My friend Alex, from the "rafter team" bought a 04 CBR1000RR with only 600 miles and free 1st. service included. What was included too was a Yoshimura pipe, Power commander, KN, Gel grips, a very tricky fender eliminator that makes the plate "roll" along the hugger while suspension is compressed and many cosmetic options. Paid $ 9,400 to a rich jeweler that got tired of the riding position very soon of this, his 10th bike. Now he has only nine... :D
Well, I rode the beast today from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, back from the service. Most of the 40 something miles were on a Friday-crowded I 95 South, so I couldn't really explore the bike as I would like to. But one thing is amazing... POWER. :goofy: POWER is everywhere, never mind the gear you are in, even in 6th the thing pulls like a maniac... what a blast !! Sound from the pipe is addictive, and riding position is not that bad as expected even for this 6'2 225 labs human specimen from the Southern Atlantic. B) This is a very different thing from the VFR, but I have to admit that I wouldn't mind on trading my colorado for one of this monsters. :) One my way back home on the fifer, V-four power felt like a scooter compared to the CABER... and the bike is longer and bulkier. ...and of course much more comfortable.
We will ride again on Sunday, let me see if I can convince him of trading rides for a while... or might be a bad idea?? Did you guys saw the Repsol in person?? :rolleyes:
Please bring it up to the Gap so I can make sure it's suitable for Alex to ride ! :rolleyes: I'm always willing to do my part for my under studies ! :beer: master
baileyrock, Mar 12 2005, 11:06 AMPlease bring it up to the Gap so I can make sure it's suitable for Alex to ride ! :rolleyes: I'm always willing to do my part for my under studies ! :beer: master
Baileyrock. You've inspired me with this comment." :beer: "
In honor of the master, I am heading to the fridge right now. :D
KPerham, Mar 12 2005, 11:24 AMYeah, it's got a ton of power. Just remember to never ride a R1, ZX10, or especially the '05 Gixxer!
Is honda really that far behind in the power department? I know some reviews have said the CBR handles far better than nay other, but wasn't sure about the HP.
Either way, I am sure the CBR is way too much for me. I have a hard enough time staying out of trouble on a heavy 100 HP VFR. :goofy:
jwahrmund, Mar 12 2005, 03:42 AMIs honda really that far behind in the power department? I know some reviews have said the CBR handles far better than nay other, but wasn't sure about the HP.
Either way, I am sure the CBR is way too much for me. I have a hard enough time staying out of trouble on a heavy 100 HP VFR. :goofy:
My friends are all big HP junkies, and yes the CBR is behind the others. The new Gixxer has yet to hit the streets, but it's racing debut is looking good. 1,2,3 sweep in the Daytona Superstock race, and also the World Superbike race in Qatar. Or maybe just 1,2 there? I forget. Take a R1 and throw a full exhaust, PCIII, and filter and you're looking at 160 plus at the wheel. CBR is heavier, also. A lot of that comes from the Pro Link suspension setup. Good handling doesn't sell liter bikes to 20 year olds. On the other hand, I've passed liter bikes on the track with my '99 VFR, and my '98 CBR600F3.
KPerham, Mar 12 2005, 12:03 PM Good handling doesn't sell liter bikes to 20 year olds.
Unfortunately, this kind of marketing target leads to crappy product. Sure, the R1, GSXR and ZX-10 may have the faster bikes, but at what cost and quality.
Sad but true. I guess I don't mind the Honda being the slower bike.
jwahrmund, Mar 12 2005, 04:35 AMUnfortunately, this kind of marketing target leads to crappy product. Sure, the R1, GSXR and ZX-10 may have the faster bikes, but at what cost and quality.
Sad but true. I guess I don't mind the Honda being the slower bike.
All my posts today relate to my last week spent in a bike shop. I was talking to my friend Mark, who owns the shop I was helping in for the past week, was talking to me about brands recently. He made a point to count the number of Honda's that were in his shop. At the time it was only 2, and they were a crash and a bike that was sitting for a long time and needed a carb clean. Plenty of Suzuki and Kawi's sitting around. Another person opined that the reason that Honda was always behind in hp wars was that they alway build their bikes to last. The other brands may be willing to sacrifice in order to make those few extra ponies. The last two bikes I was looking to buy were not brand specific, but it just worked out that they were Honda. I'm glad that it happened that way. I have no problem being brand loyal in this area. In fact, I tried to buy two Suzuki's. But, I got a '99 VFR instead of waiting for the SV1000 to debut, and a '98 F3 instead of a SV650 or GSXR600 for a track bike.
I'm the same way. My first bike was a Kawi and since then they have all been Hondas. I am so bad about brand loyalty that my car is even a Honda.
In my opinion, they make teh best stuff out there. May not be the fastest, the lightest or what turns heads, but I am a consumer. I want the best for my money and Honda, IMO, fills that need. I may pay a little more up front, but in the long run, repair costs are way down.
So, I stick with Honda. Short on HP, heavy, slow...I don't care. Its all about quality.
Even the Honda CBR 1000, in spite of the fact that it is a little down on power as compared to it's rivals, has more performance than any of us can exploit on the street. Sure, it would get beat in a drag race, but that is not what a sport bike is about.
Most of the comparison articles I read stated that the Honda was the easiest to ride fast because of the better suspension. For that reason alone I would choose the Honda. Of course all the magazines are going to gush over the ZX10 based on the fact that it is the fastest. Sounds to me like the CBR is still the best overall for the average sport bike rider.
