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/128355
Miguel Duhamel's Superbike and Formula Xtreme Bikes Xtremely Fun Let's face it: If ~ wasn't for the Formula Xtreme Series, Honda wouldn't have had a chance of winninga title with its overweight CBR600RR. The fact that the FX rules essentiallymake the bikes mini-superbikes played right into American Honda's hands. Not only does the company have the resources, but ~ also has a mega-talented race team capable of squeezing the most out of any bike. That is without a doubt what the team did. The CBR600RR that won the FX title is fast - not in the same realm as the Superbike, but it was docked at over 180 mph at Brainerd in the race. That's haulingass for a 600cc bike. The differences between a Supersport bike and a Formula Xtreme bike are huge, with the rules allowingfor many a modification to the Xtreme bikes. Another key difference is that the guys from American Honda were given the green lightto do allof the R&Don the bike inhouse. Not to discredit HRC, but the FX bike uses hardly any parts from the racing giant, the primary part being an HRC dose-ratio gear- box. Ludingtonsaid that the previous year, the team had to rep lace second and third gears after every race on the Supersport bike, but the HRC unit didn't require any maintenance allyear despite routine inspections. The rules require that the stock crankshaft be used, stock duration and lift must be retained, as must the stock airbox. The use of aftermarket pistons, rods, their own Motecpowered enginemanagementsystem,and modificationsto the EFI system are allallowed, The engine's redline has been increased to 16,200 rpm, although the rev limiter was set at around I S,750 for my ride. The chassis has a lot of tricks that helped it perform better, such as the use of a stock CBRIOOORR fork, which Duhamel preferred to anything else he tested, induding an expensive factory Showa unit. Speakingof testing, the team did 16 tests throughout the season, not to mention countless hours on itsdyno trying to refine the FX bike. Getting the bike down to the class' 3S0-pound weight limitwas easier with the less restrictive rules. Items likethe carbon-fiber subframe helped to shave weight dramatically Bythe end of . the season, the bike weighed only 3S I pounds, justone over the FX limit. The FX bike is one hell of a fast 600, as I quicklydiscovered on the track. According to the team, the bike makes more power than the Ten Kate World Supersport bikes that won the last two championships. Rumors rate those bikes at around 130 horsepower; so I'm guessingthat the American Honda FX incr e dibly composed. The suspension w as absolu tely pe rfe ct at the pace I was rid ing plush yet damp ed perfectly. According to Ludingt o n, Duham el has chang ed his habits d ram at ically over the course of th e las t few years and re ally st arted taking the tim e to get the suspension settings so rt ed out. Ludington said t hat in t he past, Duham e l w o uld set th e bike up rea lly stiff an d then just go r ide th e he ll o ut of it . But that's ch anged . Now he ta ke s th e time to se t the bike up more me ticulo usly. Th e changes have he lped improve t rac t ion thro ughout t he rac e, and they have im proved tire life. For me , it meant th at th e areas of th e track that were bumpy w ere ha rdly noticeable at all. Even under hard bra king, t he bike just glided ov e r th e bumps. Another co mpone nt th at made brak ing an d downsh ifting a piece of cake was the HRC slipper clutc h, w hich slipped e noug h to keep the rear fro m hopping but still let yo u kno w wh at was happe ning be hind yo u. And to th ink t hat this is an area that th e team wants to improve for 2005 ... the n again, th e d iffe re nce between my pac e and Migue l's is night and day. O ne thing that is am az ing is ho w har d Duh am e l rode the bike t his year. At Infineo n Raceway at Sears Point, Du ham e l clos ed a 2 1/2 -seco nd defi cit to Zemke on 82 JANUARY 5,2005 bike is more in the neighborhood of 135 to 140 hp. It is without a doubt faster than a stock Open-class bike, such as the RI or ZX- IOR. And the bike's lightweight makes ~ fee l even faster. After ridingthe Superbike, Iwasn't intimidated by the FX bike at all. I can't even begin to describe how fun this bike was to ride. Ifthe Superbike was the best because of its sheer acceleration, the FX is hot on its heels due to impeccable handlingand the awesome 600cc motor. Ifmy estimated power output is at all accurate, the FX bike is only pushingaround 2.6-pounds per horsepower. Screaming the bike up to its near-16,OOOrpm redline and then grabbing a wide-open shiftwith