get to being nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi. Based on Yamaha's YZF M1 MotoGP bike, the YZF-R1M comes with all the bells and whistles that you can expect from a flagship motorcycle from one of the most successful teams in MotoGP history.
Among a ton of special features, this 998cc beast comes with a Communication Control Unit (CCU) that logs every single detail of the machine whilst on track. The data can then be downloaded via an Andriod or iOS app for later analysis – a feature rarely seen outside of the MotoGP paddock. The bike also features an aluminium frame, magnesium wheels, titanium exhaust; and Valentino Rossi himself was one of the test riders whose direct input influenced the electronics capability of the bike.
The cost for all that R&D and Rossi’s expert input? Oh, just about $22,499 (approx Rs 17 lakhs) excluding taxes.
4. Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition
The Good: It's available and doesn't come in a limited production run
The Bad: It's the V-2's final encore
If Ducati is to be believed, the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition is not a bike, but a collector's item. This is the swansong of Ducati's famous V-2 engine. The Final Edition is the most powerful V-2 bike ever to be homologated (Euro 4, in this case). The next generation of Ducatis will be powered by V-4 engines so hence buying this machine is owning a part of the history. Pre-bookings have already started for the Final Edition, which will be available in Italian tricolore livery.
At $39,000 (approx Rs 29 lakhs) before tax, the 209bhp Final Edition is not exactly cheap, but the question is are you willing to pay?
5. Honda RC-213V-S
The Good: That classic paint job
The Bad: The price
Honda enjoys an enviable racing pedigree in MotoGP. In their 50 years in the sport, the Japanese marquee has raked up 65 world titles across all classes – more than any other team to date. To honour it's pedigree and give the fans a taste of what it's like to ride a MotoGP bike, Honda came out with the production version of its MotoGP bike called Honda RC-213V-S. In this case, S stands for street.
In Honda’s words: "Here's the concept: Take our world-championship-winning RC213V MotoGP racer and add just enough equipment to make it street legal. Not just a machine that looks like a race bike. Not a Superbike done up in GP clothing. This is the real deal."
Given the fact that it's a MotoGP bike with a headlight and indicators, Honda kept the production run limited to 213 machines. Even with a sticker price of $184,000 9approx Rs 1.39 crore), the entire batch sold out a month before Honda projected. However if you search around, you'll find a couple of of used examples for sale. Do remember, this is not your average 300cc Honda, where the mileage will erode half of its original price. If anything, this bike will only appreciate given its exclusivity.
