Honda CB1000R Review - Page 1

Unsheathing the Fireblade! - Honda CB1000R Review - Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 By Trevor Hedge Honda’s replacement for the venerable CB900F Hornet arrived Down Under in late 2008 and immediately established itself as a much classier approach to sporting lightweight nakedness than it's predecessor. The CB900F Hornet had delightful handling around town matched with a heart transplanted from Honda’s previous generation hero machine, the 919 Fireblade. The theme for the  CB1000R is much the same, but with a lot more sporting potential and improved quality of finish thrown into the mix. In its transition to CB1000R guise the 2007 CBR1000RR Fireblade engine has lost some of its edge but it has gained more refinement. A different cylinder head and injection system aim to maximise grunt in the lower and middle rpm ranges and in this task it hits the mark. Meaningful drive is available as low as 3000rpm, that thrust then builds in a linear fashion as the revs rise before an extra kick in the pants arrives at 5500rpm and charges onwards to nearly 11,000rpm. Good for a little over 120 horsepower at the rear wheel the engine is well matched to sensible gearing and a wonderful gearbox to provide plenty of performance. You might have guessed that I wasn’t exactly blown away by the engine in the CB1000R and you would be right. The fact that while consuming more than seven litres per 100 kilometres it also used slightly more fuel than a Fireblade also grated a little bit. The CB1000R turns 4500rpm for 110km/h in top gear and will just nudge that speed in first gear if taken to the rev-limiter. Much shorter gearing than the Fireblade no doubt partly responsible for the rather average fuel consumption. Either way, you wouldn’t really want 160km/h in first gear Fireblade gearing on a nakedbike and a marginal increase in fuel consumption is a reasonable trade-off. Thankfully the CB1000R does have a significant ace up its sleeve and that trump card is a wonderful chassis that makes the CB1000R an excellent scalpel on your favourite stretch of road. With only three of the ten steps of available preload dialled in on the Showa rear shock the CB1000R never wallowed or struggled to control the rebound or compression despite whatever bump or ripple some of Victoria’s best roads threw at it. In fact flyweight riders that are not overly aggressive might even need to back off the preload to its minimum setting such is the taut response of the rear end. And by taut I mean taut, not harshly sprung or poorly controlled. The shock is a ripper and will surely prove more than capable of spirited racetrack action. Up front the Showa gear is no less impressive. 43mm inverted forks fully adjustable in every plane look good and do the business. Continue to page 2

Honda CB1000R Review - Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3

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