Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127927
By the staff of Cycle News Photos by B ill McMillan T hese are the m ost seriou s stree t bikes eve r made. Period. Nothing in the history of massproduced motorcycles equals wha t has been achieved this year with the introd uction of these three dynamic players in th e hig h-s ta kes game of open-class supersport s u p rem a cy . It 's the mos t amazing combi nation of big power and com pact dimensions yet, an d shows that size matt er s mo re tha n eve r. Yes, for the sp eed freak w ho wa nts everythin g - mi n d -b o g g ling peak power, eyeba ll- fla t te n ing m idran g e torque and nea r-race-bike agility, ther e has bee n no better tim e to be alive . Up until this year, the most exh ilara ting com bination of big power in a sma ll, lig ht p a ck a g e h a s b e en H o n d a ' s C BR900 RR, a ma chin e th a t v ir tua lly inven ted th e class. And for th e halfdecade or so of the RR's life, it was the top of a heap of p recisely one bike: itself. As su ch, it was the be st by vi rt ue of being the only, th e imp rovements wroug ht upo n it each yea r indeed making it better, but only in relation to itself. Ho nda's CBR900RR is alone no more. Neither is it necessarily on the top, for what was once a clas s of one has sud denly beco me a class of three, wi th two all -new entries: Kawasaki's ZX-9R and Yamaha's YZF-Rl. Kawa saki ha s had it s ZX -9R fo r years, bu t in comparison wit h the Double-R , it was d ecidedly porky despite always having boa sted incredible engine performance. A fine motorcycle for the road, it wa sn't a bike one often saw on the tra ck, and on back road s everywhere it w as a t a d ecid ed di sadvantage. Th is has cha nged. The 1998 ZX-9R is all new . The alt erati ons were ma ny (and covered in our Firs t Rid e, Issut> #44, November 5, 1997), but let th e prin ciple numbers d o the talking : 432 po unds; 130.5 rearwheel horsepower; 55.7-inch wheelbase. Look out, Honda . . By th os e sa me number s, Yam aha's YZF -R1 o pen- class supersport en tr y loo ks all th e m ore th r eat enin g : 41 7 p oun d s; 135 rear-wheel h orsepower; 54 .9- inch wheelbase. As o u r m an in Eu rope, Alan Cat hca rt, p oin ted ou t in his first rid e of the R1 (Issue 46, November 19), this is a street-going motorcycle that produces only 12 fewe r cranksha ft horsep ower and weighs jus t 33 po u nds (d ry) mo re tha n Scott Russell's YZF750 World Supe rbike. And it probabl y has a b et te r ch assis . Th ro w in t he R1' s ground -breaking styli ng, an d you 've go t a full-blow n weapo n of ma rk et-sha re d estruction - our ad re nal g lan ds we re ta pping their fingers im patiently fro m the antici patio n . Look ou t, Honda , indeed. Presented w ith these numbers, these motorcycles, there's only one thing any self-respecting motojoumalist can do... THE TRAC K We we re by far the most anxious to cond uct this porti on of tes ting . For ou r d ay at the track we head ed to Buttonwillow Racewa y Park's 1.54-mile West Loop . It turned ou t to be a stern test for both rider and machine, qu ite a lot more related to everyday street ridi ng th an your normal race-track test da y. Buttonw illow, located abou t 25 miles west of Bakersfield , featu res a fun layout with a variet y o f d iffe rent types of corners, from slow , flat turns ta ken in se co nd g e a r to a b anked swee per taken in fourth gear nearly fla t ou t, with a 12foot elevation change in on e left-hander that rea lly taxed the bikes' stability - and (Above) Honda's CBR900RR is the godfather of the open supersport class. A host of changes have made the Double-R better than ever, and broadened its appeal. (Right) The biggest Improvement to the Double-R for '98 was the change In fork offset - yeildlng an add itional 5mm of trail. The res ult Is a much more stable 900RR with much better front-end feel when ridden at the lim it. The bike reta ins its controversial 16-lnch front wheel - no apologies needed . It' s the lightest-stee ring bike of the group. • (Above) Ergo nom ically, the CBR900RR is the best streel/track com pro mi se of the gro up. Dual dig ital tripmeters and temperature gauge complement th e trad itional round speed o and tach . ' .. (Left ) Though fun damen tally the sa-me design as last year's powerplant, the 919cc in-li ne four underwent a bevy of detail refinements to boo st power, increas e durability and qu icken thrott le response. 13