The Sporting 900s
The Sporting 900s
3600cc of pure adrenal boost
PSSST... HEY FELLA, INTERESTED IN A STRONG HIT of Open-class performance without the robust weight of a full liter-plus sports machine? Yeah? Well, check out the four Sporting 900s I’ve got stashed in the CW garage. Once you partake of their fine blend of power, handling, comfort and price, you’ll just say no to all that other dope your local dealer is pushing.
No doubt about it, 900cc sportbikes are addictive, and as such, Honda’s CBR900RR is a long-standing favorite among road and track junkies alike. The company’s recent shift toward “controlled chassis flex,” rather than outright rigidity, spawned a revised twin-spar aluminum frame and swingarm that gave the updated 1996 CBR improved road-handling characteristics and increased stability, and the bike returns unchanged for ’97. So successful was the CBR’s transformation that Honda has taken the tuned-chassis concept to an even higher degree on its new VTR1000.
Buzzing backroads is what the RR does best, thanks to its masterful blend of stability and agility. The suspension is extremely well-balanced front and rear, delivering excellent feedback from the tires. And although the RR isn’t the best choice here for extended sport-touring, its spacious saddle is well padded and its suspension is easily adjusted to softer settings. Maintaining legal highway speeds in sixth gear keeps engine vibration subdued, but rev ’er beyond 6000 rpm and tingles begin to flow through the bars and pegs.
Honda CBR900RR
$9899
Alps
Easily adjusted shock spring preload Spacious under-seat storage area Light weight Excellent chassis feedback Ultra-crisp throttle response
Downs
Heavy clutch pull Cheesy rubber mirror stalk boots Everybody seems to have one
Having received a 1 mm overbore last year, the revised CBR engine produces enough low-end grunt to propel it from one traffic light to the next in exhilarating fashion. Spinning the motor past the magic 6000-rpm mark gets things rolling in a hurry, with a noticeable top-end rush that peaks at 10,000 rpm. Boasting a power-to-weight ratio unmatched by any other bike in its class, plus a short, 55.2-inch wheelbase, the CBR includes lowgear power wheelies in its bag of tricks.
Kawasaki ZX-9R
$9999
APS
A Fuel gauge A Effective mirrors A Handy passenger grab handles A Roomy ergonomics A Smooth airflow over fairing A Adjustable clutch lever
Downs
▼ Difficult to adjust shock preload ▼ Imperfect carburetion
Kawasaki chose a different path to high performance for its ZX-9R. Because the company has always put an emphasis on engine performance, it’s no surprise that the ZX-9R is the powerhouse of this group, with 125 peak horsepower at 10,500 rpm.
Introduced in 1994, the ZX-9R has become a staff favorite for extended rides, such as our annual run up Highway 1 to the World Superbike round at Laguna Seca. The roomiest riding position of the lot, coupled with the best fairing and windscreen, make the 9R a natural choice for the long haul.
That roominess comes at a price, however, as hustling the ZX-9R down a tight backroad requires more physical effort than on the other 900s. But the heavy steering pays dividends in damping out road surface irregularities, and toning down the forceful inputs of a ham-fisted rider. Furthermore, as the road opens into flowing sweepers, the 9R’s bedrock-solid stability lays a foundation for unmatched rider confidence, complemented by the excellent triple-disc brakes with twin Tokico six-piston front calipers.
If flat-out speed is your game, Kawasaki has nailed the target. Of this quartet, the ZX9R posted the quickest quarter-mile times, as well as the highest top-speed and dyno numbers. At slower speeds, however, we noted some minor flaws in the ZX’s carburetion, with a hint of off-idle stumble and a mild midrange flat spot. Shifting action in the lower gears is as noisy as a rock crusher, but drive lash is much less noticeable than on other Kawasaki sportbikes. Although few ZX-9Rs have seen roadrace action, it’s tough to beat as a day-to-day streetbike.
