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
braking an d engine. It' s a tigh t, compact packa ge - the smallest-feeling of the bunch - that maintained its composure no matter how hard we pushed. We don 't mean to gush , but this thing flat hauls ass, does it predictably even on w hat was an unpred ictable surfa ce - a nd th e lap time s back it up : 1:11.82 - th e fastest in the test by a full second . One of th e biggest surp rises of thi s test was the beh avior of th e Honda . A bumpy track like this woul d ha ve had the pr eviou s iterations of the RR coming "completely unglu ed ," as one tester pu t it. Wha t we have in the 1998CBR900RR is a chass is th at wa s a close second to the R1 in terms of handling and stability, and clear ly ahea d of th e Kawasaki, which had trouble on thi s track (we'll ge t to that in a mom ent). The light steerne thing is certai n: The hoopla surroun di ng these three motorcycles is warran ted. For months , Honda , Kawasaki a nd Yamaha ha d bee n touting how much fas te r, li ghter an d stronger the ir respecti ve 1998 big-bore sportbik es would be. a nd how they wo uld represent O a "new ge nera tio n" of open-elass sport motor cycle . Well, believe it. Yet as we ll s as all three machines acqu it the mselves, I say tha t no ne of th em is tru ly definitive of the category. In ot he r words, the perfect moto rcvcle has vet to be attained, so what d o you want? Want a rompin', stompin' mo tor that sh rieks with authority on top , a taut chassis with the m os t excellent brakes in the class? That bik e is painted green, and it's called the Kawasaki ZX-9R. Of co urse, those traits will come at the slight expense of a suspension action tha t makes the bike feel a bit on the nervous side at race speeds, ergo nomics that - for me a t least - were slightly cramped in the sea t-pegs relat ion sh ip, a nd a hig he r steer ing effort th an th e com petition. Just the same, the Kawi is th e big- bl ock musclebike of th is trio, and tha t will be enough for a lot of folks. Less brutish , but m or e harmonious in it s execu tio n, h o w e v e r , is th e H ond a CBR 900RR . Honda eng in e ers wen t throu gh the d ouble-R with a fine-t oothed comb, and when they we re finish ed they produ ced a s tree t machine tha t is so balanced and seamless in its power d eliv ery, handlin g, brakin g a n d co mfo r t th at it pra cticall y allo ws th e rid er to co mm uni ca te w ith th e road . Per haps th e mos t n ot icea bl e a id in th at com m u ni cation co mes via the C BR's inc reased sta bi litv, tha nks to a Sm m trail increase over prev ious ed itions. Sure, it still d oes n' t ma ke the most pea k h ors epo w e r , isn't q u ite th e quickest hand ling, and doesn't ha ve the be st bind ers. Bu t hop a board the lithe Ho nda an d yo u will forget about any of its shortcomi ngs, as yo u are wra p ped u p in th e beauty of its sy mmetry. And yes, tha t's will, the 16-inch front hoop, th an k yo u, and on stoc k tread . But for raci ng? Well, ther e are other choices. Ya ma ha ce r tainly took the racing approach wi th the YZF-RI, and it pa id off in spa des, as the RI loo ks an d feels like a darn GP b ik e, a nd a 250 a t tha t. Lig h t weigh t; a minimalist wi ndscreen; a se ri- ous, race- ben t seating position; and razors ha rp turnin g ca pa bi lity in a rock-solid framewo rk that jus t happens to cra dle one mutha of a fas t mo tor arc definite du es to wh at Yamaha had in mind. Want to acce le ra te to warp speed? Crac k the th rottle . Sto p o n a di me ? H e r e' s you r c h a nge. Wanna make the co rne r that just rushed up on you way, way before yo u were prepared to deal wit h it ? Nod . That about sums up the RI. It's all business, and business is good. The Kawasaki and t h e Hond a a r e street bikes that ca n be raced well. The Yamaha is a race bike that works well on the street. So set your own definitions. Scott Rou sseau (Above) From its distlnllve cat' s-e ye fairing to Its radically upswe pt exha ust, Yamaha's YZF·Rl tu rns heads everywhere . (Above) The R1's co ckpit featur es a digital s peedo next to its analog tach. The riding positi on is the mos t trackoriented of th is group. (Right) Carbon fiber wraps the R1's exhaust can ister. (Left) In an effort to sh orten the eng ine as much as possible, the tra ns miss io n shafts were repositioned in a triangular pattern; hence, the clutch actuating arm Is located underneath the clutc h cover. Midrange torque from the EXUPequ ipped 998cc engine Is phenomenal. 15