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<p>While we can appreciate all kinds of bikes on this mag, there&rsquo;s a special allure to machines that are built first and foremost to go really fast, to handle like nothing else, and stir your emotions in a way that simply can&rsquo;t be mirrored by any other sector. The other thing we like about these types of machines are their rich seams of innovation, technology, and thinking outside of the box. If you&rsquo;ve ever been up close to a MotoGP machine, you&rsquo;ll know exactly what I&rsquo;m on about &ndash; every inch is heaven-sent, purposeful, and often built of materials so precious that they can make the Crown Jewels look duller than dishwater. Impressive doesn&rsquo;t cut it, and the great thing is that in the same vein as your parents handing down your sibling&rsquo;s finest knitwear, all the tech, spec and mind-blowing performance has a habit of trickling its way onto the street bikes you and I can scoop up down the local dealership. Of course, some models are more loved than others, meaning they get the very best of the bits&hellip; the carbon fibre, aero and precious metals that allow engines to reach unholy amounts of revs. There&rsquo;s nothing new about this format, and in days of old, these kind of models would have likely been stamped with the &lsquo;homologation special&rsquo; mantle, hammering home to the world that behind their fancy paint jobs and hiked up prices, you&rsquo;d find something rather relishable. The kind of bikes that were produced in limited runs, with the sole intention of giving manufacturers that edge on track against the&nbsp;best of the competition. Of course, then there&rsquo;s the kudos attached to building something truly unique, which never seems to do any harm in motorcycle showrooms. Over the years, and even more so recently, we have become accustomed to the announcements of super-trick sportsbikes that seem to sell out online in minutes, months before anyone gets to see the machine in the flesh.</p>
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<p>While there are those who argue that sportsbikes have had their day, that their levels of performance are way too much, and&nbsp;that such motorcycles are simply not &lsquo;practical&rsquo;, we completely disagree&hellip; and so to do those aforementioned &lsquo;flash sales&rsquo;. Too much is never enough, as someone once said, and especially so in this world of two wheels. We want our bikes faster, smarter, lither, and sexier, dripping from head to toe in the most audacious of features, imitating the bikes we see on the telebox and making us feel even an ounce as special as the brilliance we are sitting on. And to celebrate&nbsp;some of the best in the biz, we thought there was no better time than now to bring together three of the most sophisticated and exotic models of 2023... live with them on the road and track to get a semblance of what they&rsquo;re all about, what makes them tick, and why we should want them in our lives. Let&rsquo;s meet the contestants&hellip;</p>
<p><img style="width: 100%;" src="https://cdn.magzter.com/1387350424/1693810884/articles/5kFV92jfX1693816929072/bVfa-T8W91693817240780.jpg"></p>
<p><strong>THE PLAN...</strong></p>
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<p>At this point, it&rsquo;s probably prudent to introduce this test&rsquo;s protagonists and explain a bit about them. In&nbsp;alphabetical order, we&rsquo;ve got BMW&rsquo;s M 1000 RR, a new face and new standard in aero. BMW claims to have made this M-spec missile 5mph faster through aerodynamics alone, while integrating improved downforce and cooler braking through other carbon additions. It is a feat of engineering and perhaps even a sign of things to come, as manufacturers look to areas outside of the engine to make their bikes faster.</p>
<p>Next up is the Ducati V4R. In complete contrast, the focus of this bike is its engine. The V4 motor was ceremoniously handed down from the brand&rsquo;s MotoGP efforts back in 2017 and ever since the design has been bettered and bolstered to the extent that the Italian firm claims, with the right oil and exhaust system on it, it&rsquo;ll produce a mindblowing 204bhp.</p>
<p>Lastly, there&rsquo;s the Honda Fireblade RR-R SP. This bike&rsquo;s been on the scene since 2020 and we&rsquo;re still looking to find a better-handling litre bike. The secret to its loveable litheness is its frame and geometry, both of which started life on Honda&rsquo;s RCV, before being passed down to the street machine.</p>
<p>Special it most certainly is, as are all these bikes. But how exactly do you go about testing three super-special, super-fast specimens in a way that&rsquo;ll do them justice and showcase their deepest sensations? We asked ourselves that question several times over many a pint, naturally coming to realise that a track test was very much in order, and that the utter awesomeness of Donington&rsquo;s flowing disposition, backed up by its fast straights and hard braking zones, would be the best place. Job done? Well, no. Far from it. The track would surely show us a great deal about these machines, but a trip to the Isle of Man seemed about as befitting as a fry-up is after a big night out&hellip; it had to be done. Where else on earth can you pull the pin on the road and discover how they handle the odd pothole, drain cover and speed-limitless mountain course? Yep, the TT was a natural magnet for our trio and we needed no encouragement. It would be the perfect playpen to assess these three mechanical masterpieces, giving us a solid idea of what some of the fanciest production fiends on the market are like to live with, scratching deep below their surfaces to upturn the good, the bad, and the quizzical idiosyncrasies of our offerings. Or, to put it another way, to see just how epic they truly are. So, that was the agenda &ndash; and this is how it panned out&hellip;</p>
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<p><strong>RUBBER AT THE READY&hellip; </strong></p>
<p>For the sake of consistency and peace of mind, we teamed up with our friends at Michelin to make sure each of the bikes were shod in top-spec rubber. For the track, we opted to use the brand&rsquo;s brilliant Power Slick 2s &ndash; proven performance tyres that we&rsquo;ve clocked many a mile on at tracks all over Europe, coming to love and trust for their consistent feel, high grips levels, and impressive levels of durability. We knew they&rsquo;d be exactly what was needed to tackle Donny&rsquo;s new, resurfaced, super-abrasive asphalt.</p>
<p><img style="width: 100%;" src="https://cdn.magzter.com/1387350424/1693810884/articles/5kFV92jfX1693816929072/9864114611.jpg"></p>
<p>The plan was then to fit super-sporty Power Cup 2s to the bikes. Arguably, they are a road-legal track tyre but still offer many of the key attributes you look for on the streets, such as high levels of feel, stability, and quick warm-up times. Their treadles shoulders tell you all you need to know about their DNA, which has performance at heart &ndash; perfect for dealing with the high-speed shenanigans we were intending for on the Isle of Man. They didn&rsquo;t disappoint.</p>
<p>For more info on either tyre, head to www.michelin.co.uk</p>
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HOMOLOGATION Special

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