 IT'S PRETTY AMAZING WHAT A...  IT'S PRETTY AMAZING WHAT A BIT OF COLOR WILL DO. LIKE A NICE SUNTAN, THE LOCKHART PHILLIPS SCREEN MAKES THE CBR COME ALIVE. |  |  With the strongest brakes...  With the strongest brakes of the bunch, we knew there'd be a lot of fiddling with the lever from the different riders to dial in the proper feel. Color coordinated shorty adjustable levers from Pazzo were just the ticket to add some spice and performance. |
HONDA CBR1000RR
Supremacy has been a long time coming for Honda in the liter bike class. Although it wrote the book about building the ultimate sportbike in 1993 with the CBR900RR, it hasn't blown any doors off in recent years. Part of the problem is the nearly trademarked Honda "predictability." The CBR1000RR of years past looked the part, but it didn't quite get your panties in a bunch the way that the GSX-R1000 could through brute force and the R1 could with style. It rode well and did what it was told, but it was perhaps a bit too sophisticated amongst its peers.
Out rolled the 2008 version and the industry did a double take. Honda flew so far into right field with its styling that the performance package beneath it had to be something amazing or Big Red would be facing a catastrophe.
Rest assured that from the cockpit that funky styling disappears and it's all business.
"Be prepared." That's about the only appropriate advice that can prep a first time rider of the new CBR. It's that good. As expected from a Honda, the bike feels like your own at the first seating. Everything feels just right, and it's oh so light.
The motor pulls stronger than any of the others from the lowest ranges on the tach, and it's dramatic enough to actually make the GSX-R feel slow until it finds itself in the midrange. Such a preposterous notion just a couple years ago would have been utterly laughable, but Honda has done it.
If the idea of a 600 with a 1000cc motor gets your blood pumping, this bike will be right up your alley.
 A MOTOR AS POTENT AS THIS...  A MOTOR AS POTENT AS THIS DESERVES TO BE HEARD, SO WE LOOKED TO MICRON TO LET IT SING. WITH THE DECIBEL BAFFLE INSERTED IT'S TOO QUIET, BUT TAKE IT OUT AND SHE REALLY STARTS TO HOWL. |  EMA SUPPLIED US WITH A FENDER...  EMA SUPPLIED US WITH A FENDER ELIMINATOR AND IT DID THE TRICK TO FURTHER SLIM DOWN THE ALREADY THIN TAIL. |  SEXTON: "It's like your favorite...  SEXTON:"It's like your favorite hot sauce that you pour on your burrito-both familiar and spicy. I love this bike. It's just so dead stable no matter what you throw at it, yet only a twist away from blurring the scenery and jeopardizing your license.
"The Micron exhaust was great looking, but I thought it needed to be a bit louder. If I was in the market for a liter bike, this would be the one." |
 ZAMORA: "The biggest shocker...  ZAMORA:"The biggest shocker of the bunch was the CBR. Powerful brakes, near perfect handling and an awesome motor almost make it my first choice. I just can't get past the styling. The front end looks like flat-faced Hannah Montana and the nonexistent tailsection is just plain ugly. I like my bikes like I like my women-with an ass." |  TEACH: "Throwing a leg over...  TEACH:"Throwing a leg over the Honda brings back all the familiar feelings of your own bike, despite the fact that the machine is radically changed from years prior. By far the most enjoyable out of the group, the gobs of torque combined with neutral handling characteristics leave you with a thrill that any adrenaline junky would salivate over. Simply put, this bike is a blast." | |
BUYER'S BOX
MSRP: $11,599
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, 999cc
SUSPENSION:
Front: 43mm USD fork, fully adjustable
Rear: Monoshock, fully adjustable
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 55.4 in
Weight: 439 lbs
Tank capacity: 4.7 gal
CONTACT: www.powersports.honda.com
PARTS:
EXHAUST: www.micronexhausts.com $699
LEVERS: www.pazzoracing.com $199/pair
WINDSCREEN: www.lockhartphillips.com $69.95
FENDER ELIMINATOR: www.ema-usa.com $199
FENDER ELIMINATOR GRAVES...
FENDER ELIMINATOR
GRAVES MOTORSPORTS SENT OVER A FENDER ELIMINATOR AND TURN SIGNALS, BUT WE'D RECOMMEND USING THE STOCK SIGNALS IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY PLANNING TO INDICATE A TURN TO ANYBODY BEHIND YOU. IT CLEANED UP THE TAIL, BUT THE BLINKERS WERE A BIT CONCEALED BEHIND THE PLATE.
