For some, deciding between a 600 and a 1000 is already a tough decision. 600s weigh less... but not much less. 600s cost less... but not a whole lot less. 1000s have more power, but will that power be more of a financial and psychological burden than a real help to anyone who isn't laying down qualifying laps at Monza on a monthly basis?
In essence; what would the market niche of an 800 be?
That is indeed a question. Is that a good question to ask?
No!
The problem is that this question is being asked by consumers from the perspective of the manufacturer. You are the consumer. If you would buy it, there would instantly be a niche for it. As it is, manufacturers attempt to see things from the consumer's eyes rather than from their own eyes. As the consumer, the idea of a best-of-both-worlds option stealing sales from 1000s and 600s to your benefit should prompt enthusiasm, not skepticism, and given the current climate, bikes like the ZX8R are feasible.
Here is why.
Racing:
In racing, it's a love triangle between the series, the manufacturers, and the fans/consumers when the bikes on the track have the same "identity" (brand name, model series name, engine size, color scheme, etc) as bikes on the street and in the showroom.
For the racing series itself, the ability of the fan to more easily relate the bike on the track to their own bike via one of those memorable key identity factors means more loyalty and deeper fan interest. Without ZX this, R that, Desmo this, etc., motorcycle racing would be like a ball-sports league in which teams lack hometowns. Of course hardcore fans watch for the athletes themselves, but the majority need names and representation to generate interest.
MotoGP has chosen 800cc four-strokes (formerly 500cc two-strokes, then 990cc four-strokes) for the premier class as a matter of increased relevance to street-legal machines (two-strokes just didn't cut it), without sacrificing what the series is about (technologically advanced prototypes).
So, I'm not making sense here, right? 800cc or not, those bikes will still be prototypes sharing virtually zero parts with consumer sportbikes.
The thing is, whilst most riders won't be overly concerned with the weird honeycomb thing in their exhaust pipe a MotoGP bike doesn't have, or a polished whatever the heck shaft and ECU algorithm their bike doesn't come with, most bikers will know what cubic centimeters are. Most bikers will like the idea of the dimensions of their 800cc being determined by what works in MotoGP and possibly other series which follow.
MotoGP and the factories recognized that with two-strokes dying on the streets due to politicians sticking their fingers in motorcyclists' pie, the relevance of the series to sportbike riders (and research benefits to the involved factories) would eventually begin to rot.
Just like a Denver-dwelling fan of the Denver Broncos is aware that most of the team is not actually from Denver, MotoGP fans and consumers are aware that the bike they're seeing on TV mostly consists of parts not inside of their own bike by the same brand. Still, however, a key identifying factor such as engine displacement, and model series name (ZX, YZF, etc.) functions as a fan's "hometown". When you ask what somebody in a cafe up by Angeles Crest has parked outside, they don't tell you "carbon fiber fairing and soft-compound Bridgestone qualifiers", they tell you "a 600" or "a 1000".
In summary, 800cc sportbike=MotoGP bike, at least to the average consumer's mind. The marketing value open to manufacturers would be enormous.
In World Superbike, we have a very different problem from MotoGP but with a similar solution (at least to me). The literbikes are going open. That is, open-class. Ducati's latest weapon wields 1200ccs of twin cylinder torque. In an era where debate rages on in regards to whether 1000cc is already too large, 1200cc Superbikes, whether 2 cylinder or not, racing as the main attraction in such a major series confused a lot of people. Not to mention the Japanese manufacturers don't like it (I've even seen rumors that there was a push for 1100cc inline fours with the usual walk-out threats just to show WSBK and Ducati who's boss).
I'm all for giving the twins the ability to compete head to head with fours with competitive power output, but I also know I'm not the only one who was wondering the following:
"So... Ducati wants a 200cc advantage, huh?
"Japanese manufacturers have invested massively in 800cc four cylinders over in GP, huh?"
"Ducati has the most experience with 1000cc bikes, huh?"
"Rumors of Japan pushing for 1100ccs now just to stick it to Ducati, thus spinning the whole thing out of control into a competition for who is allowed more cc, huh?"...
Do I really need to elaborate on my conclusion? No, but I will anyway. Convert WSBK rules to 800cc 4 cylinders versus 900cc 3 cyclinders versus 1000cc 2 cylinders.
In AMA (or whatever it is now) Superbike, the situation is a mix of what WSBK and MotoGP have already gone through, but even more mixed up. Simply put: auto racing is a whole lot bigger in the US than motorcycle road-racing is. Many tracks aren't willing to invest in making themselves motorcycle-friendly, and it's gotten to the point that AMA riders are threatening to refuse to ride if certain safety demands aren't met. At the same time, year after year 1000s are becoming faster and faster.
An early solution upon the series changing ownership was regulating 1000s to a semi-superstock form and elevating the 600 supersport class with some modified rules to superbike/premier status. Needless to say, there was public outcry as well as fury from the factories and riders.
