2007 Superbike Smackdown IV Photo Gallery

2007 Superbike Smackdown IV. 2007 Superbike Smackdown IV.

The Japanese quartet have comparable price ranges and will cost you in between $11,000 to $12,000.

The superbikes in this year's smackdown effortlessly carve the turns of the Santa Monica Mountain roads.

And the winner of the 2007 MCUSA Superbike Smackdown is ...?

Poetry in motion - a linear perspective of the 2007 literbike, painted by the Japanese masters Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki.

Dominating on the street or track, the quartet of Japanese superbikes for 2007 are ready to rock the nation.

The lines on the ZX-10R are softer, more rounded than the sharp, angular lines of the aggressive-looking R1.

Perennial powerhouses - the Honda CBR1000RR and the GSX-R1000. Who will be this year's winner?

The ZX-10R was last year's horsepower king, but the honors go to Suzuki and its reconfigured mill for the 2007 titile.

Keep eating your Wheaties kids, and maybe someday you too can ride like this.

No, I'm the reigning wheelie champion. No, I am.

The R1 received the most dramatic changes to its chassis, with a relocated swingarm pivot point and a 4.6mm increase in trail.

The YZF-R1 and GSX-R1000 both feature changes to their chassis' this year while the ZX-10R and the CBR1000RR remain pretty much the same.

We enjoy this time of the year so much it's sometimes hard to give the bikes back to the manufacturers.

The 2007 GSX-R leads the group through the twisties of Malibu Canyon.

The GSX-R rumbles around Buttonwillow as Hutch follows on the R1 and shoots video footage.

Let's get ready to rumble. All the bikes in this year's smackdown are serious contenders, but in the end, there can be only one.

Hey, this hill looks familiar. Ever get the feeling we're riding in circles, guys?

Open the throttle and enjoy the ride - these bikes were made for serious riding.

All the bikes feel the same in the dark and from the cockpit you can't tell what the bike looks like. All you can see is the world going by in a blur and the competition fading away in your wake.

We put the test bikes through the rigors of trackdays, performance testing and street rides with professionals onboard to get a diverse set of conditions and opinions for us to formulate our conclusions on.

Hey, wait up. No gloating over the fact that you're once again the horsepower king, Gixxer.

The 2007 superbikes offer the closest to MotoGP-like performance for a factory bike ready to ride off the showroom floor.

Our weigh-in for 2007 has the GSX-R1000 at the top of the scale and the CBR1000RR tipping the scales as the lightest of this year's Japanese literbikes.