I didn’t expect much, being cynical about road test exclamations of enthusiasm - the truth only emerges with the next model, when the old one is suddenly slagged off. Later models of the CBR600 that passed through my hands proved to be even better, a rare evolution of motorcycle design, in my experience, especially for a large multi-national company like Honda.
Red and silver paint enhanced the lines of the plastic on that first model. The only one I liked more was the white and red effort, which made a passable impersonation of a plod bike at speed. Useful if I was in a hurry. Bankrupt of further paint ideas, Honda lately turned the CBR into a suicide mission by the use of metallic grey paint that merged so perfectly with the tarmac that it all but became invisible to other traffic. Honda wasn't the only company to make this tragic mistake, many a GSXR also heading for an early bath. I shouldn't complain, at least there would be a ready supply of engines in the breakers. That first CBR seemed incredible after struggling with a GPz750.
The latter did run worn, stock suspension, so I shouldn't have been that surprised by all the effort needed, nor by some of the monstrous weaves. Truth to tell, the CBR was also wearing worn forks and shock, but the massive frame, relatively low mass and superior design made it seem like I was on another planet.
The effortless way it floated through bends, bimbled up and down mountains, and blatted along straights at incredible velocities turned me into the hero of the local bike gang and left me drooling at the prospect of more to come. 150mph on the clock, with me in a relatively comfortable crouch, the rev counter flirting with the red and just a flutter of secondary vibes through the plastic. The GPz was rough and elemental by way of comparison: The Honda was running a stock exhaust that undoubtedly aided the smooth carburation, a revelation after Kawasaki's amateur efforts. (not helped by a race 4-1).
If both bikes responded well to harsh use of the throttle, the Honda lacked the GPz’s torque below 7000 revs but confusingly ran much smoother due to its superior carburation. The Honda ran in a civilised manner at low revs where the Kwack would surge like a dying stroker, but wouldn't accelerate any harder than a Superdream unless a few gears were dropped and the throttle hammered to the stop. The resulting exhilaration was well worth the effort. This was a trait that became more defined on later models.
The only complaint that I had against this stroker-like need for the powerband blues was the gearbox. Honda had a long history of producing bikes with awkward boxes, especially after the first 20000 miles. The CBR was no exception, often seemed a throwback to the sixties, with more false neutrals than gears. Being used to aged machinery was a definite aid to producing a series of clean changes - after about a month I'd developed enough feel for the box to snap my way through the gears without too much hassle. If I let my concentration lapse, though, it was dead easy to have the engine screaming into an early death in a false neutral. The life of O-ring chains varied between 5000 and 13000 miles, depending on make and throttle abuse.
Later gearboxes had a slightly slicker change but were, again, badly affected by age and high miles. Persistence equalled a perfect change. I would've preferred a taller top gear, the engine always giving a revvy feel in all of the six ratios - I often found it easier to scream off in second rather than first.
The clutch was a beauty, light with plenty of feedback. I could even move off on a dead throttle by just gently feeding in the clutch. The real neutral was easy enough to find on the move but elusive at a standstill. Starting and the general controls were what you'd expect of such a sophisticated piece of machinery - bloody good. I did find it necessary to bung in a new set of plugs every 4000 miles, to avoid difficult starting and even the odd bit of cutting out in the rain during the winter months.
Maintenance wasn't easy as there was a ton of plastic to pull off, sixteen valves to adjust (rarely needing attention) and four carbs to balance (every 2000 in the early model and every 3500 miles in later examples), plus an oil change every 2000 miles (some owners reckoned that every 6000 miles was sufficient) and a new oil filter every third oil change. Not too onerous, I guess, and more importantly I never experienced any mechanical failures from an engine that did between some 60000 and 95000 miles. I never even replaced a camchain, although previous owners had probably enjoyed that chore at least once. Was I lucky? Maybe, there were some examples I viewed that had obviously enjoyed a sojourn on the race track and rattled and knocked like death was at hand.
Easily sussed if you know what a good CBR is supposed to sound like. I never came across the fabled one owner, low mileage example, they do seem to be turned over awful fast. Probably down to speed freaks seeking more kicks. The highest mileage example I came across had done all of 123000 miles, sounded like there were a few ball bearings loose inside the mottled engine casings. The owner reckoned the engine was basically stock, wouldn't even admit to a cam chain change. The experience does dull a little with extended exposure, the engine coming over as a little bland despite its massive power. Those use to big V-twins wouldn't be too enamoured of the high revving excesses but those used to Honda twins will find more of the same, only with a hundred fold increase in kicks.
All it takes to get the best out of the Honda is an interesting piece of road early enough in the morning not to have the police hiding in waiting (and they loiter in the oddest places). Handling, braking and acceleration are all sublime, at least to anyone brought up on the older style fours. A newish '92 model showed up my bike as a bit slow and worn (with eighty thou on the-clock), as equally past it in the ride quality as the acceleration, but I was soon used to its ways again. I sold that bike only because I was offered a brilliant trade-in deal on a new '92 example.
Not surprisingly, the dealer clocked my bike and sold it for even more than I was offered but ended up in court over the matter as I tracked down the new owner and told him the awful truth. Save for minimal servicing, a depressing excess of tyres and brake pads, and one wrecked half of a fairing when the side stand snapped, I did 61000 miles of wild riding, pure highway excesses, until someone stole the CBR. Except for even less low rev torque the bike was in every way superior to the earlier model. Because of increasing costs, I had opted for mere third party insurance, which unless you mow down a line of peds is worse than useless. Cry?
Various bits of this bike were handed back to me by the plod after the thief crashed into a lorry. About the only useful one was the engine. This was sold off for £750, some more money added to buy a ’91 CBR600 with 71000 miles up and scratched plastic. The least successful of the CBRs I’ve bought, it still hammered around the country at speeds so illegal that it finally helped get me banned for a year. Cops laying in wait down a deserted country road.
The latest adventure has been test riding a couple of ’94 models and taking a 93 example for a spin. Fantastic after a year out of the game. The engines definitely give their best with 30000 miles or less on the clock but don’t appear to have any chronic faults up to 75000 plus miles! Raced examples, obviously, should be avoided and minor cracks in the plastic can turn out very expensive. Soon, I’m going. to. buy a newish example but not one with the grey paint scheme, although it might be useful in avoiding the cops.
Gary