We love both sportbikes and standard bikes. Our writers and editors have owned both types. Also, there was a genesis where the two types crossed over on each other many times.

The main difference is the riding position and many times the torque curve on the same basic engine will differ on the two different types of bikes with the naked bike peaking in the mid-range area of r.p.m. and the sportbike peaking near the highest r.p.m. that is safe for the design. Also, Naked Bikes tend to be a little easier on the back because they have a more upright riding position. Both bikes deserve respect and are enjoyable.

17 Royal Enfield Continental GT 650

Courtesy Total Motor Cycle

For years, Royal Enfield languished at the low end of the spectrum. Now we have a thoroughly modern fuel-injected air-cooled motorcycle that harkens back to the classic cafe' racers of the 1960s in London pubs.

Unlike the bikes they emulate, they won't cause your arms to go numb or rattle all the nuts and bolts off the engine, like the good old days. Not really a stunt bike but more of one to enjoy long rides. With 47 H.P. at a low 7200 R.P.M. and a proper staggered crank, not the old skool 360° cranks, this thing is a dream to ride!

16 Spondon Bespoke Frames

Courtesy Twitter

While less of a thing these days because stock bikes are so good, from 40 years ago until 10 years ago, riders would dump the wobbly forks and heavy frame and pay a firm like Spondon to custom build a bike or a partially finished bike frame using a highly tuned sportbike or naked bike engine.

All the major brands were used as donor engines. Many times the end result was an insanely fast naked bike, sometimes with a turbocharger. Not only did they perform, but most were also gorgeous!

RELATED: 25 Classic Motorcycles No One Should Still Be Riding2018

15 Suzuki GS 1100/1150

Courtesy Best Car Magaizine

Interestingly, the original Katana was the first Suzuki Sportbike, not the GSXR. It was available as a 550, 700, 750, 1000, 1100 on the first model. However, North America didn't get it. The 1st generation Katana model was limited to Oceania, Germany, and Japan.

The USA and Canada got an equally fine series that was cleaner looking but didn't have the farings or tucked riding position. What we did get wasn't a disappointment at all, it was great!

While not the best handler of all time, the TSCC (4 valves) air-cooled series showed up in the exact same tune, but instead of a weird Japanese/German styled bike, it came with a nice big headlamp, a full set of gauges including fuel level, temperature, and self-canceling turn signals. It had the latest design brakes and forks of the era. Later it came as the updated 1150 series with a quarter fairing as well as a 550 Turbo called the XN 85!

14 Ducati Monster

Ducati Monster 1200S
Via Ducati

Honestly, Ducati wasn't sure these would sell so they only had 1 size at first. It was called the M900 and used the already 20 years old Pantah engine which was their first belt-driven cam engine, and thus the first high r.p.m. engine for the marque.

It wasn't anywhere near their highest power, but it had plenty of torque. later versions and revisions came out as 600, 750, 800, 1000, and finally 1200. They also started fitting higher tuned engines from top-level sportbikes as optional versions. No longer limited to 60% of maximum power, these things morphed into serious performers and stunt machines.

13 KTM SuperDuke 1290

Courtesy Visordown

Any of these bikes are capable of scaring you if you don't know what you are doing. However, we want the insanely fast 1290 SuperDuke R. A naked bike with a claimed 162 H.P. will beat the hell out of you if you don't know how to handle a bike like that. however unlike earlier scarry fast bikes, this one handles great, has awesome brakes, and is capable of running with anything but the most advanced Racer Replicas.

It has all the tricks: carbon fiber bodyparts, crystal lighting, tuned exhaust, it has W.P. forks, premium brakes, and all the stuff people would buy and install themselves 30 years ago.

12 Aprilia Shiver 900

2020-aprilia-shiver-900- Heritage And Craft
Courtesy Heritage And Craft

A 900 c.c. ride that has all the premium parts and makes 100 H.P. A beautiful trellis frame and, lightweight wheels along with inboard-mounted rear spring and damper. Here is a wheelie machine that is meant to be ridden hard. There is even an option package to mount frame slides to minimalize damage in case of a spill.

