An otherworldly experience

It's good to have power, but is there any point when you're not allowed to use it?

Sometimes this job is a double-edged sword. I get to ride the country's fastest motorbikes – on roads with a 100kmh speed limit. Talk about frustration.

On the bright side, I'm no two-wheeled Stig. I'm the average rider sampling life on the wild side, just as I suspect most buyers are. So if your shelves are covered with racing trophies and you've got the production racing crown in your sights, read something else. But if you're an ordinary Jack or Jill and harbour a secret yearning for a sports bike, read on.

When I sampled Honda's CBR600ABS, I was impressed. ABS brakes were the icing on a cake that delivered that extra confidence when hauling on the anchors.

Otherwise, it was light and powerful; immensely quick, yet flexible enough to negotiate everyday conditions. And yet, these bikes are all about power and speed. And however quick the 600, there is its 1000cc sibling in the wings – and it also gets ABS. It must be better, surely?

Stint one revealed nothing about the CBR1000RR except how unsuited it is to real-world winter roads. Steady rain meant too-frequent wheelspin and an extremely careful riding style.

This bike isn't all mouth and no trousers. It's a serious machine, aimed at racing and the sort of high-speed glamour that translates to real-world sales.

But let's get real here. Most buyers will be just like me, and I'm not a racer in anything but my dreams. I'll never reach this CBR's performance envelope. The question is, will I always be so aware how far I am from its edge, that riding it stops being fun? Is this bike's potential so far above our open-road reality that it's pointless – and the smaller 600 makes more sense?

All that power was certainly a double-edged sword. Blip the throttle, then twist it full on, feeling the front lift as you crouch and point at the horizon, hedges blurring, hitting that seam of torque, the 112Nm peak arriving at 8500rpm as you whip past 100kmh, the engine howling like a manic buzzsaw – 110, 120, 130, scorching through 140, through the 138kW power peak at 12,000rpm and still hauling as you hit 150kmh at 12,500rpm. In first gear.

This is not a bike for the real world, not if you want to keep your licence. Mind you, it handles well enough – the suspension is impressively effective on the road. But at 100kmh in second, it's on 6750rpm and nowhere near its torque peak. In third, it's virtually idling at 5500. It's not built to idle.

That this engine is nevertheless flexible enough to cruise at 100kmh and 4100rpm, and to manage around-town speeds, too, is impressive. But it's wasted there.

That said, it's on real-world roads that you're most thankful for the anti-lock brakes. This CBR1000RR Fireblade is the world's first ABS-equipped superbike, and Honda has worked hard to ensure it feels just the same as a standard Blade. The system stays in the background until things go badly awry – as inevitably they will with this much power – when the "brake-by-wire" cuts in.

You'd expect that to corrupt the ride experience, but there's none of the lever-pulsing of other systems – just smooth, even braking pressure with some rear brake applied to assist stability. That's an immense confidence booster during winter riding.

Honda says ABS is normally applied to road bikes, when extreme braking is unusual and lever-pulsing isn't a problem. But on a super sportsbike, the anchors get a lot of punishment, and most of the braking is done near the limit. So the ABS has to wait in the wings until it's almost too late, then act smoothly to avoid distracting the rider or unsettling the bike, and be able to cope with the extreme forward pitching common under very heavy braking.

Honda's set-up aims to reduce rear-wheel lift to improve control – without entirely eliminating front-end pitch, which enhances the braking effect of the front wheel.

I'm not talented enough to tell you whether I'd brake quicker with or without ABS, quite apart from the lack of a racetrack on which to test it. I expect the ABS would well outperform me, but its presence did mean I could ride this Blade harder and faster than I normally would on the road, knowing I could haul up safely, even when winter conditions least suit a short-wheelbase, sharply-focused and insanely powerful production racer.

ABS isn't standard on these machines. After all, it does add 11kg in weight, and serious racers would prefer to trust their own reactions. Meanwhile, road riders won't notice the weight difference; it may compromise outright speed and acceleration, but both are so far beyond real-world requirements that there's plenty in reserve.

Mind you, those road riders will have to hurry, for only 12 ABS-equipped CBR100RRA9s are available, each at a $2500 premium over the standard machine to take the total to $29,450. Honda is confident these bikes will sell, though they're otherwise the same as last year's machines. The engine's the same, as is the four-piece cast aluminium frame, the adjustable suspension, the low-slung exhaust and the HESD steering damper to improve stability.

There's only one difference other than the ABS – the rear indicators are more oval in shape.

This CBR1000RR battles in rare air where outright speed and acceleration matter, and the newest bike is often seen as the one to have. Honda is sure that ABS is enough to give it the high ground, if not with racers, then in the real world.

That's where you and I ride; where we will discover just how far beyond us this bike's performance is; and just how important it is to be able to stop no matter the conditions, no matter the speed.

Impressive. Mind you, if it was my money, I'd still be tempted by the 600, though its more compact dimensions were a tad less comfortable for everyday rides. No, it's not as fast as the 1000. But when peak power isn't available in first gear without breaking the law, you'll only be bothered by that perceived lack of speed come around-the-barbecue boasting time, not out on the road.

- © Fairfax NZ News