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/128306
RC21 IV doe sn't feel as fast as his old Aprilia. It's not supposed to . Mod e led afte r t he RC21 IY, th e CBRIO OORR's design team started with a clean sheet and went after a singlegoal:"Toget arou nd the racetrack faster than anything else." As with the RC21IV. not feeling li ke you're going last may actually mean that you are. It's w hat Hond a calls "power to ground Styling on the new CBR1OOORR is Honda-like - neat and clean. management." Honda set ou t to accom plish its goals wit h the CBRIO OORR by ad ding three things togethe r: a longe r swingarm , a lon ge r wheelbase and its Unit Pro Link rear suspension (the top shock mount is isolated on the swingarm , much like the CBR600RR). When put togethe r, those th ree are supposed to allow for earlier acceleration and superior stability. Another key to mee ting expecta tions w ith the C BRIOOORR was to get everythi ng lart he r forw ard: The engine , the luel load, and the rider. This, according to Honda, keeps the energy isolated to the rear 01 the moto rcycle, and that in turn equates to less heads hake and better stability. Again, as Ho nda reite rates often , it's all about being able to get on the thrott le sooner. When you first throw a leg over the new CBR, you can't help but not ice that you fee l larth e r lorward. Two thi ngs give you that leeling: the gas tank (4.8 gallons, including 1.06 gallons of reserve) is shorter and far the r lo rward, a design Ho nda says translates but farther back. Although you' re not positio ned directly ove r the front wheel, you definitely leel a lot closer to tha t point than on most sportbikes. part to not only make th e rear section of the bike look th e part , but also giving it the so und you wa nt Irom a big spo rtb ike. Tha t ex haust system also gets a new valve, locat - showed that the new CBR is definite ly on the path to being a quality stree tb ike. At cruising speed s on the track, the bike was both comfortable and easy to ride, at home "It does exactly what you want it to do, precisely when you want it to do it." to lue l load having less 01 an ellect on handling; and the handle bars are 1.8 inches lowe r than on the CBR954RR. You also notice that the lootpegs are not only highe r, T he 998cc inline lou r-cylinder has a nice throaty roar to it when you fire t he bike to life, t he stainless steel , four-into -two-intoone exhaust (with tw in outlet s) doing its ed dow nstream Irom t he co llector, that allows it to control not only the noise but also give it a be tte r power delivery, acco rding to Honda. A first visit to a new racetrack allows you Leaveit to Honda (and Kayaba) to come up with an to get the feel lor wha t a motorcycle w ill work like on your casual street ride , and those early laps learn ing the nuances of the 2.25-m ile electronically controlled steeringdamper. Unlike your typica friction dampersor hydrol racet rack in any gear you happen to be in. The fuelinjectio n system, w hich is ve ry similar to the one lound on the CBR600RR, also wo rks well at any speed, its co nvexed (instead 01 round ) holes leeding luel we ll at both high and low speeds with what Honda reps describe d as its "high-powe red squirt guns." And wh ile the bike wo rked we ll at cruising speeds, it only got better as the pace increased . mechanical units, the H ESD , or H onda Electronic Steering Damper, is controlledby the CBR IOOORR's ECU. so the dampingforce varies automatically based on thingssuch as road speed and rate 01 acceleration So how the heck does that work? . Quite well, actually. We rode the CBR1000RR at the Arizona Motorsports Park and came away impressed. The HE SD mounts on the top of t he steer - ing head, and a linkage arm connects the unit to the triple clamp. The damper unit houses a chamber that's filled with oil that's divided into two sectionsby a movingvane connected to the linkage arm. At lower speeds, the damper's main valve opensfully so there's basically no dampingeffect. and the steeringremains light. As your speed and rate of acceleration increase, the linear solenoid (controlled by the CPU) constricts the amount of oil now between the two chambers, and the steeringdamping is increased. As is the casewith most things that wo rk we ll, you don't really notice the H ESD is there. At low speeds the bike doesn't feel like it hasa steering damper,w hich iswhat you want; and at speed it feels like you have one, but onlywhen you need it. There isone sectio at the Arizona Motorsports Park. where you n accelerate hard out of a medium-speed left-hand corner that leads to a quick nick righ and onto the backstraight. IIyou t get it right, the Iront lifts slightly belore settlingagain. making it the perfect placeto get headshake. On the CBRI OOORR, I didn't giveit a second thought. Prool that the HESD was doing it job nicety . www.cyclenEWS.com CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 14, 2004 43