This bike is also a narrow-angle V-Twin so doing tricks is easy to balance. If you like matte paint schemes you'll like this one because all the surfaces ae brushed finish. According to Top Speed the newest version lost half a Kilogram in weight over the previous version due to a newer design in the fork.

11 Honda CB1000R

Courtesy Man Of Many

Honda could be considered the originators of the factory high-performance lightweight standard. A.K.A. the modern naked bike. Honda took a cue from the buyers of early CBR models who stripped the bodywork from the bikes and reconfigured them to ride without the bodywork. Usually, this occurred after the bodywork was damaged beyond repair.

Whereas earlier standards, like the GS, XS, and KZ series from the other brands, were over 600lbs, Honda introduced the punters' bikes based on the light CBR series. Here is their latest creation the which produces around 135 H.P. It's a rather conservative looking bike but it has all the parts people want such as a slipper clutch, linked braking, and different fuel injection maps for different purposes.

RELATED: 15 Facts About Triumph Motorcycles Most People Don’t Know

10 Triumph Speed Triple

Courtesy Virginia Triumph

Early on, the reborn Triumph, being located in the home country of "Cafe Racers" and Naked Stunt Bikes, wanted a factory bike in that configuration. Interestingly they dropped the 4th cylinder and decided to make them all Triples. After The Speed Triple came out, they reduced design emphasis away from the previous 4 cylinders.

The current model has 123 H.P. and like any other current bike in this class weighs around 370LBS dry. So you see with that kind of lightweight why they dropped the 1000 and bumped it down to just over a 750 because that is a 9-second quarter-mile for a good rider.

9 Zero FX

Courtesy Cycle News

Why an electric motorcycle? Well for one thing this bike is a hoot! Unlike other electrics that don't really live up their claims, this one has been around for a decade and is thoroughly vetted. It isn't a bike you should drive on the interstate more than 15 minutes each way. Its forte is doing stupid things on and off-road and laughing while you are doing it.

With the instant torque and light weight, it's designed as a hooligan motorcycle and you can run it on trails, dirt track, and even on Supermotard tracks because it has a sibling that is a Supermotard version. Basically the major difference is the tires. At 247 lbs and with 78FT-Lb of torque, it will move quickly.

8 Yamaha MT10

Courtesy Yamaha North America

This is an interesting ride. From a company not known for stylish or leading-edge bikes, they nailed it. Firstly, when they tuned the R1 engine to be a naked bike, they kept the cross-plane crank, so you won't have to sound like a nest of angry hornets under acceleration. At $12000 for a liter-class bike, it's a bargain. With a wet weight at 463LBS, it's as light as any large 4 cylinder could be. Just the sound alone would be enough to buy this bike.

Short of a turbo conversion there really isn't much a rider could do to make this thing better. The advertising for the Yamaha website actually describes it best: "arm-stretching torque." Another good ride to mount skid plates on and play stupid games/win stupid prizes in parking lots!

7 Suzuki GSX S1000Z

Courtesy TopSpeed

This is kind of an oddball bike. While not particularly attractive, you can tell this is a true punter's bike. It might as well come with skid plates mounted to it. We hope the footpegs allow people to ride it standing while wheelying and doing stoppies.

The manufacturer says the drivetrain is basically the 2008 GSXR liter-class engine. That should be around 145 H.P. Keep in mind this is on a bike around 463 LBS wet. So the bike is a 9-second bike that is also made to manage wheelies, a type of bike someone built for themselves a generation ago.

This version of the series even uses the same Renthal bars that people used to buy to make a conversion for a GSXR to be this bike. Now you just order the whole bike.

