For a fair while now Honda have been the side order of most superbike comparison tests. Yes, they still sell plenty of bikes and many a thousand happy owners will wax lyrical about their fine steeds. The fact is that when ridden head to head with their main competitors the Honda liter bikes have always been just a little softer. Sometimes it was a more relaxed riding position, sometimes it was the higher weight and lower power but whatever the reasons the competitors always seemed to just edge the Hondas out. I guess it’s all a bit of a joke really; see most superbike comparison tests incorporate a track test that is factored into the results. Given that Honda have geared their bikes towards road performance it normally meant they suffered on the track and normally lost out when the bike which was best on track was better than average on the road.
Well things have changed. Liter bikes have got so damn fast that, to really extract all of the potential performance you really have to get them on the track. Honda are obviously aware of this and have subtly changed focus on this latest incarnation of their CBR. Tired of being out horsepowered and out lightweighterized (those aren’t words but you get the drift) Honda have hit back with a super light, super powerful 1000cc road rocket. Now there are billions of websites that will give you details like the spacing reduction on the cylinders due to the new Jet-flow Circulation Plating, a reduction on 1mm was the result. Ahhh yeah really who needs to know this stuff? I’ll do what I always do; give you the hands on rider report. What the 2008 Honda CBR 1000RR is actually like to ride. This time I’ll compare it to the 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R because I’ve just come off riding that bike and these are the two liter bikes of 2008.
