Honda Cbr954rr
Honda CBR954RR
New Rides 2002
Baba's baby gets better yet
DON CANET
LAS VEGAS REPRESENTS A pretty safe bet as the site for a new sportbike introduction. Aside from its state-of-the-art motor speedway and abundance of luxury casino accommodations, there’s the famed Vegas Strip. In the land of liberal drinking laws and round-the-clock entertainment, how can a moto-joumalist be entirely certain it was, in fact, a bike’s handling that was shaky?
I rolled into Vegas to sample the latest work of Tadao Baba, Large Project Leader and father to Honda’s RR series. Baba has spearheaded bi-annual updates of Honda’s liter-class RR since the bike’s introduction back in the spring of ’92, each time extracting new levels of performance and everyday usability most of us hadn’t thought possible.
And now the CBR929RR, winner of Best Open Streetbike honors in our Ten Best Bikes balloting just two years ago, was due for a host of changes. Would the effort to keep step with Yamaha’s newly fuel-injected YZF-R1 and Suzuki’s crushing GSXR1000 result in a harderedged RR? We were assured at the pre-ride tech presentation that the CBR954RR not only remains faithful to Mr. Baba’s pursuit of real-world rideability, but also expanded upon it, while delivering greater performance in several areas.
I caught up with the CBR954RR at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway-based Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding School. Members of the press were allowed five 20-minute track sessions on the speedway’s infield roadcourse to sample the new machine alongside last year’s 929. First thing I noticed while easing up to speed around the cold track, cautiously coaxing heat into the Michelin Pilot Sport radiais, was better low-end grunt and a more seamless power delivery. This smoothing of dips or spikes in the sub-6000 rpm range will be of particular use on the street, where the majority of time is spent in the powerband’s lower floors.
HONDA CBR954RR
$10,599
Ups LIGHTER than ever SHARP new styling BIG bhp numbers ONE step closer to perfection
Downs Dates your year-old 929RR Twitchier than your year-old 929RR Liter-class insurance premiums
A second observation brought home by slick asphalt during the early going was a more delicate feel and improved modulation provided by the updated front brakes. While the pads and 330mm rotors are unchanged, caliper piston sizes have been altered and a low-friction coating added for a noted improvement in both power and feedback. As the day progressed and I pushed my braking points deeper into corners, the binders delivered nothing short of two-fingered excellence.
While a lmm-larger bore gives the 954 its 25cc displacement increase, pistons and wristpins are actually lighter than before, resulting in the smoothest-running CBR-RR 1 can recall. While head and valvetrain are basically unchanged, cam timing has been juggled, along with a slight increase in valve lift. In pursuit of top-end performance, fuel-injection throttle-body size has grown 2mm to 42mm, fed by a slightly larger airbox. Honda’s variable intake/exhaust system remains in place. This is the same 929-stvle servo-motorcontrolled airbox flapper working in concert with an exhaust powervalve to produce a broader, flatter spread of torque.
Transmitting that power to the ground in controlled fashion couldn’t have been easier as the late-morning track session provided ideal track and tire temperatures. Stability and lightness in handling can often be opposing goals, but the 954 delivers both in spades. Turn-in was effortless and handling neutral even when trail-braking into a comer. Aggressive flip-flops through the quick transition of the Vegas chicane required minimal effort at the bars, the bike taking a quick set without any unwanted oscillation. Credit the revised frame construction and works-style aluminum swingarm for upping lateral/torsional rigidity and delivering enhanced feedback and control.
While the 954 weighs-in less than its predecessor (right in line with the 600cc F4i, in fact), it’s where the weight has been lost that matters most. Great pains have gone into paring weight off the extremities. A titanium muffler, for example, has lopped off a pound way out back behind the center of mass. The bike is said to be narrower now, as well. The AC generator is 2mm shorter, allowing an additional degree of lean angle to the left.
Later in the day, the bikes were fitted with sticky Michelin Pilot Race tires, which until thoroughly scrubbed-in and up to temp, could shake your confidence. As the tires came in, though, cornering grip rose to newfound levels-peg feelers had been removed to allow additional lean before sparks flew. All good fun, but the bike, which had been steadfast-stable all morning, now had a tendency to shimmy and shake a bit. It’s been my experience that race tires can upset a streetbike’s handling due to their differences in construction, profile and added grip. I found myself clambering to get my weight over the front tire to help quell an onslaught of headshake exiting comers. The 954’s gas tank is 10mm shorter and lower for this very purpose. “Fast Freddie” to the rescue, offering up suspension settings he had found earlier that improved the bike’s stability on race rubber. A little less compression damping up front and a bit more spring preload in the rear set my bike well on the road to recovery. Dropping into the wheel tracks of the swift and smooth former World Champion for a series of hot laps proved to be the best group therapy going. And, no, I hadn’t stayed out late on the town the night before. □
