Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

pon return ing from the worldwide introd uction of the new Kawasaki ZX-9R in the south of France, I was full of praise for the Big K's latest offering. On the smooth and wideopen Circuit Paul Ricard, the bike was nearly flawless. Ditto for the street ride on the surrounding mountain roads, So, naturally, I went into our track day at Buttonwillow expecting similar things from the ZX-9R. Then we found out that the ZX-9R isn't particularly fond of bumps. Despite changes to the suspension and the fitment of race-compound tires, the bike never really got along with the rough-and-tumbl e Buttonwillow layout. It left me somewhat dumb founded, and I couldn 't overcome those shortcomings when deciding upon a winner. Thus, I was forced to place the Kawasaki lower than predicted , even though I still believe the bike would fare much better on U a smo o the r surface . After all, yo ur average road is like a billi ard tabl e in com pariso n to some sections of Buttonwillow, That left me with the Honda and the Yamaha. And it was reallv no contest. I knew that as soon as I threw a leg over the new RJ. Without trying to overhypea motorcycle that's already received its fair sha re of pr e-rid e praise, I ha ve to say it's abou t as close as you ca n get to a Readings from the White Brothe rs Dynojet Model 150 dynamometer confirmed our trac k Impressions with regard to power output. Yamaha's R1 puts its displacement ad vanta ge to good use, pumping out incredible amounts of torque - nearly 70 ft.-lb. at just under 5000 rpm - and backs it up with an impres sive 135.4-hp pea k. The short-stroke 899cc Kawasa ki held on to its power the longest, and nearly equalled the R1's Impressive peak - and that's without taking into account the ZX-9R's ram air, good for as much as 8 hp at high speeds. The grap h als o sh ows why the CBR900RRwas getting gobbled up on the strai ghta ways · it gives up 1520 hp to the other bikes . Output is, howeve r, ve ry linear from the s moot h 919cc four. p er~ fect sportbike, But we all know that the perfect sportbike on the race track may not be the perfect bike for commuting back and forth to work, and the Yamaha falls into that category. Both the Kawasaki and the Honda are the more comfortable motorcycles to ride in a straight line, and I'd opt for either one for a spin up the freeway. But if your path to work has more than just a few comers ... ' O ur time on the race track completely sold me on the RJ. It did everything on the race track better than the other two. More than anything, it was predictable. It changed directions without effort, was extremely stable and gave the sort of feedback that' s not expected from an open-class sportbike. It's that feedback that really sets the bike apart from the other two - feedback that comes directly through the handlebars and the seat of your pants, making the RI more TZ250 than big-bore sportbike. . The RI also looks the part. Unfortunately, Kawasaki didn 't change the external appearance of the ZX-9R enough to match the changes they'd made und er the fairing. And the same goes for the Honda. Cosmetically, thJy're very similar to past models. But pull up at the stoplight on your RI and you can expect people to point and ask questions. Introverts should look elsewhere. So with Super Bowl hype upon us and the big game right around the comer, let's look at these three sportbikes in a football cqntext: If the Kawasaki ZX-9R and the Honda CBR900RR are your basic 350-pound lineman, then the Yamaha RI is the 250-pound linebacker with both the speed and power to knock those lineman on their derrieres. Paul Carruthers the rear-compression-d amping screw all th e w a y out in sea rch of a m ore plush feel fro m the rea r-s ho ck , the ZX -9R nev er lost its harshness on sharp bumps. The funda men tal chassis d esign is obviously good, because on smooth su rfaces, the Kawasaki was beautifully s table in fas t and s lo w co rners a li ke , w it h full lea n just a quick flick away - just watch ou t fo r mid co rn er bumps. Pu ili ng th e trigg er on the throaty-sounding ram-a ir in-lin e fou r is a visceral, hi ghly sa tisfying aff air, and thi s bike, too, w ill clock 150 mil es befor e reserve. It also ha s th e most s treet-o rie n ted riding p o siti o n, m aking the Kw ack er th e lea st ta xing during long stints in th e sa d d le. The lar ge fairing and smooth engine are just tw o m ore reasons tha t it wou ld make th e best ca n d id a te fo r so ft bags and spor t touring d uty. Lik e m ost thing s abou t th e Rl , the st ree t-ridi ng experien ce is d istinct. It has the most aggressive ridi ng posit ion, the tautest, most con tro lled suspension and a look that pushes all the rig h t button s. Un fo rtuna tel y fo r th ose w hose b ut tons ge t pushed to the point they must buy this bike, it's p robab ly also the ul tim a te bike for g a rnering m ov in g viola tio ns, the sed uctive ly stro ng midrange ma kin g the hundreds colu m n on th e di g it al - sp eed om e ter pop up w it h frig h te ni ng speed and regulari ty (no t to mention th e fro n t wheel). And if God is in th e d et ail s, a litt le piece o f Him lives in the ga uge cluster of th e Rl. Th e fu el tripmet er reset s to Honda CBR900RR 'E ~gi'~~" """"'" y al" .. 9"a.~ . .. ~i!l pl ".c: .., '..,"~ " ~1TI i> ssi.ol1 . ra.t i~ .f.~~~~. . .. . . . . . Wheelbase ................ Rake/trail .................... $. ~ .~..i9"t. Kawasaki ZX-9R Yamaha YZF-R1 ·······::~)~~.i~.-.~.C?~!~~.!~~~~~~: !.~~~~~y.ji~~~r. ::·: :: ·::·::::: ~jq~!~~:~~~(~:~~~!~~~:f~:~:~~~!{~~~~. Bore x stroke .... ... ........... ...... Ca rb uretion 19" i~io l1. _ o ..... "~ ..er Ii. :r".rqu .. :r" " ..s" ~ ! ~.~~~~~.~~~.~ zero w he n the low-fuel light igni tes - a very nice touch . Too bad th a t th e light comes on with only 115 mil es or so o n th e clock. With thi s bike, how e ver, we gla d ly trade the extra range for the narro w, ligh t feel tha t the d iminutive tan k im pa r ts. T he s us pens io n 's d ampin g r at es d on' t quite have the co sh factor of the Double-R, and shif ting actio n in th e bot to m gears is the ro ughes t of the three, though st ill accep ta ble; n one of th ese . . .P9.t:lc;, ~. val~es per cyL . 71 x 58mm . . .... ... ... .... .•..• 919cc 1.1 .:.1... .,1 (4) Keihin 38mm .[)i9it"l.~()Ii~:stat El.~.D. 'l1appe~ . 'p9!:lc;, ~yal~..s p" r cyl:. . 75 x 50.9mm .......•.. •...•....•...•.••. ,.. 899cc .. ............ .1. .5:1 . . . 1 (4) Keihin CVKD 40mm ................................. p i9it~l . "".! .1<.-.TF1.I Q... . : ::::~jq~j~~~9:~(~~:i~~!~~~:f~:~:~~~0~~:~~~: . . . ' 1 2 : ~ ~ 1 q,!j()O'H .HH.HHHHH.H 1 30' . 5 ~ 1 0' : !l()() rpl11. ~2 . 2 .~ ..:lb . ~. 8.500. rp rn . ...~13 .~ .h -;lb., .~.950'0 . rp 'l1 . . . . 1 .6.~: ~. I11Ph. . . . '7.2.:2..Il1P.h .. ~~~~~.P~~~. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .~!~~~~~~ . p..~.~~~~~.~ ?i.~:.~p~~~ 55.1 in. 24°/9 5mm 55.7 in. 24°/93 mm 31.9 in...... . ............ 74 x 58mm... ... ... .. .. ..• .. .....•......... . ... 998c:c . . 1 .1;8:.1 .. (4) Mikuni BDSR 40mm . . P'9it~1 "".! .i.n.tEl9 r.at,,~ .El~~~~.s~ P,,"".Elr.~.a.I~ . 1}5 ,~ ~ 1 0 : ()()O rpm . !!jJ .~ Ib. ~ .~ . 50.qrp'l1 .. . ...I. ~8.,2. . ll1ph . ..$.i.~:.~p~~~ .. ".... ~J.~.~i.~~.~ . P~.~.~~~~.r: . . . . .P9!:ic; ~ . ~~ I~El~ p..r.c:yl, AI.~.~i.r:'. ~.~ . p~.~i.~.~~~:' . . 54.9 in. 24°/ 92mm . ,.. . . H.H 32 . 1 .i. ~ . ~.~ ~p.~.~~~.C?~. . .. .. . .. .. Front 45mm conventional cartidge fork 46mm conventional cartidge lork 41mm inverted cartridge lork ..........",I..~,7. .i.n tr"ll.v I.:..Iu.lly ".djusta.b.I" .. ...vv.! .~ :7...i.~;..\r,,~..I;.. u.llx.,,~just.a.b.'." . .. I . vv.! .~ : ~. if' tr"~ElI ;. I.uny."~j ~,, t.a .i.e . .b Rear Single gas·charged reservoir Single gas·charged reservoir Single gas-eharged reservoir ....... "~()<;.k. .V;./4,9.in:.trav" l;.I~ny adjuSlEJble .s~,?Gk \'oJ./!j-,1..i~ : .t.rav."I.:..I~ Ily adju ~t~ble . ..~~()~.k. \'oJ./ 5...1..'~'..tr.av.e.I.:..1".ny.a.dju.s.t~b.1 El... Tires .................. . . Front ........ . .30.1.7. q:zF1.16. .El.ri.dge~t()n" .ElT~~. r"ll.~ i.al... . 1 0.:Z.F1' 7..Elr.idg,,~t()ne .ElT5.6..r.a.d.i.al.. . 1 1. 20.1.7. .2/50.ZF1..7..[)unlop . l:l2.()7.. r,,~ i,,1 1 I·"' ra kes .......... . ... ................... . .. Dual 298mm Iloating discs Dual 31Omm Iloating discs Dual 296mm floatinq discs Front ............ vv.!..~.pi"ton .calip"r~ ......... vv.! .6.:pi.s t.a.~c:" lip" r~ ... . ~!.. ~~p.i.~~~~ .~~~i.P~~.~ Single 245mmdisc Rear Single 220mm disc Single 220mm disc ..vv.! .~i n9 1,,:pis to.nc:al lp.er .. .. .. "".!..l\t.!":p'i,,~a.~ . c:"lip" r ..... ':"!.. ~ i ~9Ie:pi"ta.~ c:" lip"r. . 4321bs. ~...i9"~ ~.....t, !'.()f ~ . 419.5 Ibs. .. 4171bs. .. , ..................... HH!j'()Hg,,1 ,Fue l ,?"pa.city .".. ~;.8. . 9,,1 : .. ........... .. .. . .. ...... ~J gaL. >Ave rage fuel economy ..}7.';~ .Il1P9 .. 3!j8.rnpg . ................ } !j;() rnpg $10.199 Price $9999 $9999 . }.2.,2. . i ~: ... . .... .. . , .' bikes mi ssed a shift - ever. The bottom line is that th e se rious ca pa bili ties of thi s bike d ictat es the need fo r th e taut sus pe ns io n a nd aggressive riding positio n - a n d w e wou ld n't h a v e it a ny o ther way. THE VERDICT As jo u rna lis ts it 's our job to tr y to find th in gs wrong with th ese bike s. In th at search w e often end up nit-picking th e d etails, becau se th at is m ost o fte n w ha t it com es do wn to . In this ca s e, ho w e ver, th e tr ad e-offs are clear, and th ird pl a ce in this shooto u t d epend s u pon w ha t you value in a m otorcycl e. O nce the kin g of pow er -to-w eigh t ratio, th e CBR900RR no w feels lik e it's go t a power-to-wait ra tio - just flat lazy-feeling com pa red to the o the rs . The chassis, how ever , was tops for eve ry d a y s treet riding and only a tick behind the Yamaha a t the trac k . After we tall ie d o u r numerical evalua tion sheets, the sta ff was evenly split between the Kawasaki a nd H ond a for secon d pla ce. With a revalve job on th e Kawasa ki's suspe nsio n bei ng a lot easier a nd chea pe r th an ad d ing the 20-od d hor sepow er the CBR needs to run w i th the b ig d o gs, the Kaw asaki has to ge t the nod . As for th e Rl , it w as th e incred ible imm ed ia cy o f e veryt hing - th rottl e response, tu rn -i n, accele ra tio n - that made th e ot he r bikes pal e in thi s compari son . Th e YZF -Rl has a nak ed bruta li ty th at no othe r pro d uction s treet bike we've ev e r rid d en has, w hile still m a inta inin g t h e civili ty n eed ed fo r wh at i t is - a st reet bi ke. Trul y a grou nd-b rea king a nd d istinct m otorcycle one test er called "the 916 of Japa nese m otorcycle s," a machine tha t has co mpl e tely red efined what is possible in an ope n-class ma chine. Th e Yamaha YZFRl is th e new benchmar k bike and wi ns because of its abilit y to pack the biggest fu n in th e smalle st package. Size truly m atters. n 17

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