YAMAHA YZF-R1
Ten years ago a very special motorcycle hit showroom floors. The R1 had styling that looked like it was straight from another galaxy, and its astonishing midrange grunt combined with an ultra-flickable chassis made the Yamaha an amazingly quick (and intimidating) sportbike.
Over the years there have been a series of updates to both styling and performance, but despite being one of the most technologically advanced bikes on the market, the R1 has stood in the shadows of the GSX-R and ZX-10.
Some would even argue that the R1 has lost some of its original bite, but to remedy that concern we had just the answer-a set of Supersprox sprockets. The original midrange monster simply felt down on power when compared back to back with the other three brutes, so we decided to help it get its legs with a -1/+2 sprocket combination.
 IT'S AMAZING WHAT A SET OF...  IT'S AMAZING WHAT A SET OF SPROCKETS CAN DO. NOT ONLY DO THE SUPERSPROX SERIES SPROCKETS LOOK COOL, BUT THEY ALSO TRANSFORMED THE BIKE'S POWER DELIVERY AND HELPED IT TO DRIVE OUT OF CORNERS (WHILE CARRYING THE FRONT WHEEL) MUCH HARDER THAN THE STOCK UNITS COULD. THE REAR HAS A DUAL COMPOUND TO KEEP IT LASTING A LONG TIME AS WELL. |  LOCKHART PHILLIPS SUPPLIED...  LOCKHART PHILLIPS SUPPLIED US WITH A CHROME SCREEN THAT PERFECTLY COMPLEMENTS THE MONOCHROMATIC PAINT SCHEME. |  BY FAR THE BEST SOUNDING EXHAUST...  BY FAR THE BEST SOUNDING EXHAUST ON TEST, THESE SLIP-ONS FROM GYTR WERE EASY TO INSTALL AND SEEMED TO PROVOKE A HEAVY THROTTLE HAND JUST TO LET THEM HOWL. NOT TOO LOUD, NOT TOO QUIET-BUT JUST RIGHT. |
Off the idle the R1 gets moving nicely and doesn't require any clutch slip as it does with stock gearing, and once the needle spins through the tach the R1 becomes a formidable force.
Through twisty second gear canyon roads the R1 feels perfectly at home and is still easier to move laterally than both the GSX-R and the ZX-10. It has always been known for its superb handling, and if our word isn't good enough you can watch Nori Haga and Troy Corser keep it up front in WSB against much more powerful bikes.
It feels very strange indeed to complain about an R1 having a bulky and bulbous front end-after all, this was one of the sleekest bikes ever introduced just a decade ago-but after jumping from seat to seat on our fearsome foursome, the front fairing area does feel too wide and looks dated.Our styling and performance upgrades did help update the R1, but it needs more than our mild mods can offer if it hopes to hang with the new Honda and Kawi.
BUYER'S BOX
MSRP: $11,699
ENGINE: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, 998cc
SUSPENSION:
Front: 43mm USD fork, fully adjustable
Rear: Monoshock, fully adjustable
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 55.7 in
Weight: 390 lbs
Tank capacity: 4.75 gal
CONTACT: www.yamaha-motor.com
PARTS:
WINDSCREEN: www.lockhartphillips.com, $69.95
EXHAUST: www.yamaha-motor.com, $999.95
FENDER ELIMINATOR: www.gravesport.com, $59.99
SPROCKETS: www.supersprox.com, $110.95/set
TEACH: "While the R1 is still... TEACH:"While the R1 is still a screamer, there is nothing spectacular about the bike to make me lust after it like the Honda." | SEXTON: "While the R1 is a... SEXTON:"While the R1 is a great machine, it feels a little dated in this company. The handling is good, the brakes are phenomenal, but the power is down a bit even though we changed gearing for more pep." | ZAMORA: "The R1 needs Botox... ZAMORA:"The R1 needs Botox to compete with the younger, faster and sexier bikes. All the other bikes feel like 600s with a ridiculous amount of power, but the R1 handles like an old school liter bike and the styling is definitely dated.
"The cool sounding pipes and extra gearing still couldn't make up for the wide front end. It only takes a few years to go from hero to zero in the liter bike game." |