My review of the CBR900YY 2000 (CBR929 in USA) published in October 2010 on ReviewCentre.com
I was not a sportsbike fan and had never considered one before getting the 2000 model Blade - the 929cc first fuel-injected Fireblade. The Yamaha R1 was better for outright sports bike fans, but the new injected Blade sold in droves as it was considered easier to ride and parallel imports meant you could have a new one for five grand.
The new injection was not smooth on trailing throttle and needed a delicate touch when you wound on coming out of bends as the power switched on.
Fans say 'you learn to ride around it' for me, and many others, it remains the bike's biggest weakness for ordinary blokes and on anything other than smooth tarmac, I was always cautious.Anyone who has read my other reviews will know my path to Fireblade ownership has been unusual.
After becoming a little disillusioned with biking, after selling my Harley I had a few unsual bikes: an immaculate Kawasaki ER5, all you really need but cheap build; a Suzuki AN400, interesting; CB450DX, bizarre Brazilian Dream; 18 months with a Suzuki GSXR1300 B-King, awesome muscle bike which anyone can ride (my review HERE); and - as yet unwritten about (but see pics on Flickr Gaz1300) and a modded Yamaha V-Max with a host of performance upgrades taken in part-ex for the B-King which was a massive attention seeking animal, that really did handle thanks to a new swingarm and 17-inch wheels with radials.
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| Much modded V-Max '97 which I took in part-ex for the B-King and would later sell on taking the Fireblade in part exchange. The V-Max was however a brilliant, well-sorted bike which I regret selling. More pictures of the Max with its Taylormade alloys and Devil four into two pipes HERE |
And so the CBR900RRY came into my life as a part ex for the Max: 38,000 on the clock, a new MoT and enough signs that it'd been looked after (though the steering lock doesn't work - apparently it's easily damaged - but the hyper sensitive Datatool 3 alarm should ensure it doesn't get nicked).
Incidentally my insurance company was quite happy to have me hooning around on a B-King and then V-Max but decided to charge about £100 extra a year for the Blade AND insist on proof the alarm was fitted. Absolutely ridiculous.
Anyway, the Blade.
The CBR900RRY is Tadao Baba's masterpiece from '92 upgraded in 2000 with oft slated fuel injection and realistically 129 bhp as opposed to Honda's outrageous claim at the time of 150 in the face of rave reviews for the R1.
But it is magnificent and easy to ride.
I did the part-ex deal half way down the M4 handing over the V-Max in pouring rain with a 150 mile ride to relatives in Devon straight away.
Easy.
The CBR is a fantastic motorway tool. I would have preferred a louder exhaust to bludgeon queuing motorway traffic out of the way as I split lanes (the V Max was brilliant for that and beaten only by the Harley Sportster which made drivers' chest cavities vibrate as well it they didn't see you) but I've since discovered the Micron that's fitted to the Blade has a neat removable baffle.
I came home to Kent via the A303 past Stonehendge... the bike performed brilliantly.
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| Brief break on way home to Kent from Devon on CBR900 which I'd owned for just three days in September 2010 after taking in part-exchange for the V-Max. Half an hour after this picture was taken we rode into a heavy storm. |
I span the rear while cranked over coming off a roundabout, only slight but it was a warning I needed. Sure enough the rear tyre was down to 12lbs.
Hondas are well built. Fact. And this 10-year-old CBR cleaned up beautifully. There are a couple of minor scratches and chips but no cracks in the plastic. And it has that massive, lockable book under the tailpiece - try that on a newer machine with an underseat exhaust or the latest sliver of bodywork at the back.
The suspension is still multi-adjustable but I messed around with rebound and compression, messed it up, then put it back to the setting it came with. Check out any Blade web site for suggestions, and my only advice so far is tyre pressures. I'd say leave them a couple of pounds under what you get told, say 31 f 35/6 at the back when cold.
At ordinary speeds on poor B-roads it does feel quite flighty and no one would claim the ride is plush. But it's acceptable. And when you wind it on a bit, the Blade just gets on with the job (note May 2011, ultimately that was the reaon she had to go, just no fun to ride at anything below 60, while it will do it, this is not a bike for the Sunday morning jaunt, you have to be 'on it' every time you ride).
It had echoes of the RD350 YPVS I had almost 20 years ago, but it was going much faster (much, much faster). I am not a wheelie merchant so no one was more surprised than I when, on my favourite road in Kent, I crested a slight bump in the road accelerating hard with more than 10,000 rpm in 3rd or 4th and the front just started climbing.... but it was controllable and left me wishing someone had been there to see it.
Oh yes, and the brakes - do not forget the brakes, they are spectacular. Mine has new pads but even without any of that braided hose nonsense, stopping is still a two finger affair. They are predictable, hugely progressive and possibly the bike's biggest asset (alongside that amazing engine).
That's it, I could go on... and on, and on but I won't. The CBR900 has won me over and I am now a bit of a convert.
Over the next few months I learned the best way was to throw caution to the wind and trust the set up no matter how skittish it felt and thrash it. But it makes every ride an intense affair which can be exhausting.
(Oh yes and it chucked me off once, 15 mph, my own fault misjudging a bend... and the £20 crash bungs saved me a lot of broken plastic. A must for any owner).
But here's why the Fireblade is a bargain (and I've spent the last four weeks monitoring eBay, MCN ads and all the rest): You can buy one for less money than a CBR600 of similar age.
And that is what makes it a winner. Everyone has a CBR600, it's too common and not special enough. The CBR900RR - in any form - is special and I defy anyone not to fall in love with the lightweight legend. They are reliable and are genuinely nicely built with hundreds of stories of being ridden in all weathers and clocking up starship mileage (we all buy our bikes to ride regularly, right?)
Oh yes, while I'm here I'd honestly like to say thanks to Ben Brooks at Kent Motorcycles. I'm the first to give main dealers a kicking if they let you down but in this case I turned up with my 'old' Blade and Ben and the lads there took the time to answer my dozy questions and sort me out a spare key and alarm fob for very reasonable money. Thanks lads (yes maybe I'll take a CBR1000RR just as soon as the divorce monkeys are a distant memory).
A Fireblade costs less than you think, it really does. Don't forget the crash bungs.
Note added May 2011: Sold the bike to fund the new VT750S but interestingly those nice people at Kent Motorcycles failed to come back to me with a quote for the new bike. That was a surprise in the current tough economic climate.
Consequently I bought from JS Gedge in Hastings, 30 miles away. Still it is a decent dealer though and I'd say give 'em try. But I'm hoping JS Gedge will be even better (First service on the VT750S due next week... so we'll see)
