Aprilia RSV4 Factory vs. BMW’s S1000RR vs. KTM RC8R

With BMW’s S1000RR and KTM’s updated and new-to-the-U.S. RC8R as an all-new model, the field of liter-ish superbikes expands considerably for 2010.

Apologies to MV Agusta for not counting the 2010 F4, but no one’s yet signed up to race it in a large-scale series – the KTM was the runner-up in the 2009 IDM (International German Superbike Championship). We sure wouldn’t mind a spin on the MV, though. (Hint, hint, MV Agusta.)

Like the race grid, we’ll now expand the roster of contestants in our annual liter test.

No longer limiting the battle to the Big Four from Japan, we’ll eventually include the BMW S1000RR on the list of participants powered by the popular inline-Four configuration.

But for now, to start off what has become a literbike mêlée, we’re first evaluating all the Vee configuration contenders.