Yamaha YZF R1M
Valentino Rossi rides one. Kind of. The R1M is Yamaha’s top of the line supersport, derived from their M1 MotoGP bike. It certainly earns the mountains of accolades on its trophy wall.
This liter bike gets off the line and to highway speeds at 2.5 seconds and will pass 180 mph in under 17 seconds. Before Buford T. Justice can grab the radio and his hat, you’ll be two counties over.
Aprilia RSV4 RF
I personally have a thing for the Italians; something about the passion and I’ll-go-my-own-way attitude resonates with me. So does the exhaust note of the RSV4 RF, the end result of a 201-horsepower, one-liter V4.
Though this Aprilia definitely isn’t the lightest bike, clocking in at 400 pounds dry, that doesn’t mean it can’t hustle. With a top speed of 185 mph, there isn’t much holding this rocket back. Not that you’d want to. Whoo doesn’t want to hear that bass heavy soundtrack and watch those beautiful lines scream by?
BMW S 1000 RR
As the lone German entry on this list, the S 1000 RR has the pride of Bavaria resting on its shoulders. In true BMW fashion, nothing from front to back is less than blindingly fast and well-engineered. Would you expect anything different from the boffins in Stuttgart?
Weighing in at 459 lbs wet, the S 1000 RR’s 199-horsepower 83 lb-ft four banger will get you from here to there faster than most anything else under $16,000. And with the grownup styling, you won’t look like a 17 year old who just received their motorcycle endorsement.
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