General Comments:
I was incredibly surprised at the user-friendliness of this bike. Before my first ride, I was quite nervous simply because of the performance figures I had read about in the magazines. However, the bike is surprisingly easy to ride. The HESD gives you the benefits of light steering at slower city speeds, and great stability in the quicker turns.
The greater torque offered by the 1000cc engine (compared to the 600RR) makes it easier to ride around town, and passing is effortless on the highway. And I'm averaging 45mpg.
I haven't gotten close to the performance potential on this motorcycle yet. Peak power occurs at about 11K rpm, but by 6K rpm it's pulling hard enough to take your arms off. Full throttle in lower gears is like engaging warp drive in the Millenium Falcon.
The handling is exemplary. Rock solid even over small mid-corner bumps, and great drive off corners. Honda hit the mark with this suspension setup. Although wheelspin comes quickly in the wet.
Complaints:
My biggest complaint is with the brakes. I rode my brothers 600RR the other day, and the brakes seemed marginally better. Stopping power and feel is quite good, just not as crisp as I would like on a bike with this much performance.
Ergonomics are actually pretty good, no backache here. However, at highway speeds there is considerable wind buffeting (double bubble is on order). Also, my right hand starts to cramp up after about 30 minutes of riding, as a result of the throttle being quite wide.
I love the looks of the underseat exhaust and wouldn't want a side-mounted exhaust, but on an extended ride, it does tend to cook your rear (maybe some heat wrap would help).
7th Jun 2007, 13:11
Could someone tell me how many HP and top RPM the CBR1000RR has?
Thanks.