SuperBike Magazine September 2020

40 SuperBike
the quick shift up and down
and yes you’d need to swot
up the handbook as there is
a myriad of settings, but the
revvy engine was no problem. I
was expecting the over square
engine to be more of a hurdle,
but it was not. Did I mention
it loves to scream and when it
does it’s like a rocket, I can’t
wait for a group top end test,
when last have we ever had a
Honda winner in that?
Noddy was quite
impressed with
the Honda being
the strongest
stock superbike
he has ever
tested!
CBR RR-R SP
Second-generation
semi-active Öhlins Electronic
Control (S-EC) featured on the
RR-R SP uses a 43mm Öhlins
NPX fork. Its length also offers
greater freedom for geometry
changes. The rear shock is an
Öhlins TTX36 Smart-EC unit.
In conjunction with the
hardware upgrade, the Öhlins
Objective Based Tuning interface
(OBTi) now offers finer
suspension adjustment front
and rear; both can be set independently
from the default settings
and 3 individual modes
can be set and stored allowing
the rider to configure multiple
settings for a track, and switch
instantly while riding.
New Brembo Stylema
four-piston radial-mount brake
calipers are operated by a
Brembo master cylinder and
brake lever. The rear brake
caliper is the same Brembo
unit used by the RC213V-S.
Honda’s engineers leaned heavy
on trickle-down tech from the
MotoGP RCV machines, much of
that put to use in the new powerplant.
Combustion efficiency and
reduced friction were key design
goals for the over-square 999cc
inline-four. It’s also no coincidence
the 81mm bore and 48.5mm
stroke are identical to those of the
RCV213V-S—and radically different
from the 76mm x 55mm cylinder
dimensions of the previous engine.