The same can be said of Suzuki’s RF900R. Imagine, if you will, shoehoming an Openclass motor into a 600cc chassis. That’s exactly what Suzuki has done in creating the RF900R, which mates a strengthened RF600R frame with a GSX-R1100-based engine. The result is middleweight nimbleness without the need to tap-dance on the shift lever in an effort to keep the engine in its sweet spot.
The RF is the only one of this group with a five-speed gearbox, but it’s the slickest-shifting of the lot. Its greasedcog feel combines with a linear power delivery to make the RF’s dohc, inline-Four a pleasant performer around town. Carburetion is crisp once the engine is fully warm, and drive snatch is never a bother. Pedestrian, the RF is not: When it comes time to play, this puppy boogies with the big dogs.
With its dished-out saddle carrying the rider low on the bike, the RF’s riding position is a mixed bag. This makes finding firm footing at a standstill easy and makes the bars feel higher than they are, but also dictates a cramped seat-topeg relationship.
Suzuki RF900R
$9099
APS
A Sharp styling A Best passenger accommodations A Convenient fairing storage compartment A Linear power delivery A Light, neutral steering A A slow seller, so shops are ready to deal, deal, deal
Downs
▼ Cramped legroomfortaller riders ▼ Underrated and underloved
Bend the RF into a set of tight curves and you’ll discover an ease of handling that’s unmatched in this group. You’ll also leam that the RF responds best to light-handed finesse. Having softer suspension than the others requires a smooth riding technique to get the most out of the available cornering clearance. But skillful navigation aboard the sleek and sharkish RF900R will leave your riding chums trailing in your wake.
As the new kid on the 900cc block, Triumph’s T595 Daytona has aroused a great deal of public interest. This new-generation Triple marks a giant leap forward for the revitalized British firm, which until now has built its entire model line around a dated steel-backbone frame. Complementing the T595’s new perimeter-alloy frame is an abundance of up-to-the-minute technology, including electronic fuel injection, a single-sided swingarm and top-of-the-line wheels, brakes and suspension.
Triumph T595 Daytona
$11,084
Alps
A Awesome brakes A Excellent suspension compliance
A High-quality paint finish A Sleek solo seat cowl A Wide range of factory accessories
Downs
▼ Even with “cheater” exhaust, fuel injection needs more fine-tuning
▼ Visible corrosion on unpainted metal parts and fasteners
▼ Engine-warning light falsely illuminates
While the T595’s Sagem engine-management system leads the league in technical wizardry, teething problems persist. Triumph slipped us a bit of a ringer this time by fitting our testbike with a $389 factory accessory carbon-fiber canister. While the less restrictive-and noticeably louder-muffler delivered a net gain of 4 peak horsepower over our original T595 (see “The Great 916 Challenge,” CW, April), the Triple still suffered from injection woes.
Although slightly improved over the previous example-rolling the throttle open at low rpm now results in stutter-free power delivery throughout the rev range-steady-state cruising between 4600 and 5400 rpm continues to be met with a pronounced buck-and-surge condition. Freeway speeds in sixth gear place the T595’s rev-counter smack dab in the middle of this trouble zone.
Once you look beyond this glaring glitch, however, the Daytona makes for an excellent street ride. Suspension compliance is marvelous, delivering a relatively plush freeway ride and stability in corners both fast and slow. We noted some cornering-clearance concerns during our previous racetrack outing, but the T595 dragged nothing on the street. Handling agility rivals that of the CBR900RR, and the Nissin brakes are the strongest of this lot. The clutch isn’t as praiseworthy, though, as it became grabby following a couple of hard launches at the dragstrip.
Sharing the enthusiasm many feel for this motorcycle, we remain hopeful that the injection cure is simply a matter of fuel-curve remapping and throttle-body synchronization. But it’s a sad irony that the most expensive bike in this group requires additional owner investment to reach an acceptable state of tune.
In case you haven’t guessed it by now, our vote for the best sporting 900 is Honda’s CBR900RR. Simply put, it’s the most well-rounded and refined 900 your money can buy. The RR copped Best Open Streetbike honors in Cycle World’s 1996 Ten Best Bikes competition, and it remains one step ahead of its rivals. -Don Canet