Then what do I know..........I would not trade my VFR for any of them!! :thumbsup:
Big power is cool, but I find it more fun/rewarding to ride small bikes. When I take my wee SRX600 out for a blast I can use all the power and run it to redline repeatedly,.....do that on todays liter bikes and, as the cliche goes, you'll either lose your license or die. Always nice to have buddies that will let you ride theirs though. :thumbsup:
dr.toto, Mar 12 2005, 03:56 PMI'd really like to borrow your SRX for an afternoon. I've come close to buying one several times.
Anytime dr.toto!
Like I tell most people,.....if you can kick start it, you can ride it. :beer: It's not easy with Kehein 33mm CR's, high comp piston, and lumpy cam. It's a blast though,...handles like bicycle, just under 300lbs. But back to VFR's........
Like I tell most people,.....if you can kick start it, you can ride it. :beer: It's not easy with Kehein 33mm CR's, high comp piston, and lumpy cam. It's a blast though,...handles like bicycle, just under 300lbs. But back to VFR's........
The really burning question is...Does it have Naca ducts? :D
KPerham, Mar 11 2005, 11:24 PMYeah, it's got a ton of power. Just remember to never ride a R1, ZX10, or especially the '05 Gixxer!
BTW, he serviced the bike at Riva Yamaha in F. Lauderdale. They have many CBR 1000 RR for sale 04 an 05's... but a waiting list till June for the R1, if you put a deposit now... :(
I often read the british mag Bike, and they choose the R1 over the CBR just because is more user friendly. The CBR makes less concessions to daily street riding. On the other hand, they think ( so do I ) the 04 R1 is one of the most beautiful bikes ever built. They choose it over the 999 , and not the one with the blonde.
TwistedGrip, Mar 12 2005, 02:31 PMBTW, he serviced the bike at Riva Yamaha in F. Lauderdale. They have many CBR 1000 RR for sale 04 an 05's... but a waiting list till June for the R1, if you put a deposit now... :(
I often read the british mag Bike, and they choose the R1 over the CBR just because is more user friendly. The CBR makes less concessions to daily street riding. On the other hand, they think ( so do I ) the 04 R1 is one of the most beautiful bikes ever built. They choose it over the 999 , and not the one with the blonde.
Err... ejem, Sohichiro... it was just an impulse. I wouldn't buy a bike without the wing on the tank. :beer:
johne, Mar 12 2005, 03:11 PMBig power is cool, but I find it more fun/rewarding to ride small bikes. When I take my wee SRX600 out for a blast I can use all the power and run it to redline repeatedly,.....do that on todays liter bikes and, as the cliche goes, you'll either lose your license or die. Always nice to have buddies that will let you ride theirs though. :thumbsup:
I agree! I have to admit that I actually had more fun riding the twisties on my last bike, a much less powerful and smaller Honda Hawk 650GT. I was able to better use all 46HP that the bike had and actually must have gone much faster on it than I now do on my 95 VFR. One of my friends actually went from 750s down to a much smaller 250 two stroke grey market sportbikes (250 Yamaha). He said that he had 10 times more fun riding the 250 bike than his past bigger 750s. I wouldn't doubt his word, cause after he switched over, he pretty much left the rest of us in the dust everytime we rode the mountains. I'm really not in agreement that this trend towards 1 litre or over formula is the answer to every sportbikers needs. Its just mostly posuer value for most regular skilled riders. Now, if you can ride like Valentino, then you might be able to make good use of those extra 60+ HP in that big bore bike! Long live the 750 class!...........I hope. :thumbsup:
ULEWZ, Mar 12 2005, 05:32 AMLuke, stay away from the dark side. Once you go down that road, there is no turning back. P.S. I am your father. :P
Tell me about it ! I miss mine badly and will get another, all red. First ride I had to check to be sure I was in 6th gear. I'm the dark Sith. ponder these stats:
Mustang 04 lbs per hp = 11 New Vette = 8 VFR VTEC = 4.5 CBR1000RR = 2.2 !
There's nothing like it, it's a drug, a bad drug. Little F1 car for the street.
I got to try one out today! It was an '04 CBR1000RR, and it was pretty cool. The rearsets felt higher than the Vortex set on my '98 F3. Plenty of power, and coming off my VFR, felt like it had power in any rev range. I didn't come anywhere close to topping it out, but it goes real good. I saw 135 with little effort, and it didn't buffet me around a lot. (I had 160 on the VFR speedo at around 11k! That was a little more scarey. Best I've seen on GPS was 149) Seat was very hard. I have the stocker on my VFR, and a Sargent on my F3. This was a plank on the CBR. I liked the ergo's on it, but only rode it about 15 minutes. Moved around a little, but didn't really hang off it. I never really tried to wring the thing out, but the brakes didn't wow me. Not my any means bad, but I didn't know what to expect from the radial brakes. Probably could have moved the lever out to get better feel from the brakes, but not my bike. I think that if I had really got into them , they would have been very good. One thing I didn't like was the fact that it took longer to start than I would prefer. On my VFR I don't have to hold the starter button, just push it in and release. This CBR took a couple turns to get fired. All in all, it's a nice bike. I could get used to it, and would love to try it on the track. The bike felt really tight and well put together. On the other hand, I don't need it and can't afford it.