FIM Superbike 2026 motorcycle homologations: how much is this going to cost me?!

The 2026 Superbike World Championship season kicks off at Phillip Island and, as usual, on the eve of the event the FIM released the list of homologated bikes eligible to compete in the championship. No surprises here: the new Ducati Panigale V4 R has been duly homologated, as has the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR with different fairing (and little else), etcetera etcetera. However, some peculiarities emerge in the homologation process for other contexts.

As mentioned, green light for the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R, which already presents itself as a complete weapon for this season. The homologation (model code 5D) was recorded in recent days, much like the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR (three versions), which differs from the previous model with a new aerodynamic profile including wings. Go-ahead as well for the ZXMOTO 820 RR in the Supersport World Championship, without any waiver or “provisional” status as happened for other competitors. From Phillip Island, the two riders fielded by the Evan Bros team, namely Federico Caricasulo and Valentin Debise, will be able to regularly score points for the championship standings.

For a motorcycle to be eligible for the Superbike World Championship, it must be a series-production model legally marketed for road use, have a list price not exceeding 44,000 euros, and be produced (for manufacturers building more than 6,000 bikes per year) in at least 125 units at the time of the first FIM inspection, 250 by December 31 of the current year, and 500 in total by no later than the end of the following year. The new V4 R and ZX-10R more than meet these requirements.

Homologation for the Superbike World Championship also applies to racing in the EWC top class of the Endurance World Championship. Different story for Superstock where, for example, the Ducati Panigale V4 R is excluded: the series model’s list price is 36,500 euros, decidedly lower than that of the new machine from Bologna. Granted, Superstock is no longer part of the WorldSBK circus, but it still represents one of the most successful classes in motorcycle endurance racing.

Speaking of Endurance, for three years it has been possible to race in Superstock with 1100cc bikes with some adjustments (specifically 6 kg of ballast) to equalize performance with the 1000cc machines. Ducati has already done so with the new V4 1100, and even more so Aprilia, which won the class at the 2024 Spa 8 Hours and stood on the podium at the Suzuka 8 Hours in two different editions (2024 and 2026). The Noale manufacturer has homologated a new version of the RSV4 1100, while in the Endurance sphere the new Suzuki GSX-R 1000 has not yet been homologated. It will race in the Endurance World Championship soon, although Yoshimura SERT had already widely planned to compete with the reliable and still extraordinarily competitive previous version.

When it comes to motorcycle homologations for championships under the FIM umbrella, few know that all this carries a cost for manufacturers. For example, Ducati, to homologate the new V4 R, paid the federation an amount of €22,000.

In addition, starting this year, changes have been made to the homologation procedure for new bikes to race in the Superbike World Championship (as well as in the Endurance top class EWC). Until 2025, in the first phase manufacturers had to present to the FIM all drawings, documents, samples, and production quantities before the inspection for conformity of the new model to be homologated. From this year, manufacturers must also submit a complete 3D scan of the entire motorcycle to be homologated. From 2027, this verification will be carried out by two inspectors at FIM headquarters who will, live, verify the conformity of the model through the aforementioned mandatory 3D scan of the entire motorcycle.