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Honda |
CBR929RR |
First Ride |
On Tuesday, January 25, journalists were given the first opportunity to ride Honda's all-new CBR929RR, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The only thing that the new 929 has in common with Honda's previous 900 is that they're each directed at the same market. And they're each Honda products.
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The 929 came from a clean sheet of paper, and the savings in weight and increases in performance are all high-tech. Honda claims a 22% increase in horsepower, an 18-pound decrease in weight, and a 500 increase in rpms to 11,500. From how the air is managed on the intake side, to how the mixture is controlled and burned, to how the exhaust is managed is all completely different from the old 900. |
| The most stunning thing about the new 929's performance is that, since it is all high tech, there is much room remaining for knowledgeable owners to modify the bike for even more performance. Doug Toland, former world endurance champion and Honda product development guy, stressed how the 929 is tuned to run on regular fuel! And, the California model shares all engine components, cam timing, and brain of the bike that guys in all the other commonwealths get. The only differences are in the exhaust system and the California bike is only down one measly little horsepower from the 49 State version. |
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So how does it ride? Pretty much like a 600 with a sinful amount of power. It is very doubtful that this bike will finish third in any shootouts with the other bikes in its class. First? If we knew that now, we wouldn't have to compare bikes. All we're saying is that the new CBR929RR is very certainly a contender for the top place. |
| The 929 handles so well because it is not only light but the weight has been "mass-centralized" as Honda put it. This means that the weight of the bike is as tight to its core as possible, reducing pendulum effects. Weight away from a bike's center takes more effort to put into motion. And the bike feels and looks small. |
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Honda added a valve to the exhaust system that essentially gives the 929 a variably-placed collector so that the bike has the best combination for all rev ranges. At low revs, all two pipes dump into the other two; from 3,000 to 7,000 rpms, the flow is past the valve and to the collectors; and, at above 7,000 rpms, the flow is through the first collector and straight through all four pipes. Oh yeah, the pipe and the collector valve are each made out of Titanium. |
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