THE MCN TEST
THE HOTTEST BIKES EVERY WEEK
early March tarmac. Braking for bends and corner entry are approached with more confidence, with lighter applications of the lever required. Some will criticise the soft rear shock, which compresses noticeably beneath you at a standstill. It’s fine for a gentle jaunt but could tie itself in knots when pushed hard. This could be dialled out using the manual adjusters, though.
Welcome to rev city
Honda claimed 109bhp when new, but the clean-revving four-pot feels more like a genuine 85-90 and delivers a fabulous screaming soundtrack above 10,000rpm. Tucked in behind a set of narrow, nicely set bars and with almost no power below 7000rpm, it encourages you to change up later and dine out on a fabulous spread of linear drive. So good in fact, that I find myself questioning what Honda have been up to for the past 20 years. The latest CBR650R fails to deliver that same grin-factor or soundtrack with a big handful. Thanks Euro5. It’s important you don’t get too carried away though, as the fourpiston front calipers lack the initial bite and precision of the Aprilia’s cornering ABS-clad radial Brembos. A fresh set of pads and lines would be a welcome improvement. Bolted to the motor is a crisp six-speed gearbox and you need to drop at least one cog for a clean, safe overtake. It’s brilliant fun but could become tiresome on the commute, with a slightly grabby clutch with non-adjustable lever also making U-turns a pain. That said, after hours of countryside fun and a brief A1 blast, the CBR delivered a respectable 44.7mpg, with higher figures achievable with less enthusiastic riding.
More in the middle
By contrast, the Aprilia serves up a much fatter midrange, meaning making progress feels comparatively effortless and overtakes can be carried out safely whilst cruising between 6000 and 7000rpm. It’s a less involving riding experience, but one modern riders will be more accustomed to. Nicely fuelled with no judders even at town speeds, regular riding at a similar pace to the CBR returns a more favourable 60mpg and 21 miles more range than the Honda, despite a three-litre-smaller tank. This ease of use is added to by standard issue cruise control, operated via the bulbous left switchgear. Although unsightly to look at, the system is a doddle to use, with gentle taps either or up or down providing accurate adjustments to your speed. When you do decide to bury the needle, the rumbling twin goes from an early Panigale thud to full RSV4-wannabe yowl, punctuated by pops from the quickshifter. Bellissima. For a standard Euro5friendly system, it sounds excellent and spurs you on to ride ever harder. It’s perfect for posing, too – with the burble at lower revs drawing admiring looks.
Tractable, engaging and less effort to ride fast, it makes total sense. Lighter on its feet and more comfortable, it takes up the mantle from the CBR as the everyman’s sportsbike and lays the foundations for a future class of usable paralleltwin race reps. Bring it on!