Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird

There's a growing list of motorcycles I've regretted selling over the years, and my second-generation Honda Blackbird is on it. It was a really easy machine to master and surprisingly comfortable, given its staggering performance. The current toy, the third generation, is out of the same mould.

This year, 2007, marks the tenth anniversary of the 'Bird which began life as a carbureted machine claiming horsepower numbers in the mid 160s. It was a nice enough thing, but had a disappointing flat spot in the midrange power delivery - something which was easily remedied with the fitment of a Dynojet kit.

The next machine, the first of the injected series, was the most powerful and had a number of subtle changes which made it the pick of the litter for all-out performance freaks. However it was soon trounced comprehensively by Suzuki's mighty Hayabusa, which had a bigger engine and more mumbo.

 Now we're working with the third-gen Blackbird, which claims around 150 horses, has a catalytic converter, taller windscreen and a very different dash. Gone is the relatively traditional twin analogue unit for a combined digital and analogue display with more features. We've also seen an effort to drop fuel consumption (which was already more than acceptable) and fit the company's anti-theft system.

REFINE ARCHITECTURE
The overall architecture of the CBR is pretty much standard fare for Japanese big-bores: a four-valve, four-pot engine, liquid-cooled, tied to a six-speed gearbox and wet clutch, with chain drive. Wrapped around that lot is a massive twin beam alloy frame, running fairly conventional suspension, plus triple discs with three-piston calipers and the current version of the company's linked braking system. The latter has been refined over the years to the point where it's very unobtrusive, but is still not the ideal choice for hard sports riding.

So there are no surprises in the architecture, but it's where Honda has taken the development that makes the machine work so well.

Starting is a choke-free affair and the in-house fuel injection immediately settles the powerplant into a smooth hum. I fact, the lack of vibration and utterly seamless response from the engine is the machine's hallmark. It's a near uncanny ride.

 The straight line performance is not as gob-smacking as a 'Busa, but it remains very, very, bloody fast with a predictable delivery. That, combined with a good clutch and light, positive, gearbox means you can hustle it along very effectively.

Suspension settings are on the comfortable side rather than sport harsh - pretty much what you'd expect from a sport tourer that has leaned more toward traveling rather than racing. The feedback from the road surface is quite good, and the control over dodgy road surfaces is reliable.

The brakes supply pretty good feel and the linked system assists in pulling the bike down from a straight line crash stop in short order. It doesn't have the fine feel of the current generation radial-mount four-spotters you'll find on the latest sport bikes, but works well enough for the road.

On the track, the Blackbird is a little less happy. It doesn't have the cornering clearance and sharpness of manners to do really well in this environment.

 Its most obvious competitor is Suzuki's Hayabusa and the two machines have their pros and cons. The Suzuki is more powerful and has conventional brakes, making for a slightly better (but still not great) track toy, while the Honda is more refined and offers a longer standard equipment list making it a strong proposition for the road.

The panniers on our demo were a Honda-branded accessory from Givi and worked well enough. They added a lot of width to the machine but were easy to use. With them on board, it makes an excellent solo tourer, or a fair two-up mount. You might want to limit the riding time to four or five hours a day with a passenger on board, as the legroom on the rear is not great. In any case there's no problem with fuel range - the 23 litre fuel tank combines with consumption of high teens per litre (or better).

Honda has made the decision to buy a Blackbird a hell of a lot easier by offering them at $15,990 on the road for the coming couple of months. To me that sounds like a hell of a lot of motorcycle for the money.