600s aren't THAT much slower than 1000s, and in fact, on tight tracks we see 600s with as fast/faster cornering speeds vs the 1000s and the lead 600 times falling ahead of the back of the 1000 pack's times. There was just the whole "oh... 600s..." aura. In macho circles, 600s are seen as bikes upcoming racers screw around with before going to a 1000. The factories would also be screwed to a degree, having invested so much in impractically powerful bikes which revolve around being "the best", no longer being the best.
Mladin/Spies and Suzuki's domination of the Superbike class (to the point I often don't even bother posting the race results because it was a Spies/Mladin or Mladin/Spies 1-2 finish) is also an obvious factor in the series wanting to shake the rules up.
To make a long story short, it seems like the idea of making 600s into the main attraction was shot down brutally, but still debate continues over what to do with the Superbike class. It's gotten so messy that nobody is quite sure what the disagreement is at this point. It seems 1000s are back as the main attraction, but goes back and forth from the manufacturers united against DMG/AMA, to the manufacturers fighting each other, to the latest breaking news: the manufacturers simply creating their own rival series (rules yet to be specifically clarified).
Basically, you can be sure that with all the chaos going on within the AMA, the manufacturers releasing 800cc bikes, and MotoGP running 800cc, they would be glad to have a third party "wave" of standardized 800cc racing determine what to race rather than continue destroying the face of American motorcycle racing by splitting into factions seemingly over disagreements so obscure that the media and public can't even figure out what the disagreement is.
It just so happens that new from scratch 800ccs would also be an exact half-way point between the originally suggested 600cc solution and the maze of confusing new 1000cc rules requests.
The Bikes:
Well... the bikes. They don't exactly exist yet. Other than the ZX8R rumor, 800cc MotoGP bikes, sporadic sub1000cc replicas of MotoGP bikes, the GSX-R750, the Ducati 848, and not-quite-sportbikes like the Honda VFR800.
There is, however, history. Not all that long ago World Superbikes were 750s. The R7. The legendary Ninja 750. Just like with the GSX-R, those who rode them often painted them to be the perfect balance of an athletic-feeling 600 and a steroidal 1000. Occasionally a tiny, itsy-bitsy bit more punch was requested (something an extra 50ccs and being catapulted to the forefront of research may cure), and that was about it. They ate up tires and flung riders off at a lesser rate than 1000s, and had just enough "scary" and unnecessary power to please psychos who think a modern 600 isn't fast enough.
Then we have modern 600s and 1000s. Even as they become harder to tell apart on spec sheets, they grow apart in subtle ways and make us lust for something in the middle.
Until recently, the hot design element for a 600 was to make it smaller. Well, 600s are smaller now. Maybe too small for some riders. The engines easily fit into the chassis and 600s could be made even smaller if need be. With 800s, we could perhaps LET 600s keep getting smaller. Let 600s evolve into an option for smaller, yet skilled and experienced riders.
1000s. As stated above, the line seems to be blurring between literbikes and open bikes. The sacred liter mark has been blown out of the water with the arrival of 1200cc twins and the Hayabusa/ZX14/etc crowd are stuck in limbo between being laid back muscle-sport tourers or just superbikes with more power and longer wheelbases. The question of "What should I get, a 600, a 1000, or a Hayabusa?" is officially gone now, and there is pretty much a serious bike at every cc interval. The industry is just asking to average it out like MotoGP did and make that class the pillar of technology.
1000cc+ horsepower levels are also becoming, quite frankly, pointless. Several 180-200+ HP models are on the horizon for 2009-2011. The rising power of motorcycles has prompted France to slap a moronic/communistic enforced 100 max horsepower limit on engine output. Do I agree with governments limiting how much horsepower our bikes can have and clueless hands neutering them against our wishes? Hell NO.
Yet, when you need 200 horsepower in a 360 pound bike just to "keep up" and be cool on the street, isn't that pushing it a bit and feeding the flames? Chopping 200ccs off the "gotta have" superbikes to the benefit of racing, consumers, and performance rather than prompting totalitarian moms to slap horsepower limits on bikers around the world seems like a rational option.
So what do you think?
No single factor seems to really scream "Make us 800s for the street!" or "Unify premier rules to 800cc! 800cc prototypes for MotoGP and 800cc road bikes for Superbike", but a multitude of smaller factors and plain old logic seem to say that they would be a hit if produced. I know I would buy one.
I say bring on the:
Kawasaki ZX8R
Yamaha R8 (catchy, huh?
Suzuki GSX-R800 (GSX-R750+50cc)
Honda CBR800RR
Ducati Desmosedici 800 (and separate the 1098 twin cylinder model into 1000cc and 1200cc versions, with the 1000cc version able to race 800cc 4 cylinders)
MV Agusta F8
KTM RC8 (they'd have to change the current twin cylinder RC8's name... maybe to RC1 or RC10 and lower it to 1000cc to race 4 cylinder 800ccs!),
Aprilia RSV8 (and return of an updated RSV 1000 2 cylinder...)
Triumph Daytona 900 (Triple cylinder, of course. Mmm!)
BMW S800RR
Buell 800R (and a 1000cc version of the current 2 cylinder 1125R to race the 800cc
4 cylinders...)
Bimota DB8
Ok... you probably get the point.
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