Bare naked thrust

‘Inject as much character as possible,’ said the Honda big-wigs when they set about imagining 2018’s CB1000R. Much tweaking and clever engineering later and their double espresso café racer is ready to ride…

ATonsomde NDALUSIA, HOME of Spain’s most beautiful and bendy roads. Miles and miles of corners. Almost perfect riding terrain. Unless you’re on the hunt for a long straight. I finally find one: white lines heading, with at least a quarter-mile laser precision, toward the hills. It’s the first straight line opportunity I’ve had in 20 minutes and I snick the bike into second gear – in first the thing would wheelie on full throttle. Prep the electronics by tapping into Sport mode – traction control level one, full power – check my 20mph starting speed on the LCD dash, and whack open the throttle. The CB1000R springs forward, snapping the chain taut in an instant and pulling the weight back into the soft-ish rear shock. 30mph is hit a moment later. This feels good: rich, sledgehammer thrust. But the throttle’s still fully open. We’re accelerating, but the neck-tensing edge has left the – oh wait it’s back. From 6000 to 8000rpm, (40-70mph in second) the thing just takes off. Now the sense of speed is blurring my appreciation of thrust, but the CB1000R adds a third leg to its power curve. It hits peak 141bhp at 10,500rpm. There’s just time to notice the intake whine from sculpted airbox vents before the engine suggests third gear with a polite rounding off of power. Third it is, but I close the throttle: we’re doing 100mph and the straight’s fast coming to an end.

So that’s three different types of thrust all in the same power curve. Low-down opportunistic shove, a second-stage burn, and then the power-filled top end. In between are what you could either call holes in the power band, or dips for contrast. Inline fours aren’t perceived as characterful. Where’s the grumbling V-twin exhaust note or the pop-pop vibes of a single? But forget flat torque curves, this triple hit of thrust feels like character to me. It’s the reverse of Ducati’s Multistrada 1260, which irons out the lumpiness of the 1200’s curve and delivers a stronger but less exciting ride. Forget the ten-year-old CB1000R with its soft power and flat torque. The new one’s been engineered for character. Honda have even given a name to the midrange splurge. They’re calling it a ‘ramp of torque’ which they’ve engineered in by meddling with the 2006 Fireblade engine which sits beneath the steel single-backbone frame. Wider 44mm throttle bodies allow a faster and smoother flow of mixture and a redesigned airbox gives a smoother flow of air. There’s a simpler and lighter 4-2 exhaust system (even with the massive silencer), increased intake and exhaust valve lift, and the compression ratio has gone from 11.2:1 to 11.6:1. Fuelling with these changes would be way too aggressive without clever ECU control, so Honda have softened it with a rideby-wire throttle. I’m braking hard at the end of the straight, Tokico four-pots clamping down on 310mm front discs. There’s not much initial bite, but pull harder at the lever to reveal Abs-bothering power. The front end feels great with its fully-adjustable fork, and I swoop into the next curve. I’ve tapped the riding mode into User, which I’ve altered for low engine braking. This changes how much the throttle butterflies close on a shut throttle – stick to low and the butterflies remain partly open, allowing the engine to suck in air. Click up to high, and the butterflies close completely, causing more of a vacuum effect and slowing the engine down quicker. This has a knock-on effect for small throttle openings though: high engine braking

‘The CB1000R springs forward, snapping the chain taut in an instant and pulling the weight back into the soft-ish rear shock’