Hi, this is Kenny Sagawa, I’m a motorcycle journalist.
The motorcycle I have a test ride this time is new model of CB1000R of Honda.
It is said that this motorcycle is Honda’s flagship motorcycle of the new era.
As you can see, everything has changed completely.
The minute I straddle and start the engine of this motorcycle, I can tell how good it is.
Fist, the engine is good.
Engine speed increases smoothly and I can hear nice deep sound.
This engine has made by sticking to the exhaust sound as well.
By making the muffler into a closed structure, it sounds like a mixes treble and low frequencies.
The sounds is mellow and deep.
Now I open the throttle a bit.
It is very light, because the same engine is installed as CBR1000RR’s.
Although this is the engine for CBR one generation ago, since it is for super sports, the engine speed increases smoothly.
It is DOHC in-line 4 cylinder 4 valve engine.
The brow-up behaviour of the engine is just like super sports.
However, the concept of this motorcycle is a road sports and a road star for adults.
So, this motorcycle is mainly for street.
The concept of this motorcycle is to enjoy sporty riding on a street.
The engine is tuned to closer to low and medium speed.
Although the LCD meter is very compact, but the numbers on the speedometer are large and easy to see.
The shift indicator and eco indicator are installed as well.
You can see the blue lamp on the indicator when you are keeping in “Eco” riding.
Furthermore, when you are keeping in “Eco” riding, the lamp will be changed from blue to green.
A exhaust make a sound like groaning noise at about 2000 rpm, and I like it.
It is a goodness of its own in-line 4-cylinder engine.
It feels mellow and wild.
I think that the people who like in-line four-cylinder engines will definitely love it.
The noise of the engine is very quiet and only small vibration.
It is not jerky at all.
Now I am riding a mountain pass with 3 rd gear.
Although rain has already stopped, I am driving in “rain mode”.
Let’s move the gear into 1st to raise the rpm of this engine up.
There are 4 riding modes.
The riding modes are Rain, Standard, Sports, and User mode.
In “User mode”, you can set the traction control, output specifications.
In “Rain mode”, it is easy to ride even on wet roads.
Even if I open the throttle suddenly, it speeds up gently.
I feel secure with this mode a lot.
It is not jerky at all.
The engine brake works well in “Rain mode”.
Even just the engine brake will slow down steadily.
Shift shock is also very few.
Since the shifter is installed, you can change the gear up without clutch.
Now it is in 6th gear, I can change the gear in an very short time.
Add on that, the down shifter is also installed.
In other words, you don’t need to touch clutch once you start riding.
The handle ability is very light.
And, I feel less friction.
I feel like rolling resistance is less.
I feel that the motorcycle runs very smooth and rolling cleanly on the road surface.
Steering resistance is very low, and neutral and freely handling ability.
Even if there is a mud on the road, I can feel secure since traction control and ABS are installed.
I will apply the brake firmly for the next corner.
It was about the full braking force.
I applied a hard brake that would normally slip, but this 2 channel ABS worked firmly.
I can also cut back very lightly at the corner.
I can’t believe it is 1000cc.
Lightness can be huge advantage for motorcycles.
You can take the line freely.
In case of heavyweight big bike, it seems that you can only take one line, but this bike is different.
It is easy to take the line in or out.
From the viewpoint of safety, I think that the danger avoidance performance is high.
It is a modern motorcycle.
I used to ride a big naked such as CB1300, which had no electronic control before.
I feel the evolution of Honda’s technology in it very much.
This motorcycle is the first series of the flagship models of the new series.
It’s superior to former models in terms of everything such as riding comfort, handling ability, smoothness, power feeling, and directness.
This is the latest bike of the nowadays.
I don’t feel something is wrong with this motorcycle.
In most cases, it is difficult to grab the characteristics of the motorcycle riding for the first time, but I can handle this CB1000R at once.
I would like to switch modes from here.
Let’s switch modes now.
I can switch a mode easily even while riding.
Now it has changed to “Standard” mode.
The intervention of traction control gets slower, and the engine characteristics become sharper.
I feel that the engine brake has not changed so much.
Obviously it became powerful.
The beginning of when opening up the throttle is different.
I feel that the sound is getting a bit bigger.
Compared to rain mode, I feel a powerful feeling like a big-bike high performance and solid brake performance.
I can feel secure because of ABS.
In “Standard” mode, sharpness comes out.
This is what CB1000R should be.
Next, I tried “Sports” mode.
It is powerful, and throttle response is also quick.
The sound of engine has also changed to more powerful sound.
Unlike rain mode, the sounds of exhaust and engine become a wild .
In sports mode, the response of the engine becomes sharp.
On a wet road, what if you ride this motorcycle with a half-hearted feeling, you will not be able to keep up with the way it moves. You need concentration.
It will go forward at once because its weight is light.
On these narrow roads I can not use full power of this motorcycle.
I can’t ride by using all the potential of this motorcycle in here.
But, I’m happy just in riding slowly.
It feels like I’m playing with sound.
Since the riding position is a bit forward posture, it is just right to enjoy on the street.
Cutting the handle is easy. Extremely smooth maneuverability.
I can ride it well.
Let’s ride on.
The seat height is 830mm.
Since a mono backbone frame makes this motorcycle slim down, I can touch the ground easily with my feet.
You can keep riding in a good position.
The position is a forward-bent posture a bit.
The specification is just for riding in sporty style on the streets.
To wrap it up about this motorcycle,
I think that it is a completely different model from traditional CB series such as CB 1300, CB 1100.
First of all, design is different.
At the beginning, I felt that it got a shape that I had never seen before,
Then I gradually began to feel a sense of contemporary coolness for this motorcycle during riding it all day long.
Eventually I felt that it looked very cool.
The compact and high performance CBR1000RR engine is installed on the unique flame.
Also, the suspension does not purposely adopt the link formula, so that heavy parts can be gathered around the middle of its body.
I felt that the design philosophy in various aspects is new and it is a new era motorcycle different from the CB series so far.
