VOLUME ISSUE MAY , P103
edged bumps. And, yes, on
those rainy days, I swapped
it over to A3; however, the
chassis became a bit of a wet
noodle, with the forks diving to
the bottom of the stroke and
the shock not holding the back
of the bike up in the fashion I'd
hoped. This is a stiff, race
-
track-like motorcycle, so give
me the stiffer settings, thanks.
MAKE IT GO!
Switching over to the motor,
there's one area that's such a
pain in the butt I just couldn't
get over it. The flat spot
between 6-8000 rpm is such
a blackspot on a motor as
fantastic as this SP's, and it's
not Honda's fault.
The emissions police have
ripped into this CBR, not just
for exhaust gasses but also
for noise levels. It's like the
CBR has two different person
-
alities. The below 6000 rpm
is Mr. Rogers, a benevolent,
happy riding partner that's
got all the time in the world to
hear stories and share anec
-
dotes. Then there's the above
8000 rpm personality. This is
an 18-year-old that's just left
a Fear Factory concert and is
hell-bent on world destruction.
And there's 2000 rpm of noth-
ing in between.
The issue with that is re-
gardless of which power mode
of one to five you're in (one be-
ing the most aggressive, five
being the least), you can't get
past that drastic lack of drive
and the dumping of power
onto the rear tire once 8000
rpm is met. At regular street
riding speeds, this is less of a
concern, but if I owned one of
these CBRs, the very first thing
I'd do is take it to a proper
tuner and get them to iron this
trait out with a new map and
an exhaust. It must be done,
as it ruins what is otherwise
a blisteringly good engine.
Again, it's not Honda's fault, so
I'm not mad at them.
Buy one, and you'll be
staring for hours, too.
As a track bike,
it's one of the
absolute best.
As a street bike,
there's a bit left
on the table.
