Upcoming Leadership Class Bikes

In 2019 there were various companies that showcased their upcoming bikes for the year 2020. 2020 has rolled around and now the companies are ready to release all their products to the public. First of, lets clear what a leadership class bike means. A leadership class bike means, any bike that has a total displacement of a 1000 cc or higher. As an example, The Yamaha R1, or The Ducati Panigale 1299. These bikes are considered some of the top leadership class bikes out in the market currently. With MotoGP about to begin as well, the new generation leadership class bikes have a lot to live upto. Most of us know how expensive a leadership bike can cost as well, as the leadership class bikes range from 25K USD to nearly 60K USD. That amount of money is substantially high and not many people tend to get the leadership class bikes and rather choose the option of getting the 600 CC bikes or a bit lower displacement bikes than the leadership class ones. The reason of this is not only the cost estimation but also the handling of the bike. Leadership class bikes are significantly heavier in weight and without proper practice a person may not be able to even handle the bike in busy traffic on even on empty roads themselves.

We do not advise you to get a leadership class bike as your first bike at all. Start with lower displacement bikes to get the hang of it. You can start with a 600 CC displacement bike, and we have a list of all these Bikes under 600 CC as well. With all these said, let’s get into the list of the upcoming leadership class bikes that you will be seeing in the track as well as on the roads soon this year.

Yamaha R1 M

Yamaha one of the biggest motorcycle companies have been giving the public some of the best bikes since they started producing bikes. And R1 itself is like the face of the Yamaha motorcycle company. Many people dream of at least owning one of these bikes in their life. The R1 is a track-ready bike that has dominated the MotoGP track for a long time. Especially by the legend himself, Valentino Rossi (VR 46), he is known to be one of the most successful MotoGP track racers till date. Currently, Yamaha has the R1 M that runs on the track and the specs of the bike are top-notch premium. The specs of the bike are:

• Fuel Delivery : Fuel injection with YCC-T and YCC-I
• Transmission : 6-speed; wet multi-plate assist and slipper clutch
• Final Drive : Chain  
• Suspension / Front : 43mm Ohlins® Electronic Racing Suspension NPX fork, fully adjustable; 4.7-in travel
• Suspension / Rear : Ohlins® Electronic Racing Suspension single shock, fully adjustable; 4.7-in travel
• Brakes / Front : Dual 320mm hydraulic disc; Brake Control System and ABS
• Brakes / Rear : 220mm hydraulic disc; Brake Control System and ABS
• Tires / Front : 120/70ZR17
• Tires / Rear : 200/55ZR17
• Fuel Capacity : 4.5 gal
• Wet Weight : 450 lb

From the above specifications you can see that the bike has some of the premium traits and lives upto the name of being one of the crowned kings of the track. The R1 M series had gotten a small revamp for 2020 and they will be launching the bike with the new specs while the 2019 version of the R1 M has been completely discontinued from production.

Ducati Panigale V4 S:

Ducati, one of the another company in this list that has been providing some of the best premium track bikes. The bikes the italian company produces are some of the top notch bikes that actually give the R1 M a serious competition. Though the control does depend on the rider but the bike itself is a behemoth with a tonne of power within it. Panigale series is one of the track ready bikes that Ducati produces and it is one of the best bikes out in the market. But it is indeed not for the beginner riders as the power band that the bike produces is rather very hard to control for the new riders and getting the lower displacement bike of the same variant is a better choice. So, the specs of the bike are :

• Engine : Desmosedici Stradale 90° V4, counter-rotating crankshaft, 4 Desmodromic timing, 4 valves per cylinder
• Cooling : Liquid
• Horsepower : 214 hp (157.5 kW)
• Displacement : 1,103 cc
• Bore x Stroke : 3.2 x 2.1 in. (81 x 53.5 mm)
• Torque : 91.5 lb. ft. (124 Nm)
• Compression Ratio : 14.0:1
• Gear Ratio : 1st – 38/14 , 2nd – 36/17 , 3rd – 33/19 , 4th – 32/21 , 5th – 30/22 , 6th – 30/24
• Clutch : Hydraulically controlled slipper and self-servo wet multiplate clutch
• Fuel System : Electronic fuel injection system. Twin injectors per cylinder. Full ride-by-wire elliptical throttle bodies. Variable length intake system
• Exhaust : 4-2-1-2 system, with 2 catalytic converters and 2 lambda probes
• Emissions : Standard Euro 4
• CO2 : 165 g / km

Honda CBR 1000 RR:

After more than a decade the “Fireblade” or as of now the Honda CBR 1000 RR is being revamped and the new and improved version of the bike. It will be hitting the tracks this year in the hands of MarcMarcquaz who had won the MotoGP last year in 2019 and showed how good he was. The new and improved fireblade will be a great competitor for the giants such as R1 M and Panigale. The specs of the bike are listed below :

