Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird

OVERALL VERDICT:
The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird is a useable, comfortable, tidy handling sports tourer but also a ballistic power-house that used to hold the record as the fastest production motorcycle. The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird is sensible and utterly insane in one nicely presented Honda package. One of the best all-round motorcycles out there. Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird rivals are plentiful but none match this proven motorcycle.

Engine:
The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird's in-line four is a conventional layout but it works well producing acceptable low down power, muscular midrange and a top end rush that gobbles up any straight in seconds. Twin balance shafts mean it’s so smooth it can be rigid mounted making the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird lighter and stiffer overall. Problems with the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird are almost non-existent even at huge mileages.

Ride and Handling:
Neutral and stable – but there’s no getting away from the fact the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird weighs 223kg. The latest sports bikes come in under 170kg so on tight roads the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird may get left behind a little. Front and rear brakes are linked – it’s an effective system that works well in the wet but experts may dislike it and overhauls are costly.

Equipment:
The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird was a range topper in its day, meaning it’s reasonably well spec’d up. Comfort’s pretty good although the bars have to be quite low due to the high top speed. Some Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird owners boost low speed comfort with bar risers, lifting them about an inch. Many Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird owners add a double bubble screen too for increased wind protection.

Quality and Reliability:
The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird's build quality is better than pretty much anything out there on two wheels. Some Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbirds get pressed into service as long distance, year round commuters and show few signs except tatty fork leg lowers. The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird's reliability is superb too. Cam chain tensioners and regulator rectifiers can fail – like almost every Honda four.

Value:
Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbirds hold their value extremely well – whether that’s good or bad depends how old a model you’re thinking of buying. More glamorous rivals like the Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki zx-12r fetch little more – the Kawasaki ZZR1200 is cheaper year for year.Older models can still be priced very high and newer ones represent better value.

Insurance:
Insurance group: 16

Model History:
1997: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird launched.1998: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird gets modified cooling system.1999: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird gets major re-vamp, including fuel injection, bigger fuel tank, HISS and more.2001: Catalytic converted added to Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird, new instrument panel, taller screen.
Other Versions
1997-99: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird had carbs, not fuel injection

Specifications:
Top speed: 176mph
1/4-mile acceleration :10.3 secs
Power:164bhp
Torque:88ftlb
Weight:223kg
Seat height:810mm
Fuel capacity:23 litres
Average fuel consumption:36mpg
Tank range :180 miles
Insurance group:16
Engine size:1137cc
Engine specification:16v in-line four, 6 gears
Frame:Aluminium beam
Front suspension adjustment:None
Rear suspension adjustment:Preload, rebound, compression
Front brakes:Twin 310mm discs
Rear brake:256mm disc
Front tyre size:120/60 x 17
Rear tyre size:180/55 x 17

DUCATI Desmocedici RR

overall:
There’s no other way to describe the Ducati Desmosedici RR than as a MotoGP bike with lights; it really is that close to the real thing. The 200bhp motorcycle is a replica of Ducati’s Desmosedici GP6 MotoGP machine, which Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau rode in the 2006 World Championship and features the same chassis layout, bodywork and ‘long bang’ 989cc V4 engine architecture. There has never been a road motorcycle like the Ducati Desmosedici RR and it’s so stiff, fast and focussed that it makes R1s seem soft and cuddly by comparison.

Engine:
Although devilishly powerful the Ducati Desmosedici’s V4 motor is far more docile and user-friendly than you’d imagine. It makes power smoothly from nothing all the way to 13,800rpm, although as the motor spins past 10,000rpm the power starts to get very intense. There’s bucketfuls of grunt on tap too, so much so that you can go a gear higher though corners and it’ll still pull hard. Like one of Ducati’s V-twin engines, the Desmosedici is deceptively fast, not like a screaming in-line-four superbike, which feels twice as fast as it’s really going.


Ride and Handling:
Unless you’re going to push the Ducati Desmosedici RR as hard as MotoGP rider can, you’re never going to get the best out of it. Such is the stiffness of the chassis that there’s very little feel from the Desmosedici RR even at fast racetrack speeds, although you get more feel as you start to push harder. On the road the Desmosedici is going to be a waste. Where a 1098 or R1 will flatter you with its user-friendly nature the Ducati is quick to tell you that you’re not good enough to ride it. It is the best handling road motorcycle ever built; you just need to be Casey Stoner to appreciate it.


Equipment:
The Ducati Desmosedici RR is built like a MotoGP bike so it’s dripping with exotic parts. The Desmodromic motor is packed with titanium, specially coated alloys and magnesium. The fairing, mudguard, heel guards, fairing bracket are all from carbon fibre and the exhaust heat shield is from a carbon/ceramic composite. The LCD display is the same as the GP7 MotoGP motorcycle and like the 1098 it comes with a datalogging facility. Marchesini wheels are forged magnesium and the rear is shod with a special 16-inch Bridgestone BT-01R tyre. The Brembo front brake set-up is the same as the wet set-up Ducati use in MotoGP and the front brake span adjuster is on the left handlebar for easy reach. The list goes on…

Quality and Reliability:
Like the MotoGP machine the Ducati Desmosedici RR is built to an exquisite level of quality; there’s simply nothing you can buy that comes close. Unlike the race bike the Desmosedici RR actually comes with a three-year warrantee and three-years free servicing, which is an astonishing feat from Ducati.


Value:
£40,000 is a lot of money for a motorcycle but the Ducati Desmosedici RR more than justifies its price tag; Ducati could sell it for a lot more and it would still be worth it. If you could imagine how much a car would cost that was this close to a racing machine? Probably millions, if it could ever happen, which it never would or could. Even if the Desmosedici didn’t run, the way it’s built alone would justify its price tag; the fact that it’s faster and better handling than any production sports bike ever built makes it the deal of the century.


Insurance:
Insurance group: 17

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Model History:
2007: Ducati Desmosedici RR launched.


Other Versions:
None.

Specifications :
Top speed 190mph
1/4-mile acceleration secs
Power 200bhp
Torque 85ftlb
Weight 171kg
Seat height mm
Fuel capacity 14.1 litres
Average fuel consumption 33mpg
Tank range 120 miles
Insurance group 17
Engine size 989cc
Engine specification 16-valve, V4, 6 gears
Frame Steel trellis
Front suspension adjustment Fully adjustable
Rear suspension adjustment Fully adjustable
Front brakes 2 x 330mm discs
Rear brake 240mm disc
Front tyre size 120/70 x 17 in
Rear tyre size 200/55 x 16 in