Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

SHOOTOUT CBR900RR VS. YZF·R1 VS. ZX·9R (Above) Kawasakl's ZX-9R enters 1998 s ome 70 pounds lighter than the model it replaces. (Left) Though giving up nearly 100cc to the Yamaha, the 899cc ram-air-inducted four-eylinder pumps out impressive top-end power. Shifting from the s ix-speed gearbox was s uperslick. (Abovel The ZX-9R's riding pos ition is the most streetfriendly of this group. High bars and ample wind protect ion make it a comfortable bike for the road. (Leftl Part of the Kawasaki's weight-loss program Included a trick, polis hed-titanium s ilencer for non-California mode ls. 14 you r nerve. Even mo re taxing than nea rly com pletely unweighting the bikes at speed were th e nu merous bu m ps and paveme nt changes, seeming to come at the m os t inopportune places on the track. If the chassis of anv of these bikes . ha d any shortcomings W'hen ridden flat out, this place would bring th e m to light. Testers ranged from race-t ra ck first- time r and reside n t d ir t head Ca meron Coatney to veteran journalist and top local expert road racer Lance Holst (750cc Supersportlap record holder a t Willow Sp rings), ou r hired gun lend ing his much-apprecia ted experience, skill and speed. The morni ng session was delayed due to fog, and the residual moisture in the air when it fi na lly clea red u p enough to ride coated the track's many sea ler patches, ma king for unpred ictabl e traction early in the day. Track time was di vided between stock tires and Dunlop 0 207GP race-com po und s u pe rs port tires - except for the tradema rk 16-inch front on the Honda (no 0207 is made in the size) , on which we spooned a softcom pound 0 204 Sportmax II. On stock tires, the R1 had a decided grip advantage, coming stock with spt;" dally made 0207s (alte red cord angle in the front tire to minimize head shake). Bot h the CBR900RR and ZX-9R come with Bridgestone BT56s that, while predictable, provide less outright grip. The R1 was ins tantly in its element. Low, dropped ba rs a nd hig h foo tpegs p ut yo u jus t where you need to be for maximum control - right ove r the front wheel. Feedback from the fro nt wheel was excelle nt , and the power - oh, the power! Take a ga nder at the R1's torque figure just und er SOOO rpm. You'll notice that it's only about 1 ft.-lb. less tha n the Kawasaki's peak torque figu re, a read ing that comes at ar ound 9200 rpm. Thank yo u EXUP, and the R1' s displacement advantage ... The resu lt of th is sledgeham mer of mid ra nge to rque is unbeli evabl e ju m p off the comers, even if you' re ru nning a gea r high . A word of caution is in order: You will w heelie in th e bollom th ree gears - it' s just pa rt of the R1 's un believable show. Thi s is w he re th e specia lly constructed front tire a nd 92m m trail com e into play. Though there was some fairly violent head shake w hen se lling back down af ter the long and freq ue nt. po wer wheelies (steeri ng damper a d efinite must for se rious tra ck wo rk), the w heel se lf-centers qu ick ly, lellin g th e bike regain its com posu re for the next co rne r, w hich co mes u p mu ch m ore qui ckly than yo u expected. Th e flip si de of this unreal ra te of accelera tion on co mer ex it is the "bigeye" effect w h en you reach th e ne xt tum wi th wha t feels like abo u t 10 mph m or e s peed than on the o ther bikes which in tum forces yo u to clamp thilt m uch hard er on the front brake lev er . Your fin ger s are greeted with a lever that is s o mew ha t less fi rm than th e class-l ea din g Kawa s aki 's six- pi s to n Tok icos d eliver, tho ugh the R1's fou rpiston Nissins are nearly on par in outright power. The Yama ha was eas ily the most stable go ing over the 12-foot crest o f th e lef t-h and er in the ba ck o f the cou rse. Fa st-m a n H o lst fo un d ex cess ive wheelsp in and slid ing to be a problem for the R1 on th is low-traction su rface, eve n o n th e ra ce -co mpo u n d tires, thou gh slides were very easy to contro l. More time to play with rear rid e heigh t mig ht have alleviated th is somew hat. Overall , the Rl had the most int egrated feel -a t ra ce s peeds, the sus pe nsion and chassis working in ha rmo ny with

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