RIDEFAST SEPTEMBER

Our lot felt that it would have been cool if
Honda had left the standard gearing on
the bike. They geared it really short for
Redstars collection of curves. We’ll have
to convince them to put the bike back to
standard so that we can go and play on
the road some time…
Our Shado waxes Lyrical on the bikes
attributes:
Dear mortals,
The time has come to recount an
epiphany that Mr Honda is smiling down
upon, from the lofty heights of racing
heaven.
I write today, regarding an encounter I
was privileged enough to savour, albeit
for only around 32km, around a closed
circuit, namely; Redstar Raceway, in
Delmas, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Allow me to bring your attention to
the 2020 Year Model SC88 Honda
CBR1000RR-R. I can’t outright begin by
bringing the feel and character of this
epic machine to words as yet, without
first delving into some of the changes that
have been made to the machine. In fact,
I would be spewing untruth if I told you
that there are ‘changes’ to the outgoing
CBR1000RR, the SC78.
Bluntly, there are no changes
made to the old machine, as the SC88
is a completely new design from the
inside of the tyres upwards. That is all.
It appears in two formats, the RR-R and
the RR-R SP. The SP has full Ohlins
electronic suspension and Brembo
clamps, while the RR-R employs the use
of the Nissin callipers and the more-thanadequate
Showa shocks, front and rear.
We all know and love the Blade, in any of
its generational guises. And I believe we
would be hard-pressed to fault the rich
racing and design heritage the machine
boasts since its inception in 1992.
The philosophy of the machine design
was always hinting at
superior control, rideability and
reliability. To push the Blade up a
notch, the design team headed by
Mr Yuzuru Ishikawa, (ultimately also
involved in the development and
production of ALL of the -4stroke
MOTOGP machinery) had a task of
taking the market to task and birthing
a motorcycle that would address the
need to provide a machine that would
satisfy the far greater market demand
for people to take their superbikes to
the race tracks and enjoy a machine
that spews racing heritage and
adherence to design excellence.
Noting also that the 2020YM CBR
1000RR-R SP has already attained the
highly coveted 2020 Red Dot Design
award, Ishikawa San and his team
has produced a unit that will no doubt
check most, if not all of the boxes, for
the track day enthusiast and extremist.
Hands down.
Attention to bring you over 214Hp of
pure, unadulterated Honda revolutions
has been made possible by more than
the following points I will attempt to list as
follows:
The piston bore has been increased
from 76mm to 81mm while the stroke
has been decreased from 55.1mm to
48.5mm. This brings the need for the
engine revolutions to be up in the top
third, in “angryville”, to pull your cheeks
off of your face.
My immediate translation of this lot,
through the bars is that it’s akin to the
CBR600RR, that makes its power above
the 9000RPM, all the way until almost
16000rpm, if you’ve got the kahoonies to
reach the limiter…
The materials used on the pistons and
rods are exactly the same types used
in the MOTOGP RC213V. Titanium
connecting rods, forged aluminium
pistons and nickel phosphorous coating
on the piston skirts to reduce friction.
This, people, is a REAL Honda. It revs
to kingdom come. Changes to the valve
train and lifting mechanisms, using
followers also reduce internal friction.
Camshafts have received the special
DLC coating to reduce friction too. There
is a new slip-assist clutch deployed with
ten slightly smaller in diameter plates for
less internal inertia. The starter motor
has even been moved to minimise
weight on the internal gears! Even a
complete redesign of the fuel injection
mechanisms, geometry and controls has
been optimised to provide peak power.
All the attention to the small details have
been addressed with the mind to give
maximum power at the top of the rev
range, like one would expect from any
thoroughbred racing machine.
We have seen the Akrapovic OEM
Euro5 homologated Silencer on
side of the machine, moving away
from the under-slung units on the
previous three generations. The
outgoing units had the under-slung
unit to improve on what Honda calls
‘mass centralisation’. The new unit is
completely crafted from Titanium, so
it weighs almost nothing. In the lower
rpm, there is a valve in the exhaust
that when closed, provides improved
back pressure and, under certain
conditions; it opens up to release the
muffled decibels we have all come
to love from an Akrapovic exhaust
system. It sings the song of both
fight and flight, easily one of the best
sounding Blades there has been.
The chassis, oh my…
Being a completely new design, it has
some marked features worth noting.
The total width from bar end to bar end
has increased by 25mm, bring it in to
745mm, and those extra few millimetres
of bar length assist in a silky smooth
steering experience. The total length
of the outgoing machine has been
increased by only 35mm, to 2100m. That
being said, the wheelbase of the new
unit is around 50mm longer than the
2019 model. Longer wheelbase makes
for more high speed stability and makes
your cornering experience a little more
confidence-inspiring than you’d expect
from a machine with a telephone-numbersequence
price tag.
The whole bike is now 15mm (read
115mm ground clearance) closer to the
ground, so I would expect that one would
need to be cautious of our speed-bumphappy
metros. To further assist with the
increased power and rev-happy motor,
the caster angle is now at 24 degrees
and the trail figure rests at a comfortable
102mm for added stability and not so
slap-happy front end. I’m only 65kg in
the shade and never did I once feel
intimidated by the characteristics of the
machine’s handling and responsiveness.
It’s too easy to ride, in fact.
One noticeable item on the list of
changes is that the turning circle has
increased, and you might find yourself
doing a few ‘point-turns’ if you park in
the wrong spot. Remembering that this
ride was at a closed circuit, there wasn’t
much time to move around the pits or
through traffic to really get a feel for tight
space maneuverability. It felt good on
the idle and quite easy to move around,
and I didn’t feel that it was in any way to
be a challenge. The rear shock now also
mounts to the back of the motor and has
been revised to save weight.
Now, the binary factor on the machine
is something else, the ride management
package is phenomenal and again,
the tech trickles down from the HRC
racing pedigree. The interface is simple
enough to use, and to my finding,
was even a little easier than the Africa
Twin interface. Having said that, I urge
everyone to RTFM (read the manual)
before you just jump on and ride because
there are so many different degrees of
settings and control to customise the
experience for the road or track you are
going to cut up… Colloquialisms such a
wheelie control, ABS, traction control and
quick shifter settings are all available.
There is even a launch control and
different degrees of steering damping are
available, as the new unit is fully focused
at being a racing machine, and, as such,
it wants to be ridden in a focussed and
controlled racing style for best results.
I would say that the best way to gain
the full experience from the IMU and
the hardware is to get your pen and
notebook, go to a track and play with
the track settings. Then, take it to Sabie
and make notes with the road settings,
find your happy place and save them for
future (ab)use.
It is my humble opinion that the
aesthetics receive special mention. They
are a world apart from where the Blades
in history have been. The thought behind
the class-leading drag coefficient of the
Blade has given rise to the employment
of MOTO GP-derived winglets
incorporated into the side fairings. This
might not look like much, but it is said to
improve down-force at speed and I just
think it looks like the mutt’s nuts. Styling
is on queue with the HID headlights, the
massive RAM-air duct that now goes
through the steering stock, much like
the CBR600RR, and the ability to carry
a pillion, which the outgoing SP model
didn’t.
Ergonomically, the bike wants you to sit
in the racing posture, and comfortably
seats my 65kg, and 1.76m. Doing a
back-to-back ride with the 2019 model
and then straight onto the 2020, I found
that the 2020 model feels more like
you’re sitting IN the bike as opposed to
on top of it. Having said that, maybe it
will be possible to do a fuel economy
test and a bit of a ‘street-test’ to offer
a better opinion than only doing a