The garage door swung open and there they were: the eight sexiest bikes of 2017 lined up and ready for the spanking of their pubescent lifetime. What a bloody sight that was, all immaculately prepped and shod in virgin Bridgestone R10s.
Standing there, goggle-eyed and slack-jawed, I knew for certain that I have the best job in the world. These beauties were mine for the thrashing! Well, mine plus the Fast Bikes ‘massive’ who’d come out to Portugal in force to make Sports Bike Of The Year the spectacle that it is. If you’re new to this, all you need to know is SBOTY, as we like to call it, is the ultimate sportsbike test; an annual pilgrimage where we pit the best the showrooms have to offer against the stopwatch on the world class Portimao race circuit.