well..studying mechanical engg i hope u guys believe me, that the reduction in size is purely due to reduce the drag coefficient as much as possible. understand that even with new features in the driving parts of the motorcycle, the bike's engines and the overall size is being reduced to provide better handling and cornering in these speed manchines.
Manufacturers (even europeans)dont only want fast bikes..being a part of motor racing they also want them to be under control all the time
The principle of motor racing is - shred as much weight as you can before increasing the power output of your motor.
The new bikes are being reduced in size and thats not only with japs..its world wide.
Talking about European bikes, Ducatis are always under excessive wind tunnel testing and they bring out bikes with best dimensions..not to mention their latest 1198 which is only 171kg bringing out 170hp.
For the MV Augusta ..they have been derived from the race track too but have not been revised for quite a while now..
And the aprillia has also lost weight..compare the RSV1000(old) and the RSV4 (2009) the rear is smaller.
All the big brands know they need to reduce weight as much as possible. They have their own tactics on how too deal with the weight problem.
Japs do it the way we are discussing and the europeans to it the different way.

In fact the slimmer the bike is, the more the brag factor a company has as far its technical prowess goes. In cruisers it is almost the opposite trend, bigger the better. Form without functionality is very rare these days in high end bikes. You will see the opposite trend catching up in India with the recently released 'style power' bikes.

@46thegreatestever: i completely agree with nitrosatya. cant we just put forward what we see happening around us? i know it is beneficial for the manufactureres(plus the bikes plus the riders) but then i just wanted to put forward what i saw. i may not have been concerned with superbikes,nor have i ridden one, but then i wrote what i saw.

I agree with you people. Agreed that companies want better machines and performance.

But gradually that is reducing the awe factor of styling of a superbike.

When i looked at the 954RR the feeling was much more dramatic than the new 1000RR. Though it is very good on performance level!

And now i know i am not going to feel the same drama when i see the new Blade in person.

If u look at my avatar,thats when i was aboard a MV Agusta. The bike is significantly smaller than a Japanese bike!
Even Mr. Manson's Thunderace will look big in front of new R1!
Anyways, as Powerslave said "the lust inducing era has long ended"
The 90s were the golden age of sportsbikes! [with regards to styling and design]

Yeah. They might be slimming down. But, it is not at all an indicator that the bikes don't look good. In fact I will prefer to have a slimmer superbike so as to have a better flickability and other performance advantages. If I want looks I will mod a Pulsar. If I want adrenaline rush I will get a SBK irrespective of how they look.

Not directed to anyone, but unfortunately this is what rules the psyche of most of the people in India - looks. Beyond that the world ceases to exist. Thats why Mt-01 sells naught in front of the R1 in India despite the former's practicality being infinite times more. Sad but true.

Offered a choice of an MV F4 Tamburini and a CBR '08, and if you had the moolah to throw cash on either, wouldn't you pick the MV?

Certainly not on basis of just looks but because the MV is a better performer, that is exactly why I took the Blade in the India trip in 2006 and not the R1.

even though its not a 9 year old chassis and weighs more than an american supersizing his meals??

i wish they caught up and upgraded the chasis

As far as I am concerned i will stop my share of discussion on the Honda/Yamaha/Italian bike part here for it will risk this thread going very OT. What I wanted to convey is that smaller is trendier and technologically more advanced these days, because it takes serious research to pack a 1000CC engine with supporting systems in such a small space, something like UMPCs giving you the power of desktops.

The world is getting more obese by the day.. slows the bikes down. Therefore, the bikes have to get smaller and lighter to keep up with the fat humans.

In the last month or so the MT-01 is gaining in popularity, especially in Mumbai.

SF

True. It's the same case here in Bangalore. And I can't understand why!

yup .. they are slimming down.








.:. Archi

I normally set trends ; I've done it again when I purchased the MT

SF