With technology in motorcycles advancing all the time, prices of top-notch sportbikes have gone through the roof.
If you are after an affordable sportbike, then more often than not you will need to turn to the used market. That isn’t exactly a bad thing, with several affordable options out there. Between the 90s and early 2000s, Japanese manufacturers went to war, all competing to offer customers the best sportbikes money could buy. Back then, middleweight sportbikes exploded in popularity too, all of which can now be bought for a song.
The Italians also occasionally got in on the act with their V-twins, with Aprilia having their first crack at making a liter bike and Ducati finding some semblance of reliability.
10 Yamaha YZF-R1
After Honda knocked the socks off everyone in the early 90s with their class defying CBR900RR FireBlade, other manufacturers were forced to think on their feet.
It took some time, but Yamaha hit back in the best possible way. Increasing the displacement to 1000cc and still maintaining the weight of a 750cc bike helped them leapfrog Honda and pretty much everyone else, establishing the liter bike class as we know it today.
9 Aprilia RSV Mille
After dominating every other manufacturer with their small displacement two-stroke race bikes, they finally had a real go at making a proper superbike.
Nobody knew what to make of the Rotax powered bike back in the early part of the 2000s, but today we know it is one of the most underrated sportbikes of all time and remains affordable to this day.
8 Kawasaki ZX-6R
At present, the ZX-6R is the only genuine supersport class motorcycle available new, although there are now many new parallel twin pretenders, this is an inline-4 screamer.
It is still one of the fastest motorcycles in its class and even though it is an aging platform, it will still dominate on track.
7 Honda CBR954RR FireBlade
So much noise is made about the original 900 FireBlade, but in reality, by modern standards it is just a fast, uncomfortable, and unsafe motorcycle.
The 954 on the other hand is the most refined version of that raw original machine, it is also significantly more comfortable and the odds of it killing you one day are also not quite as high.
6 Ducati 749
Redesigning a legend like the 916/996/998 is an impossible task, so when the 999 was launched along with the 749 they were met with a lot of resistance.
In reality, both bikes were significantly better, with an improved chassis and more reliable engines (at least comparatively speaking). The 999 is getting more expensive these days, but the 749 is still affordable.
5 Yamaha R6
If you want a track bike on a budget, look no further. Older Yamaha R6s can be really cheap, but if they are, then they have most likely been thrashed.
It is possible to find one in reasonable condition, but if you are willing to spend more Yamaha are technically still selling a track only version (pictured) which, for a dedicated track bike, is affordable.
4 Suzuki RGV 250
In the early 90s, there was a proper arms race on the go between manufacturers all trying to make the fastest two-stroke 250cc sportbike, so they could compete on track.
The Suzuki may not be the fastest, but today it is one of the most interesting baby superbikes money can buy, and as long as you don’t mind the peaky nature of a two-stroke this will make for a fun project. Bikes in perfect condition are anything but affordable but there are still several that have been through the odd gravel trap that are, just make sure the frame is straight...
3 Kawasaki ZX-25R
In the 90s, license and tax restrictions combined to create a demand for small displacement four stroke sport bikes. That gave birth to this unusual class of high revving inline-4 bikes.
Over time, parallel twins got more efficient and demand dried up, but Kawasaki saw an opportunity and launched this throwback bike that will be able to dominate 300cc class bikes on track. It is also surprisingly affordable if you are lucky enough to live in a country where it is available.
2 Honda VTR1000 SP2
This is arguably the most interesting bike Honda has ever developed, not because it is in any way advanced, but because of how different it was to any other Honda, pretty much ever.
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After they kept getting beaten by Ducati with their larger displacement V-twin, Honda developed these bikes specifically to beat Ducati on track. It worked, and the homologation bike also sold in huge numbers because it was so affordable. It is still affordable, but make no mistake, this is a track focused machine with no comfort of fuel efficiency to speak of.
1 Suzuki GSX-R1000
If you are after an affordable liter bike then look no further than the K5 Gixxer, it has become something of a legend over the years with an almost perfect balance of power and handling.
It is as comfortable as you might expect, so using it as a commuter is not advisable, it also doesn’t have any safety features so if you are new to motorcycles don’t even think about it.