Retro motorbikes have been cool for a number of decades now, but this year a new trend seems to be emerging – retro superbike liveries. Inspired by liveries of old, these old/new paint jobs are either homages to past glories or cynical marketing ploys, depending on your point of view.
Whatever you may think, there are some really cool special colour schemes from all four Japanese manufacturers, breathing some extra life into waning superbike sales. We think they all look pretty awesome, let us know what you think…
Honda CBR1000RR-R SP Fireblade 30th Anniversary
It makes you feel old, doesn’t it, but Honda’s iconic Fireblade (formerly FireBlade) is 30 years old in 2022.
Such was its impact, it just feels like yesterday that Honda unleashed the first CBR900RR on an unsuspecting world – combining the power of a 1000cc machine with the spec of a 750cc superbike and the dimensions of a 600. It was a heady cocktail which was an immediate success.
Along with the superbike class, the Fireblade evolved over the years. It has become a full litre bike, gaining more than 10% capacity, tweaking its name and winning a few world superbike titles over the years. And while the latest Fireblade lacks the flexibility of the Yamaha R1 and Suzuki GSX-R1000R, the Fireblade is the class leader in terms of outright power, with a staggering 214bhp available at the twist of the wrist. For 2022 it gets this snazzy new livery to celebrate three decades of ‘Blades.
The red, white and blue colourscheme harks back to those 1992 originals and, as well as being available a £500 upgrade on the SP road bike, it will also appear on Honda’s four-rider British superbike team’s machines.
Kawasaki ZX-10R
Kawasaki celebrated 125 years in 2021 and marked it with some special retro liveries at the Argentinean world superbike round.
And while it’s best not to talk about the GPz900R inspired red and black livery run on Alex Lowes’ ZX-10RR - the late-‘80s/early-‘90s Team Green colours adorning Jonathan Rea’s machine practically broke the internet.
Inspired by the ZXR750 (and the smaller KR-1S and ZXR400s) the green, white and blue colours proved so popular that Kawasaki UK has ordered its British superbike team to run the livery and has even made it available to us as an option for buyers of new ZX-10Rs in 2022.
We approve!
Yamaha R1 World GP 60th Anniversary
Heritage sells and Yamaha’s sales hook for 2022 is a line of models celebrating six decades of the brand’s participation in motorcycle Grand Prix racing.
Rocking the iconic white bodywork, with red ‘speedblocks’ run by the Yamaha factory in the early years, it’s a sign of a timeless design that it looks as good on a modern superbike as it did back on 1960s race bikes.
The R1 (like other litre bikes) might not sell in big numbers these days, but we reckon that Yamaha have pulled off a masterstroke by rolling out the livery across the entire ‘R’ range, from the learner legal R125, to the R3 and new R7. We can see plenty of those flying out of Yamaha showrooms this summer.
Suzuki GSX-R1000R 100th Anniversary
Michio Suzuki started out as a loom maker in Hamamatsu back in 1909 and it would be 1953 before he made his first motorised bicycle, which would lead to the Suzuki Motor Company, but it is the incorporation of the loom maker in 1920 which is the somewhat tenuous story behind this ‘100th Anniversary’ edition of Suzuki’s iconic GSX-R1000.
Regardless, it’s a pretty cool livery that’s shared with the MotoGP world championship machine ridden by Joan Mir to the 2020 title and continues to be made available as Suzuki reaches its, erm, 102nd anniversary.
Under the skin is a standard GSX-R1000R, one of the most overlooked and underrated superbikes on sale today thanks to its combination of a 200bhp engine and a user friendly package.
Ducati Panigale V2 Bayliss 1st Champion 20th Anniversary
We could argue that pretty much every Ducati (and MV Agusta for that matter) sports a retro livery – after all, could you have an Italian superbike in anything other than classic rosso red?
So this is red, of course, but also retro in as much as it celebrates Ducati hero Troy Bayliss’ first world superbike title, in 2001.
It’s not a true replica, but the design is inspired by the famous Infostrada sponsor scheme from back in the day. Some would argue that the snappily titled limited edition Ducati Panigale V2 Bayliss 1st Champion 20th Anniversary is more a supersport bike, than a full bloodied superbike, but with 955ccs pumping out 155bhp, it boasts the sort of numbers seen on 1000cc fours in the not too distant past, while carrying an £18k price tag, in line with the other bikes here.