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HONDA CBF1000: It's aimed at riders looking for their first big bike. |
Step up to the big time with Honda
March 30, 2006
By Tim Luckhurst
Honda CBF1000 specifications
Engine: 998cc liquid- cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder inline.
Max power: 72kW at 8000rpm
Max torque: 97Nm at 6500rpm
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Brakes: Two 296mm discs at front, single 240mm disc at rear.
Fuel tank: 19 litres
Weight: 220kg.
Price: £5 999 (about R66 000). Not available in South Africa.
The most diligent of reporters occasionally have difficulty distinguishing between the quality of the motorcycle they have been invited to review and the sumptuous location chosen for its launch.
Second-rate technology can be disguised when the sun is warm and riding any bike on pretty country roads is a pleasure while Britain's in the clutches of winter so Honda's CBF1000 was in trouble immediately.
We had been invited to ride in Crete but the ferry was strike-bound and the bikes were in Athens so facilities were hastily arranged at one of those soulless hotels recently expanded for the Olympic Games and riding started in Vouliagmeni, a southern suburb of Athens.
The roads were execrable, the local drivers worse.
Even the map Honda supplied included "Attention - bad road surface". Several CBF1000s would have been trashed had the mud and gravel that coated the carriageway been mixed with rain.
So I was not expecting to enjoy the bike.
This Honda produces wheel-spin in third gear at the flick of a wrist |
Honda describes it as "an entry-level 1000cc bike" aimed at relative beginners seeking their first step up to large-capacity motorcycling.
When design engineer Toshihisa Nagashii invited me to "enjoy this emotional bike", I assumed he was appealing to my sentiments because the machine was technically disappointing. The message sounded like "expect to be underwhelmed". I wasn't.
The first delightful surprise is the engine. This is the same four-cylinder 998cc unit that's in the lightning-fast Honda Fireblade around the World Superbike circuit. The CBF1000's design team were charged with turning high-end power into low-range torque and they have done it brilliantly.
The result is steady, progressive power that does not intimidate but never leaves the CBF1000 feeling feeble. This is a superb adaptation of race technology to road use. It feels tailor-made.
The CBF1000 has the low-end grunt to leap out of tight corners and the acceleration to shift fast without shifting gear. Mid-range acceleration is hardly diminished by a pillion passenger.
Wheelspin at the flick of a wrist
Excessively slippery tarmac helped, but this Honda produces wheel-spin in third gear at the flick of a wrist. It even did it in fourth on an Athenian ring road.
If that sounds irresponsible it wasn't. It wheelies enthusiastically too - but I do not recommend doing wheelies in Athens. There is always a local hero lying in wait to roar past you on one wheel with his helmet hanging from his arm.
When conditions permitted, I began to throw the bike around. It responded by proving just how much size matters. The CBF1000 has been squeezed into a reinforced version of the frame designed for the existing CBF600
The trick has been achieved without disrupting balance. For a full-litre motorcycle this is very compact but not cramped. The upright riding position is relaxed and the seat can be adjusted vertically and longitudinally. Handlebars are adjustable too. You do not need to be large or male to get comfortable on this machine.
Pillion accommodation
Pillion accommodation is excellent and grab-handles offer good security. It is 20 years since I last travelled as a motorcycle passenger - on the CBF1000 I wanted to. A colleague took me up a mountain switchback at speed. I was impressed. We swopped so he could experience passenger life on the way down and he enjoyed it too.
We are both more than 1.8m tall.
The CBF1000 looks plain against exotic competitors but its conservative styling disguises a heart of gold. The harder I used the engine the more willingly it seemed to respond.
Honda is right to say that the bike is unintimidating but it is light years from blandness. A rider prepared to push hard will find this Honda capable of invigorating cornering, blistering sprints and controlled braking from very high speeds.
It is not an all-out, knee-scratching racer - if you want a Honda that is, buy a Fireblade - but the CBF1000 can set the pulse racing. It has more than enough power to satisfy an experienced rider but delivers it well enough to help a less-experienced one learn.
Weather protection from the wide-coverage half-fairing makes this a much more practical proposition than purely naked 1000cc competitors. That impression is amplified by the instrument display that includes a proper fuel-gauge and clock as well as speedometer, rev counter and a trip data computer.
The power to be fun
If the brief was to create a bargain all-rounder with the power to be fun, then the CBF1000 is a total success. On good roads it might achieve Mr Nagashii's objective of offering the rider "an emotional experience".
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