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Posted by Peter Jones
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Sunday, 20 September 1998 |
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Page 3 of 4
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| We’re guessing that the example of the new aluminum composite cylinder is the one on the right. We very much appreciate the technology but it’s hard to get excited over a picture of metal tubes. But it’s a big world and we figured that some of you might be enraptured by this picture so here it is. |
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The cylinder sleeves are an all-new aluminum composite that is high pressure formed. The product is a ceramic and graphite impregnated sintered aluminum that is much lighter than steel while also providing better wear resistance heat dissipation. It truly is a material world. Sliding with the cylinders are pistons that have a LUB-Coat, solid lubricant coating on their skirts, which also minimizes friction. Each opposing V-pairing of pistons has their rod big ends located at 360 degrees from each other, which is an engineer’s way of saying that they’re located on the same journal. As you might be aware, in any discussion of a circle, 360 degrees is very similar to 0 degrees. It’s sort of like the difference between noon and 12 pm. If this confuses you just go back and take a look at the picture of the crankshaft and count the rod journals. They’re the ones located like bicycle pedals from the shaft’s center.
The efi that Honda uses on the Interceptor has 36 mm throttle bodies into which the fuel is sprayed by means of injectors that are smaller than those now used on Honda’s RC45. The system is controlled by dual, three dimensional mapping that reads intake air temperature, intake manifold pressure, ambient air pressure, camshaft speed, throttle position, crankshaft speed, and coolant temperature. The system, though, isn’t able to compensate for cold starting. Triumph appears to be ahead of most every other motorcycle manufacturer on that one. Them and every carmaker, that is. How a bike can be this good, this trendsetting, and this polished of a finished product yet have a throwback like a cold starting lever, I’m not sure. But all and all, it’s a small complaint.
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The Interceptor’s frame is also completely new and just as high-tech as the changes to the bike’s engine. The frame is still a triple-box-section design but it is about a third taller than the previous VFR for half of its length. Gone are the swingarm mounting plates because the swingarm is now mounted directly to the engine like on Honda’s ’97 VTR and Ducati’s 916 and 748 models. This was done in part to keep the bike’s wheelbase at a desired length while also reducing weight and isolating the swingarm from the frame. Honda refers to this as a "pivotless" design and claims that it helps the bike absorb bumps better while cornering. The front of the frame holds the steering head but the rear of it now merely holds the rear of the engine and provides a mounting place for the unsprung end of the shock. "Merely" is probably not the correct word. |
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The swingarm is of course the signature VFR single-sided unit made out of cast aluminum. The shock has a notched-collar type pre-load adjuster and features rebound damping. Up front, the forks have been moved apart an extra 12 mm to increase torsional rigidity. They too have pre-load adjusters, and each end of the machine provides an equal 4.7 inches of suspension travel. The wheels have been lightened from the previous model reducing unsprung weight and the rear wheel is now a half inch wider, measuring out to 5.5 inches.
The Interceptor now sports Honda’s third generation linked braking system and it is by far the best yet. Linked braking should provide an advantage yet not be intrusive to those who use brakes properly. This system does just that. Applying the brakes on either end of the machine will provide braking to the other end but only to a reduced limit. Using the rear brake provides braking to two of the rear caliper’s three pistons and to one of each of the front twin caliper’s three pistons. The linked braking to the front is controlled by a delay valve that gives the rider a feel of rear braking over front braking when using the foot lever.
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The front left caliper is mounted on a pivoting bracket that engages the rear brake. This allows the system to increase rear braking as front braking is increased while maintaining two independent hydraulic systems. |
When the front brake lever is applied, two of the front rotors’ three pistons are actuated and the force of that braking against the left caliper mount exerts pressure against a secondary master cylinder that engages one of the rear brake caliper’s pistons. Although it has been reported elsewhere that the rear brake doesn’t engage while doing a burnout, that is not entirely correct, although it is true that it’s still possible to do burnouts. It just takes a little practice. The rear brake is only actuated by the front brake lever if the front wheel is trying to rotate. In other words, no matter how hard you squeeze the front brake lever while you are standing still you cannot apply any braking to the rear. But as soon as the rear tire tries to push the bike forward, the rear brake engages. So, to do a burnout the rider must dump the clutch. That’s what should be done anyway, regardless of on what bike you’re misbehaving. |
The increased horsepower is quickly apparent once the Interceptor is ridden. And since the engine is a bigger bore than the old unit the increase in power is felt everywhere along the rev range. The engine just barrels through the revs from low to high in one nice sweep of increasing acceleration. No stumble down low, no peak up high, no glitch in the middle; just a sweet curve of power building on itself from low to high. And oh, what a nice sound the engine makes in the higher rpms singing that song known only to it and the RC45. Sure it sings it a bit softer than its brother does but it still knows the tune. Every owner has the option to turn up the volume. |
On curvy roads the Interceptor is just as much in its element as any 750 sportbike. Unless they hand out trophies in your neighborhood, this bike can keep up with all of the hard-edged machines everywhere except in the tighter turns and under extremely hard braking. But even in those situations, you have to ride with mad men to know the Interceptor’s limits. Never once did I miss having a more extreme riding position, and once the bike returns to the city or the expressway, its more upright riding stance is well appreciated. Maybe I’m getting old . . . Nah. |
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The linked braking is near perfect and I’m betting that most riders will be hard pressed to notice the system exists even if they’re hard pressing on the brakes. I have to admit that we avoided testing it on a steep grade down a dirt road, but this is a streetbike after all. The brakes were just plain great and the bike can be trail-braked into turns with complete confidence. Actually, because of the linked braking the bike can be slowed down hard with more confidence because the trick brake system better balances the attitude of the machine. All-out sportbikes only have a bit more hard braking certainty because of lighter machine weight and broader suspension setting possibilities. |
| Honda built the Interceptor to be a real-world sportbike, and its street-oriented characteristics rob nothing from street riders. Sure it’s cool to have a road-going version of the latest roadracing weapon but it might be smarter to have a road-going version of a great road bike. Just a thought. The Interceptor doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t and it doesn’t require the rider to be anything he/she isn’t. This thing will hang with pretty much any 750 in the canyons and will leave most of them behind around town or on the open road. Sure it has an extra 31 ccs but who’s counting? There are no tech rules for street riding. |
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