2008 Honda CBR1000RR Review

Indeed it does, but I was flashing back a decade to the first press launch of my motojournalist career. The changes made to the 1998 CBR900RR made it the best big CBR ever, and I was awed by how fast yet controllable that new scalpel was.

Now, a little more than 10 years later, I’m again in the seat of the best literbike Honda has yet crafted. Compared to the RR I rode in ’98, it weighs less and has nearly 50 additional horses.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was the estimable location this time around, and my day lapping the historic NorCal circuit proved this clean-sheet-design double-R performs at a level beyond its two-year-old predecessor, never mind the seemingly docile 10-year-old one. I came into this sessions already thrilled with the stellar new ZX-10R Kawasaki I rode last month in Qatar. To even rank in that league, the CBR needed to be something special. It is.

A phalanx of CBRs with tire warmers sit on stands, resplendent in five different color combinations, greeted us sitting in the same pit stalls the MotoGP teams use each July. This ’08 model, dubbed internally as MFL (previously the MEL), has a countenance that polarizes opinions. Gone are most of the sharp creases of the MEL, replaced with arching curves that suggest a more organic bent. Some dig it; some don’t.

Up front is a snubby nose that mimics the abbreviated proboscis of the RC212V MotoGP bike, something Honda says makes for easier steering transitions at speed. Dual ram-air ducts below the rounder headlights route cool airflow through the frame rails rather than the solo center-mount design of the 600RR. The new CBR1K’s rear area looks light and airy thanks to the relocation of the former bike’s underseat exhaust to a bulky unit somewhat camouflaged under the engine.
Anyway, the CBR’s nothing more than a blur if you’re watching it rocket up Laguna’s front-straight, accelerating so quickly that you’d swear it would get air under its wheels if its pilot had the cojones to keep the throttle pinned over the crest of the hill. This newest CBR has some stones of its own, hurtling out of corners with the addictive thrust of a mighty literbike.

Last year’s CBR trailed the pack in terms of peak power, so Honda threw out the old 998.6cc inline-Four and built a new 999.8cc version. (C’mon, guys, you’re giving up 0.19cc while remaining below the 1000cc limit!) Its bore has gone up 1mm while its stroke is 1.5mm shorter than before. Also new are titanium intake valves, slightly larger than previous. Cams are lighter by 1.1 lb thanks to a new, chilled, thin-wall, ductile steel casting process that allows a reduced wall thickness, and its cylinder head is narrower by 15mm and lighter. Overall, the engine has lost more than 5 lbs.
Getting Honda representatives to divulge closely held information is easier than getting al-Qaeda to talk, but not by much. Still, a short waterboarding session revealed this new 1000RR is pushing nearly 7% more power. Our 2007 CBR test bike cranked out a rather modest 148 hp, so we expect this new one to spit out nearly 160 hp at its rear wheel.

It can now run with the big dogs at the track. But even more impressive from a seat-of-the-pants perspective is the bump in midrange power. The’07 bike was at or near the top of the pack in terms of twist below 9000 rpm, but this new CBR easily puts the old one on the trailer. It was rather impressive to have the front wheel soar off the ground in a controllable power wheelie while exiting the second-gear Turn 3, no squidly clutch dump required.