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2000 Honda Blackbird 1100XX

Thursday, 24 August 2000

Page 3 of 3

Riding Big Bird

I can't join the damning with faint praise that the Honda CBRXX has been getting in some publications, those who exclaim that in comparison to the Suzuki Hayabusa the CBRXX is a "gentleman's" bike, whatever the hell that means. I guess it's supposed to imply that only 3rd-class, low-life, trailer-trash who'd shove women to the deck in a rush to the lifeboats would ride a Hayabusa. If all-out top speed and being the fastest bike on the planet is the sole measure of the bikes in the class of the CBRXX then, as you well know by now, the Suzuki Hayabusa has the numbers. But if your interests include just plain really fast, and/or you have a Honda leaning, and/or if you're interested in a bike with a swell personality all of its own, then the XX is unashamedly still worthy of consideration.

All of the little changes to the new XX listed above address every complaint of the previous model with success. As I mentioned, I never rode the earlier bike but I'd heard the complaints so I knew the potential possibilities of the XX's weaknesses, such as the linked braking and the harshness on the expressway. The new linked braking feels much like that of the new Interceptor and gone is any tendency for the rear to lock in street riding conditions. Because the XX is a heavier bike than the VFR, the linked braking is appreciated even more. It gives the bike a balanced attitude when entering a corner under hard braking because both ends are working together to slow the bike down. On a racetrack, though, the system becomes unbalanced and the rear locks. But this isn't a race bike.

Although the XX is meant to be a sport touring machine for sweeping roads rather than tight roads, we rode it on both. On roads where this Blackbird can stretch its legs, it's silly how it loves to run at speeds above 150 mph without complaint or concern. At that speed, the bike is just cruising. On the tight roads, it eats up short straights rather quickly and because of the XX's size it needs to be slowed down for the turns much more than a smaller sportbike. This is especially noticeable because it gets to those turns at a rate of speed well above that of those smaller sportbikes. Because of that, riding the XX on tight roads requires planning.

The XX has actual wind protection and the new windscreen also has a groovy coating that changes color depending on the angle of lighting and viewing. On the Hayabusa the wind protection is nil unless the rider is in a full-race tuck. And the XX has all the niceties of a sport touring machine. A clock, a comfortable seat, a non-crippling riding position, and the ability to carry two in comfort at speeds that should otherwise be uncomfortable.

When we tested the top speed of the XX, we were a bit surprised that we were unable to break 180 mph. We made about five runs on a windless day from over a two-mile distance but the best we managed was 178.5 mph. Honda told us that the improvements to the new XX were designed to make the bike better rounded for the street and not to make it faster, but we didn't take that statement to heart. Maybe the XX just couldn't find enough air in the high desert on that day. We didn't give up until we saw that the bike's speed hit a wall that it just could pierce for about the last half mile of the run to the gun.

In considering the virtues of the XX, if it ever was a great bike, it's clearly a better one now. Is that good enough? In the end, that's for the buyer to decide, but you know that. In this day, when great performance can be third-rate because the manufacturers keep producing better, greater, lighter, faster, motorcycles, one can find himself in dizzying confusion when trying to make a bike purchase. The losers in any bike comparisons today are generally wonderful machines that are a million years ahead of any two-year-old motorcycle. I'm not making excuses for the XX, I'm just trying to put its evaluation into perspective. The Hayabusa is more of a sportbike and has the performance numbers over the XX. But that doesn't make the XX slow. Or does it? The XX still has real speed, and is better suited for long haul touring. We've made our call; what's important to you?

Peter Jones

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