Honda CBR1000RR-R V Harley-davidson Livewire
The luck of the Bike of the Year quarter inal draw brings together the Honda CBR1000RR-R and Harley-davidson Livewire in one of the most bizarre motorcycle pairings ever seen. A track focused, super power sportsbike of extraordinary precision takes on an electric muscle bike, the irst serious high voltage offering from a mainstream manufacturer.
This isn’t about value for money, which is just as well because at £23,499 for the Honda and £28,995 for the Harley it’d be hard to justify either getting through to the next round. It’s not about performance either, though it’s hard to talk about the Honda without a mention of its astonishing potential; 140mph IN SECOND GEAR! Not about build quality, which would result in another rave for the Honda – from the precise fit of its bodywork to the oval exhaust headers, the new Fireblade is exquisitely put together.
This round is about practicality and usability, so only one thing really matters for the Harley-davidson – how far will it go on a single charge when being ridden out of town and in a ‘natural’ fashion? The answer? 66 miles, as measured by John Westlake in a fully fast charged to utterly flat test that almost saw him knocking on stranger’s doors to ask if he could borrow an extension lead. He made it home with 1% of battery charge left.
It was fun while it lasted though. The Livewire handles well, can hit 100mph and is really entertaining to ride. The weight that’s apparent when stationary vanishes on the move. And of course, if it’s not being asked to exceed city speeds then it does make sense. In the city it’s not just practical, it’s almost perfect. London town is now choked with 20mph limits, so the Livewire’s immaculate throttle response, no noise, no cooked legs at tra£c lights and realistic power usage and range are fine. It’s speed that eats the electricity.
But surely, in practicality terms Honda’s new Fireblade isn’t any better than the Harley. The CBR1000RR-R (I just like writing that out in full to see all those Rs) has a claimed 214bhp@ 14,500rpm and is designed to put Honda back in with a chance of winning in World Superbike racing. That doesn’t suggest that it’s the kind of machine on which you might nip down to the shops.
What’s it like? I ask Emma Franklin, Deputy Editor of Motorcycle News and club racer, whose bike this is. ‘Absolutely crazy,’ she responds.
‘I didn’t get it out of second gear for the first two weeks. On the road it’s insane, a pussy cat up to 6000rpm, and then a missile. On track it is pretty incredible.’
The Honda is arse up and rock hard, with a fast tickover that shifts to a manic snarl when the exhaust valve opens at 6000rpm and the world starts to go backwards. Talk about warp speed. Then the bike hits another bump and I feel the muscles in my lower back start to spasm. I’m not really the target market for this Honda and the B660 isn’t Silverstone or Shah Alam. You need to be small, fit, muscular and focused to ride it.
But its practicality is amazing, if you look at it from the right angle. Sophisticated electronics have made this into an astonishingly usable machine. A few years back this kind of performance could have won a Grand Prix, yet here’s a bike that is docile and calm, with perfect fuelling, a light clutch and smooth gearchange. Plus, eat your heart out
Harley-d, the 16.1-litre fuel tank means that there is sucient fuel for a 140-mile on the road range. Not great, but better than a Livewire. On this bike you can win the fast group at a trackday, and then nip down to the shops to buy a packet of Liquorice Allsorts, though there isn’t actually room to fit the whole packet under the seat (remember when Fireblade’s had a usefully sized cubbyhole under the pillion seat). Despite the jockey’s riding position and the racer’s suspension setup, you’d have to give the Honda the practicality prize in this pairing were it not for one thing. On the day that we were originally meant to be riding the two bikes, one of them was sidelined with an electrical problem. It wasn’t the Harley. To save weight Honda have fitted a Lithium Iron battery that’s about the size of a fag packet. Neat, except the bike’s tracker had drawn enough current, in just a few days, to flatten it, and we couldn’t get it started. And a bike you can’t start is definitely not practical.
‘Sophisticated electronics have made this into an astonishingly usable machine’