HONDA CBR1000RR
Faster than the proverbial bullet. Lighter than most 600s. Able to leap other bikes' dyno curves in a single bound. Honda's all-new CBR1000RR is its most superlative superbike yet. Not only did the Alpha-RR dominate the performance portion of our "Class of '08" sportbike shootout (posting the quickest quarter-mile time, the fastest lap at the Streets of Willow and amazing dyno numbers in the middle revs), but it also ruled on more subjective aspects of the test. Its effortless handling and overall ease-of-use are absolutely contrary to a machine with such devastating speed. How did Big Red do it? Relentless weight reduction (even the instrument glass was scrutinized), fanatical attention to mass centralization and plenty of good old-fashioned internal-combustion hot-rodding result in a giant step forward in literbike performance-and 2008's Sportbike of the Year.
DUCATI 848
This is the kind of downsizing we can get behind! Ducati's middleweight 848 maintains the same arresting aesthetics and capable chassis as the race-winning 1098 Superbike, but with a smaller, revvier, 849cc V-twin and lower price. Lighter and more accessible than its (occasionally) overwhelming big brother, the 848 is hard to beat on the street.