2017 Honda CBR1000RR & CBR1000RR SP - FIRST RIDE REVIEW

It's been a long couple years since two of the Japanese Big Four dove headlong into the electronic rider aid pool. Kawasaki and Yamaha followed in the wake of the Euro manufactures' early use of advanced systems featuring traction control, wheelie control, race-calibrated abs and more. Now Suzuki and Honda have each made a splash with all-new liter-class superbikes for 2017.

When Honda debuted its $185,000 RC213V-S a year ago, the MotoGP-inspired road bike was met with mixed review. While many enthusiast questioned the logic behind Big Red's limited market machine, we viewed this exotic bike as a technology demonstrator and likely precursor to an upcoming CBR1000RR model.

As one of few moto-journalists fortunate enough to test ride the RC213V-S at Spain's Valencia circuit and now the new 2017 CBR1000RR and its Öhlins semi-active suspension equipped SP stablemate at the world press launch staged in Portimao, Portugal, my experience lends a somewhat unique perspective. I'm pleased to report much of the RC213V-S character has translated nicely to the latest CBR1000RR platform. And for a whole lot less money!

I spent a day lapping the standard and SP models around the undulating 14-turn, 2.9-mile Algarve layout. With crested rises, a varied mix of tight hairpins, medium speed bends, hard braking zones, and a scary fast sweeper leading onto the front straight, this track has been host to many a WSBK clash and put the new CBR’s power and handling to the test. Two 20-minute sessions on the base model with OEM fitment Bridgestone S21 street radials was followed by a pair of afternoon stints aboard the SP with Bridgestone V02 race slicks in place of its stock RS10 skins.

While the CBR retains its familiar 998cc liquid-cooled, inline-four powertrain, a host of engine updates have provided a claimed 11 hp increase in peak output with a 750 rpm higher rev ceiling of 13,000 rpm. A modest boost of bottom-end torque also provides improved everyday street performance that any rider can appreciate along with its revised slipper /assist clutch’s 17-percent lighter pull.

Small weight savings in several engine and chassis components has dropped curb weight to 430 pounds, netting a 14-percent power-to-weight ratio improvement over its immediate predecessor and an astonishing 65-percent gain compared with the original CBR900RR that introduced Honda’s “Total Control” concept all those years ago.

Featuring the same basic electronics package found on the RC213V-S, this CBR becomes the first Honda inline-four to feature ride-by-wire throttle control. The system provides a trio of hardcoded power delivery modes labeled 1-3, calibrated for track, winding road, and general street use. Parameters within each mode include “power” (engine response/power output mapping), “torque control” (TC/anti-wheelie intervention) and 3 levels of engine braking. There’s also a pair of user-defined Mode slots allowing the rider to custom configure these parameters and a left bar rocker switch for on-the-fly mode selection.

Starting on the standard bike, I sampled each mode beginning with Mode 3 on the out lap. With throttle response and peak output locked at P5 (tamest of available levels) the CBR felt quite hobbled in the bottom four gears. This along with T8 (of the 9 possible TC sensitivity settings) further damped the hot-blooded Euro-spec Fireblade’s potential. Toggling into Mode 2 (P2, T5, and minimum engine brake EB3 combination) greatly loosened the reigns allowing full gallop once free of the bottom three gears. Mode 1 (P1, T2, and EB3) delivers the goods in all six gears. Roll-on acceleration from low revs in third gear gave a favorable seat-of-the-pants dyno plot with a strong linear delivery felt through the low- to mid-range, a surge coming in at 7500 rpm building into wheelie inducing acceleration by 9000 rpm. And this while folded into a chin on the tank tuck!

On the wheelie topic, there’s a negative effect of the CBR’s wheelie-control that leaves me baffled. The feature has three levels of calibration, each one tied to TC settings 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9, respectively. Sensing a differential in front and rear wheel speed (usually) smoothly feathers power to mitigate wheelies under acceleration. A sporadic problem arose driving hard over a couple crested sections of track prompting a more abrupt electronic intervention that often maintained a reduction of power for what felt like a full second after the front tire had touched back down. Although turning off TC also defeats WC, I have to imagine there are people who will find this a deal breaker. I hope Honda will offer a software update to address the issue.

Honda’s TC gathers lean angle data from a Bosch IMU, thus lifting the bike on corner exit allows the throttle plates to catch up to a rider’s over zealous throttle input. The effect felt in each mode is particularly apparent in Mode 2 and 3. While my immediate impression of Mode 2 was one of a mannish nature, I dedicated an entire session to this road-oriented mode and soon found that smooth throttle application made a huge difference with the electronics allowing steady, fluid drive off corners. You can bet I didn’t scoff at the added safety net following a heart-stopping incident, when the rear snapped out alarmingly far. I was kicked out of the saddle with the bike gathering beneath me all in the duration of a single gasp.

While the stock radials demanded respect, handling was fantastic with light and neutral steering feel combined with solid chassis stability and excellent feedback transmitted through the 43mm Big Piston Showa fork and Showa Balance Free shock. The familiar HESD (Honda Electronic Steering Damper), hidden behind the steering head, is also at play, and did an exceptional job at quelling the many wheelie-related twitches encountered when pushing the pace.

A sequential shift light array located above the TFT LCD tachometer proved difficult to see in daylight conditions, but the optional quickshifter (standard on the SP) provided seamless upshifts and the most refined auto-blip downshift action I’ve experienced to date. The latter feature, along with the IMU-aware race calibrated cornering ABS/anti rear lift control and slipper clutch made hard braking with multiple clutch-less downshifts on the downhill approach into Turn 1 drama free.

Added side grip from the slick-shod SP, along with its race-spec Öhlins NIX30 fork and TTX36 shock, elevated chassis performance to the next level. My first of two sessions aboard the SP was spent with its suspension in Manual damping mode. This suspension mode is simply tool-less adjustment of front/rear compression and rebound damping offering a 21-step range for each, and a trio of user presets to store custom setups that can be toggled between on-the-fly.

The full magic of the second-generation Öhlins Smart EC arrangement is the trio of semi-active modes calibrated for track, winding road, and street (comfort) use. A Suspension Control Unit (SCU) receives roll rate, yaw rate and lean angle information from the IMU along with wheel speed, engine rpm, brake input, and throttle position and continually adjusts damping force as you ride.

The system introduces Objective Based Tuning Interface, a more comprehensible means for owners to adjust suspension. Four parameters are presented in the suspension setup sub menu of the dash, each offering +/- 5 steps of variance from their factory default. I made several pit stops (bike needs to be stationary to access the menu) during our 45-minute final riding session and methodically worked through A1 Mode (track) options. Following a familiarization lap at default settings I increased “General” (a global damping adjustment) to maximum for a couple laps (very firm with minimal pitch motion), followed by a lap at -5, which proved too soft with excessive chassis movement. Leaving General at +2, I then repeated the procedure with each remaining parameter; Braking, Acceleration, and Cornering. There wasn’t enough time to hone in on an optimized setup, but I could clearly feel the focused effect of each adjustment made.

While I find the SP’s smart suspension a great step toward chassis tuning utopia, I’m also baffled by its inability to store variations of a preferred mode into the remaining pair of A-slots to allow on-the-fly comparison and a quicker path to finding an optimal setting. Perhaps I’m being nit picky here, but I stand behind my logic and look forward to such features down the road.

Having tested every generation CBR superbike over the past 25 years has allowed me to experience the evolution of Honda’s total control vision every step of the way. The RCV213V-S may well represent the epitome of ultimate control, but for my money, the latest CBR1000RR platform has delivered that promise to the mainstream.