The motorcycles concerned are either 750cc four-cylinder or 1000cc twin-cylinder machines (900 cc triples are permitted, but at this stage nobody has ever entered a three-cylinder motorcycle in the category) and weigh approximately 160 kilograms. The frames (and engine blocks?) must be identical to the production bikes, but other components are free for extensive and expensive modification.
The category is highly popular with manufacturers, as they can sell their road motorcycles as the basis for their race-winning superbikes. There is a World Championship series as well as an American championship.
There is a variant of the concept called SuperSport which involves slightly smaller bikes with more restricted modifications. Typically, the SuperSport class consists of 600cc motorcycles.
The series' future, however, is somewhat uncertain at this point (August 2001), with the reintroduction of four-stroke motorcycles to the Grand Prix racing series.
The most accomplished Superbike racer is Carl Fogarty[?] of England.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump