Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2002 Honda CBR954RR (Right) As In years past, the big Honda remains a solidhandling motorcycle. (Above) Honda has removed weight from the 954 In neaJ1y _tHY Imaginable way from lighter wh_ls to a lighter fuel cap. The Big eBR • Throu h The Years and its neutral riding position will While we were the first "regular" again make for a great street bike (though we will know for sure when people to be able to compare the 929 with the new 954, Erion Racing's we do our annual big-bore Shootout and compare the bike straight up against the others, both on the street and on the racetrack). Mike Hale has also been able to do the same - though, obviously, in race guise. He was smiling large in Las Vegas after posting very good lap times in a recent test of the new bike at California Speedway. The same goes for team owner Kevin Erion, who was there first-hand for the butt- At both slow and quicker speeds, the Honda suspension remains highly capable. The rear Showa shock retains the same spring rate as on the 929, though the spring wire itself is now of a smaller whuppin' his team got last year - for the first time in its history. gauge, in an effort to shave weight. While those standing in line to buy The fork is still a 43mm inverted the new 954 are hoping the "Baba Showa, again with the spring rate unchanged over last year's model. Magic" gives them the big-bore street bike they're looking for, nobody is hoping the magic works in 2002 The suspension was good on the 929, and it retains that quality feel on the 954. 18 FEBRUARY 13, 2002' cue I more than the Erion crew. In both cases, time will tell. eN n • _ s • It's hard to believe It's already been 10 years since Honda unveiled the first of its big-bore CBR sportblkes the CBR900RR. Featuring unheard-of power in a package that weighed just 408 pounds, the CBR900RR was a trend-setter that dominated its class when introduced in 1992 for the 1993 model year. And it was just the beginning... In 1995, the 900RR underwent serious change, losing 20 percent of its weight as head engineer Tadao Baba and Co. went about the task of making a good bike even better. While most of the changes to the 900 were in an effort to shed weight, the bike also got a new fork (45mm) and new gearbox internals for improved shifting. Still called a 900, the CBR jumped up to 919cc in 1996 - and lost another five pounds in the process. The bike received a new triple-box aluminum frame, and a new map-type digital ignition complete with throttle-position sensor. The updates continued two years later with the 1998 version of the CBR900RR. This time the big change was the addition of RC45· type aluminum-composite cylinder sleeves and LUB-coated pistons to further cut weight and friction. The bike was updated with an aluminum muffler, six new gearbox ratios, bigger brakes and still less weight - seven pounds less than the 1997 model. This was also the year that a truly formidable challenger to the CBR's dominance was introduced - Yamaha's Rl. The name changed for the first time in 2000 when the 900 became the CBR929RR. Now down to 379 pounds and up another 27 horsepower, the fuel-injected CBR utilized a 929cc engine that was fitted with integrated, computer-controlled variable intake and exhaustmanagement system to gain the extra ponies to stay competitive. Two years later, and 929cc is no longer enough to keep pace with the likes of Suzuki's GSX-R1000 in what has become a heated portion of the supersports market - thus the introduction of this year's CBR954RR. What's next?

• Cover