Powerfulreference

POWERFULREFERENCE

World Title Fight: Round 1

SO YOU'VE READ THE FULL ROAD TEST OF HONDA'S NEW CBR1000RR. Judged on its own merit, there's very little not to like about Big Red's flagship sportbike. But then again, when was the last time any frontline sportbike evaded the inevitable performance comparisons against its peers?

At the time of this writing we had yet to ride Yamaha’s heavily revamped YZF-R1 and were still awaiting delivery of Kawasaki’s assassin, the light and powerful Ninja ZX-10R, for in-house testing. Not that any of this really matters, however, as none of the new models can make claim to class-leading performance without first taking down the Suzuki GSX-R1000.

The big Gixxer has ruled the Heavyweight division since its introduction three years ago, putting a chokehold on the competition with its brute strength and unflappable cornering capabilities. Engine and chassis enhancements made to the ’03 GSX-R1000 kept the guard up, allowing Suzuki to focus on updates to the Gixxer 600 and 750 models for 2004. Entering the ring with nothing more than new battle paint for ’04, the mighty GSX-R made ready to fend off the most serious opposition it has ever faced.

Before riding the CBR and GSX-R in a head-to-head comparison, the bikes were weighed-in and run on the Cycle World dyno. Tipping the scales at 431 pounds with an empty fuel tank, Big Red’s model appears portly on paper next to the 408-pound Suzook. Over-laying the power graphs of each bike shows some interesting results, as the plotted curves intertwine below 4000 rpm, each bike grappling to clear its throat during an off-idle fourth-gear roll-on. The GSX-R enjoys a modest advantage through the midrange, but once revs surpass 8000 rpm, the Honda gains the upper hand with a consistent 5-horsepower advantage throughout the top region of the rev range. Curiously, our GSX-R’s 141 peak horsepower is down 6 ponies from what we saw with last year’s testbike. Looks like the heavier, 145-bhp Honda is packin’ muscle mass after all.

Next, we visited California Dragway in Fontana to assess acceleration performance. Keeping the chin down is a formidable challenge when launching a high-power, shortwheelbase repli-racer. The CBR’s chassis-design philosophy-especially its long swingarm-lifted directly from Honda’s RC211V MotoGP program, eases the task of combating unwanted wheelies under hard acceleration. This helped give the CBR an edge in quarter-mile performance, as the GSX-R’s frequent-flyer front wheel delayed full power application in low gear. Once again, it must be noted that the Gixxer’s best run of 10.27 seconds at 139.91 mph not only fell short of the CBR on this day, but also of its predecessor’s 10.05-second/142.46-mph pass posted last year. To the good, the smoother clutch action of the Suzuki will likely prove of greater benefit to holeshot mavens as our Honda protested with a god-awful squawk and grabby engagement when attempting hard launches.

Top-gear roll-ons resulted in a split decision, the CBR nipping the GSX-R by .2-second from 40-60 mph, while the angry Suzuki flexed its midrange muscle with a 2.8-second 60-80 mph dash to the Honda’s 3.1-second showing.

Moving on to a deserted road in the Mojave Desert allowed us to stretch the legs of these two, and here the CBR showed a 2-mph advantage in top speed.

While in the neighborhood, we swung by Willow Springs Raceway for a Hyper-Club track day (www.hypercycle.com) on “The Streets” roadcourse. Hustling Open-class weapons around this tight and technical circuit is like conducting a knife fight in a phone booth, but is also more representative of public roads than Willow’s “big” track. With Assistant Editor Mark Cemicky twisting the throttles, blue blood was spilt once again as the Honda lapped at 1:23.59 to a Suzuki best of 1:24.28. Having less flywheel effect and a lightly sprung throttle makes the Suzuki feel the snappier and freer-revving of the two, but it also makes for hair-trigger twistgrip action and promotes rear-wheel hop under rapid deceleration. The Honda carried its weight well, feeling only slightly heavier-steering than the Suzuki. But of greater importance, the CBR’s smooth, linear power delivery made rear-grip management easier, of particular importance as both bikes were shod with OEM-spec Bridgestone radiais, not Superstock-legal treaded slicks.

So, the king is dead, long live the king. Well, at least until Round 2. -Don Canet