The quest for more horsepower is an eternal battle among motorcycle manufacturers. Yes, we could argue among ourselves until the oil turns to sludge about the benefits of more ponies, but horsepower on the spec sheet does sell. Besides that, a number of bikes in this list are in production racing; meaning that the manufacturers have to make as powerful as possible from the off.
We’ve excluded production race-only bikes, for example the Kawasaki Ninja H2R which produces 326 hp (with ram air) and concentrate on road-legal ones. Also, we quote specs from base models to keep the field level. If we had included special models with race kits, there’s nowhere to stop.
So, without more horsing around, here are the first 3 Most Powerful Production Motorcycles.....and I will be sharing the remaining 5 bikes by next week,so stay tuned!
8. BMW S 1000 RR
199 hp (146.0 kW), 83.3 ft. lb. (113 Nm), 449.7 lb. (wet)
BMW S 1000 RR – Courtesy of BMW Motorrad
What? How could the heckuva fast BMW S 1000 RR be all the way in eighth? But even with just one-horse shy of the double ton, the S 1000 RR is a blindingly fast motorcycle. It goes to show just how insanely powerful motorcycles have become. The 2017 S 1000 RR boasts some of the most genius electronics mounted on a motorcycle and the bike is surprisingly easy to ride at slow speeds.
7. Suzuki GSX-R1000R
199.2 hp (146.8 kW), 86.7 ft. lb. (117.6 Nm), 447.5 lbs. (wet)
Suzuki GSX-R1000R - Courtesy of Suzuki
It’s sad that Suzuki lost the superbike plot year after year, that is until the introduction of this new GSX-R1000R. It has many technologies derived from the GSX-RR MotoGP bike, including the engine which is equipped with variable valve timing, a 10-stage lean angle sensitive traction control, cornering ABS and many more.
6. Kawasaki Ninja H2
200 hp (147.1 kW), 98.5 ft. lb. (133.5 Nm), 529 lbs. (wet)
Kawasaki Ninja H2 - Courtesy of Kawasaki What more could be said about the supercharged Ninja H2 that hasn’t already? The competition-only H2R produces a mind-boggling 326 hp with ram air, but the road-legal H2 has “only” 200 hp. ‘Nuff said.