6 Indian FTR

Courtesy Gear Patrol

Call it what it is! Revenge of the Victory brand lover! A lot of people were angry corporatocracy decided Americans like to ride 2 wheel couches and dumped very loyal owners for aging guys a generation older and 40LBS heavier. Like Harley, Polaris didn't think that one out. That's ok because look what they came up with: we give you the lovely FTR.

A serious standard bike capable of ripping any asphalt or concrete. No leather things dangling from the hand grips on this thing, neither will you have to listen to endless stories of how great 700 LB motorcycles are. How does 123 H.P. at a relatively low R.P.M. grab yah? While it's almost 500 LBS. it's a little nicer finished than something made in Japan. a real 'Murican bike!

5 Flow Electric Bike By Fuell

Courtesy Portable Elctric Vehicle Blog

This is a big question mark. It is being developed by none other than Erik Buell and there is no one better suited to produce it. However, COVID-19 shrunk the money supply so much we aren't sure whether this one will make it to production. If it does become something you could buy, it should be a "Blast!" No pun intended! Never one to stick to convention, we can only imagine what great features this thing will have.

The claimed specs are 553 FT-Lb of Torque and a 150+ mile cruising range with a low 400lbs wet weight. While not a quarter-mile bike as it's designed for lower speeds and limited to 85 MPH via governor, claimed 0-60 time is 1.6 seconds! Another great stunt bike in the works! Top-end power is limited to 44 hp via the governor.

4 StreetFighter Home Made

Courtesy You Tube

This is a very popular roll your own affair. These bikes mostly consist of previously damaged racer replicas and sportbikes that were salvaged after a collision and made into punters by their owners.

Oddly enough many ended up that way because OEM manufacturers never gave any kind of price break on replacement bodywork making it actually cheaper to polish the aluminum frames, wheels, and other parts while changing the footpegs and adding skid plates, raised handlebars and other things to make the bikes more friendly at lower speeds. There even was an offline magazine named for the sport, it went mainstream in popularity.

3 Hyosung GT650

Courtesy JP Motorsports

These models have been around for 2 decades, but they were a lot better than people thought they would be. The engines shared parts with Suzuki's SV 650 and the chassis and design were all Hyosung. Never that popular in North America, you do see them in cities with lots of motorcycles.

While never spectacular, they were a fantastic mid-level bike with great power around 65H.P. and easy to ride. because they were well balanced they are also a great bike to do tricks on. Ergo if you wreck it, it's cheap to fix! Honestly, the only thing that ever felt cheap about the bike was it's sub $7K price point. It had all the features any Japanese bike had including inverted forks and premium brakes. It wasn't designed to rev to 12,500 RPM, so 65 HP. is what you get. It's well under 400 lbs.

2 Erik Buell Racing 1190SX

Courtesy New Atlas

A full monty racing engine in a Hooligan Bike! Yes, he built it! Meet the 1190RX home of a claimed 175 H.P.! Ultralight and ultra-fast. A front brake that is actually a structural support member. Lightweight wheels and a fork and suspension that is 15% lighter than everyone else's parts.

Without turbocharging or nitrous oxide, there isn't much you can do to improve this bike. Like all other EBR bikes, it is among the fastest and most exotic in the world. This is not a motorcycle for an amateur. However, when treated with respect, it is among the easiest to ride fast.

1 Kawasaki  Z H2

Courtesy Revzilla

Wanna die quickly? Make some serious mistakes on this bike and you might do that! This is a bike for a guy who knows what he is doing on a motorcycle. It's a serious piece of machinery. Amazingly it has a European style trellis frame, which used to be the poor man's way of building a sportbike for firms too poor to have the hydroforming equipment for slab-sided aluminum frames.

What everyone loves about this bike is its supercharged 1000c.c. engine rated at 200 H.P. in a package under 500 LBS. complete with a slipper clutch and Brembo brakes, as well as fully integrated electronic assist for the throttle and type of riding, it even has a slipper clutch. 0-60 in 1.5 seconds, flat 9 second quarter miles!

NEXT: This Is Why Ducati Motorcycles Are So Expensive