Should Sport Bikes or Crotch Rockets be Considered Street Legal
As a person that literally has decades of riding experience, I put my vote up as a resounding no. These motorcycles were never intended to be ridden on an everyday street environment setting.
Yes, they are fast. Yes, they are aerodynamic. Yes, they are capable of speeds of over 160mph. The question is, unless you are a professional racer on a closed track, do you need any of this?
Ironically, most of the people that ride these style of bikes (of course not all-if a professional racer wants to ride a sports bike in town, they have that right and skill) are young, inexperienced and blissfully ignorant of the amount of danger that they have between their legs.
Any one that has ridden on one at high speeds as well as in town speed will immediately realize they handle like crap at 30 mph (excuse the language but it fits). There is a reason for this. They are racing motorcycles. Their best performance is in excess of 100 mph (sometimes closer to 200). The controls are in awkward positions for sitting up right in stop and go traffic, you can't really use the mirrors without having to turn your head. There is a long list as to why they don't work well at city speeds.
This is not to say they don't serve a purpose (in some cases two). If you want to go to a closed track and actually use the bike for what it was designed for, they are superb machines. They handle great at the speeds they were meant for. The controls and seating position is perfect for aerodynamics. In order to achieve the speeds needed to race, you have to be in a low crouched position which would put your head low and your feet behind you. This set up just doesn't work at road speeds.
The other purpose that they serve (and this is only for a very small portion of the riding community) is to take the sport bike and strip it down to the frame and engine. Then rebuild it into a custom bike. Many times it can be a bobber or a cafe racer. They have great engines and the braking systems are excellent. You will still have the seating position problem if you are making it into a bobber.
In answer to the original question, should sport bikes, or crotch rockets, be street legal? No they shouldn't. It is the same principle as riding a motocross bike with no lights on the road. Use a motorcycle for the purpose that it was designed for. Riding a crotch rocket at 30mph in stop and go traffic is not what it was designed for.
