Michael Gilbert

The 2018 MotoAmerica season will play host to an all-new class, the Twins. Designed to increase involvement of race shops and tuners scattered around the country, the class allows for lightweight twin-cylinder motorcycles to be stripped down and built into full-blown racebikes.

The starting grid for the Twins is likely to be filled by Suzuki SV650s and Kawasaki Ninja 650s, both of which have ruled the club scene for the better part of two decades. Also expected to have a large share of the class is the Yamaha MT-07 (previously the FZ-07), which has been making more and more appearances at club races within the last few years.

Harley-Davidson fans will have riders to cheer on since the Street 750 and Street Rod will be allowed to compete in the Twins class, and Ducatistas will hope to see Monster 797s on the starting grid as well. The brand-new KTM 790 Duke is also planned to be homologated, yet there is no official date of when the Austrian machine will make it stateside.

It will be interesting to see how a wider variety of motorcycles on track at MotoAmerica events will affect the attendance, especially with a few Harley-Davidsons in the mix. Until the first Twins race of 2018 at Road Atlanta, April 13-15, stay tuned for more information about the new class.

Homologated bikes:

• 2017-present Ducati Monster 797/797+

• 2014-present Harley-Davidson 750

• 2017-present Harley-Davidson Street Rod

• 2012-2016 Kawasaki Ninja 650

• 2017-present Kawasaki Ninja 650R

• 2018 KTM 790 Duke

• 2008-2012 Suzuki SV650 S/A (K8,K9)

• 2017-present Suzuki SV650

• 2013-present Yamaha FZ-07/MT-07