• ENGINE Type : Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 16-valve DOHC Inline-4
• Engine Displacement (cm³) : 999.9cc
• No. of Valves per Cylinder : 4
• Bore × Stroke (mm) : 81mm x 48.5mm
• Compression Ratio : 13.0 x 1
• Max. Power Output : 160kW @ 14,500
• Max. Torque : 113Nm @ 12,500
• Oil Capacity : 4.0L
• FUEL SYSTEM : 
• Carburation : PGM-DSFI
• Fuel Tank Capacity : 16.1L
• Fuel Consumption : 16.0km/litre
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM : Starter – Electric
• Battery Capacity : 12-6 YTZ7S
• DRIVETRAIN : Clutch Type : Wet, multiplate hydraulic clutch with assist slipper
• Transmission Type : 6-speed
• Final Drive : Chain
• FRAME Type : Aluminium composite twin spar
• Kerb Weight : 201kg
• Type Front : Showa Telescopic inverted fork with an inner tube diameter of 43 mm, and a Big Piston Front Fork with preload, compression and rebound adjustment, 120mm stroke
• SP: Telescopic inverted fork with inner
• diameter of 43mm and Ohlins NPX Smart-
• EC with preload, compression and
• rebound adjustments. 125mm stroke.
• Type Rear : Unit Pro-Link with gas-charged HMAS damper featuring 10-step preload and stepless compression and rebound damping adjustment, 137mm stroke.
• Showa Balance-Free Rear Cushion with preload, compression and rebound adjustment.
• SP : Pro-Link with gas-charged Ohlins TTX36 Smart-EC damper featuring preload, compression and rebound damping. 143mm stroke.
• Tyres Front : 120/70-ZR17 , Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP , Bridgestone RS11
• Tyres Rear : 200/55-ZR17 ,Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP , Bridgestone RS11
• ABS System Type : 2 Channel
• Front : 330mm disc with radial-mount 4-piston Nissin caliper
• SP : 4-piston Brembo Stylema 330mm disc
• Rear : 220mm disc with 2-piston Brembo caliper

Kawasaki ZX 10R

Kawasaki currently holds the record of having the bike with the highest bhp which is kawasaki H2R. The bike is considered as a Hyper sports bike instead of a super sport and is not allowed to be used in the track at all. But another of their leadership class bike that they produce is indeed allowed in the track. And that bike is the Kawasaki ZX 10R. The specs of this bike is below:

• Engine : 4-stroke, 4 cylinder, DOHC, 4-valve, Liquid-cooled
• Displacement : 998cc
• Fuel System : DFI® w/47mm Mikuni throttle bodies (4) with oval sub-throttles, two injectors per cylinder
• Ignition : TCBI with digital advance and Sport-Kawasaki Traction Control (S-KTRC)
• Transmission : 6-speed, return shift
• Final Drive : Sealed chain
• Electronic Rider Aids : Kawasaki Launch Control Mode (KLCM), Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Brake System (KIBS), Kawasaki Sport Traction Control (S-KTRC), Kawasaki Engine Braking Control, Kawasaki Quick Shifter (KQS) (upshift & downshift), Kawasaki Cornering Management Function (KCMF), Power Modes, Electronic Steering Damper
• Front Suspension / Wheel Travel : 43mm inverted Balance Free Fork, adjustable stepless rebound and compression damping, spring preload adjustability/4.7 in
• Rear Suspension / Wheel Travel : Horizontal back-link with Balance Free gas-charged shock, stepless, dual-range (low-/high-speed) compression damping, stepless rebound damping, fully adjustable spring preload/4.5 in
• Front Brakes : Intelligent Braking (KIBS), Brembo dual semi-floating 330mm discs with dual radial mounted monobloc 4-piston calipers
• Rear Brakes : KIBS-controlled, single 220mm disc with aluminum single-piston caliper
• Curb Weight : 454.2 lb
• Fuel Capacity : 4.5 gal

BMW S1000 RR 2020

BMW motorrad has not shown much of its power in the Moto GP recently but has been one of the best selling premium bikes in the market. With BMW even making small displacement bikes, the industries giants have started to look towards the small displacement bikes themselves as well. But today we want to talk about the new BMW S1000 RR 2020 that was released late 2019 but then recalled for some technical issues, the company will be launching the newer batch with less problems as well now. The specifications of the bike are:

• Engine : Liquid cooled, 4-stroke in-line 4-cylinder engine, four titanium valves per cylinder, double overhead camshafts, wet sump lubrication, BMW ShiftCam
• Capacity : 999 cc
• Rated output : 205 hp (151 kW) at 13,000 rpm
• Max. torque : 83 lb-ft (113 Nm) at 11,000 rpm
• Mixture control / engine management : Electronic fuel injection with ride-by-wire throttle system, variable intake, and knock sensor
• Emission control : Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter, emission standard EU-4
• Maximum speed : Over 125 mph
• Fuel consumption : 37 mpg (WMTC)
• Fuel type : Premium Unleaded
• Alternator : Three-phase 450 W Generator
• Battery : 12 V / 8 Ah, maintenance-free
• Clutch : Multi-disc clutch in oil bath, anti-hopping clutch, mechanically operated, integrally-reinforced
• Gearbox : Constant-mesh 6-speed gearbox with straight cut gears
• Frame : Aluminum composite bridge frame, partially self-supporting engine
• Front wheel location / suspension : Upside-down telescopic fork 45 mm, compression and rebound stage adjustable, adjustable preload
• Rear wheel location / suspension : “WSBK” Aluminium swing arm, full floater pro, compression and rebound damping adjustable, adjustable preload
• ABS : BMW Motorrad Race ABS (partly-integral) with selectable modes; can be switched off. ABS Pro settings for RAIN, ROAD, DYNAMIC modes, but no ABS Pro in RACE mode.
• Permitted total weight : 895 lbs (407 kg)
• Payload (with standard equipment) : 463 lbs (210 kg)
• Usable tank volume : 4.4 gal (16.5 l)

There will be more bikes launching this year and as soon as the proper concrete specifications are known we will update you about it soon.