He finished a distant second to Kenan Sofuoglu in 2007,[3] with back-to-back wins at Brands Hatch and Lausitzring[4] despite a broken collarbone early in the season, and finished 4th in 2008 despite a series-high six poles[5] and a season-opening victory in Losail[6] For 2009 Parkes returns to World Superbike – on factory Kawasakis ran by Paul Bird Motorsport, teamed with former Grand Prix winner Makoto Tamada.

[7] His team often struggled for results, but he shone in a one-off appearance at the British Superbike Championship round at Brands Hatch.

Three races before the end of the season Parkes announced that he separated ways with Echo CRS Honda, and he joined the Motocard Kawasaki team, as the replacement of the injured Joan Lascorz.

In December 2013, it was announced that Parkes would be riding for Paul Bird Motorsport alongside Michael Laverty for the 2014 MotoGP season.

He effectively replaced his countryman Damian Cudlin and continued a 31-year streak of Australia's representation in the premier class of motorcycle racing.

For the early part of 2015, Parkes rode for Shaun Muir Racing's Milwaukee Yamaha team in the British Superbike Championship, until he became unable to continue due to the after-effects of arm-pump surgery.