the speed shifter is a blast. The bike isn't shy about whee lieseither, wanting to loft the front wheel almost as readily as the Superbike. The one thing that became apparent after a couple of rides on the bike is that the fuel delivery is much Crisperthan that of the superbike from any rpm. Pickingup the throtde exitingsonne of the track's tight comers rewarded me with clean, perfect fuel delivery and that is exactly what the team hopes to accomplish with the Superbike next year. This bike is allabout the chassis, though. After getting off of the Superbike, I couldn't believe how well the FX bike tumed. The bike could be flicked through the tight stuff with amazing ease. Even more impressive was the balance of the bike, because it was extremely stable in the fast stuff.One thing that I noticed right away was the bike's lack of a steering damper. I wouldn't say that I was worried about the bike shakingits head, but I did fully expect it, But it never happened . The team has done such a great job setting up the chassis Merlyn Plumlee (left), Ray Plumb and Jon Seidel remind me how much the Superbike costs. t he last lap to take the w in. After riding t his bike at my wimpy, se lf-preserving pace , I can't even fathom how he could ride the bike at I 1/1 Oths like he did on t hat final la p. Th e best th ing abo ut getting two 20 minute sessions was t hat I go t to come in, think about things and then go o ut and ride • C YC LE N EWS it more aggressively the second go around. Additionally, I did n't have to go out and "see what she w ould do " in fo ur laps or something. W ith a little more co nfidence in myse lf, the second se ssio n involve d a lot more throttle input , whi ch in turn m eant a lot more wh eelies and hard work. I swear that it reallydoesn't need one, which just makes the bike feel even more nimble in the comers. Entering the comers is made easier by the use of an STMslipper dutch, which I took an instant liking to. The unit has a lot of kickback at the lever, which takes a while to get used to , but it almost completely eliminates compression braking from getting to the rear wheel , almost two-stroke-Iike . The brakes on the FX bike have a reallydifferent feel from the superbike's, despite the fact that they both have Brembo radial-mount calipers. The brakes on the FX bike have a lot more initial bite, socare isin order,but onceI got used to them , they were awesome. Like the Superbike, the suspension on the FX bike couldn't have been better and was as good as anythingI've ever ridden. Bumps seemed to just disappear - and it didn't matter ifthey were in brakingzones or midcomer, the Showa CBRIOOORR fork and rear shock were impeccable. One rumor that the Honda team wants to dispel is that its bike is unobtainable and expensive for privateers. Granted the team has the abilityto test more than most teams, but the only very expensive item on the bike isthe kit HRC transmission. An experienced team could easilydevelop a bike with parts such as the fork, carbon subframe, shock, brakes, engine mods and Superbike-spec wheels, the team says. Maybe the team underestimates its own resources , but the CBR600RR FX bike is more of a well-conceived and executed machine than an unobtainable exotic. I guess we 'll see ifthe competition can step up to the plate for next year's Formula Xtreme-spec Daytona 200. at th e e nd of my st int I fe lt like I had done a pair of motos on the Glen Helen motocross trac k. Th e bike w heelie s everywhere . It w heelies in first , second , th ird , fo urt h, fifth and w ou ld probably do so in sixth if I had ever got there on t he re latively t ight track. As fo r the bike 's bra kes, the y w ere some of t he best I have ever sampled, even though that is anothe r area the team wants to im prove for ne xt season. At my pace, they w orke d ex ce llen tly, with a re al linear feel and tons of power. Howeve r, Ludingto n said th at the bra kes gave the team pr o blems all ye ar and that they would be te sting some alternative s in the off-seas on to alleviate t he fade that all three riders experienced . By th e end of my se co nd session, I w as having so m uch fun I really didn't w ant to come int o th e pits . It's kind of like when you 're a kid and you ride the me rry -go round until you puke , and you still want to ge t bac k on fo r more. I w as mentally taxed after riding it, but quitting was th e last t hing on earth th at I w ante d to do. The CBR IOOORR Superbike was witho ut a doubt the best bike I've ever ridde n. Hopefully, the fact th at non e of us crashed it me ans t hat I2 months fro m now I'll get to do it all over again . I can't w ait. eN