Moto Tour – Denis Bouan scratches the Orival special –

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Honda CBR 900 RR, Honda VFR (VT: Nurburgring)

Honda CBR 900 RR versus Honda VFR: in a nutshell

Sports tourers, touring athletes: there were times when these terms were used ?? and everyone thought of a motorcycle. VFR. A synonym for an entire genre. Solid, comfortable, sporty, fast, elegant, extravagant. Nobody brought such different properties together better than the Honda with its extraordinary and technically complex V4 engine. No wonder that many followed, but only a few passed.
Fireblade. Also a synonym. Sport motorcycle. It was the first with very little weight and a lot of power. Then others followed? and many past. Until this year. Fireblade 2000: This is the old concept with new, radical key data. Can that go well? Here, on this mix of road and racetrack. Here, where the newcomer predicts the course of the curve with the accuracy of a fairground astrologist, while the connoisseur is still amazed after years about the spontaneous wanderlust of bumps. Is radically better at these pitfalls?
First of all, radical is not radical at all. Because despite sporty ergonomics, the Fireblade is also considered comfortable by touring riders. The handlebars are low, but not too deep. The footrests high but not too high, the tank wide but not too wide. Anyone who knows the CBR 600 knows what is meant. Sit on it, feel good. As if by itself through the Hatzenbach curves, because the 900 is very finely balanced and the fork transports the activities of the front wheel wonderfully clearly to the driver. This is known as feedback. The result: The pilot lets the CBR 900 take a bend with a lot of momentum and turns over smoothly. Without hesitation, without hesitation, without sitting up. Just because.
The VFR cannot be assumed to have a poor balance. The years of ripening can be seen in this pattern of balance. In terms of handiness it is hardly inferior to the 900, despite its extra weight, and in terms of steering precision it is almost equal. Sports tourers can also sweep through the Hatzenbach without any problems. Nevertheless, the driving experience is completely different. Commodity instead of direct. More descriptive than pointed. As if she wanted to protect the driver from any adversity that the piste has in store. This VFR rocks its pilot gently and routinely from one corner to the next.
But that only works as long as the pace is slow. If the cable is pulled harder, uncertainty spreads on the VFR, especially in the fast sections of the route. The fork and shock absorber are at the end of their damping reserves, the stability is gone, the footrests scrape across the asphalt, right and left. Attempts to make up for the lost ground on the brakes fail due to the poor controllability of the combined braking system Dual-CBS under these conditions, while the efforts of the recently revamped V4 engine are honest, but of course not enough. to stand up to the muscle man in the Fireblade.
Gese engine meets the requirements of the fast Eifel course like no other. Full performance from the lower speed range to the very top. This suits the newcomer who simply engages the next gear of the transmission, which can be shifted as smoothly as butter, in the middle speed range, as well as for the professional. It just keeps turning, but also rarely stops. In this case, the Blade burns down a real firework. And in this case ?? but only in this case ?? small weaknesses become apparent. The lack of a steering damper, for example, or the tendency to get nervous in the hindquarters when braking hard. Nevertheless: Honda’s new model athlete reaps top marks through the bank. For the famous brake system, which leaves nothing to be desired in terms of effectiveness and controllability. For their beautifully appealing spring elements that always have reserves. And ?? as mentioned ?? for their successful ergonomics, which suits big and small as well as brisk and less brisk drivers. This point in particular proves the versatility of the CBR. A quality that the VFR undoubtedly also has. Outside, on the country road, on the highway. When the pace gets faster, she has to pass. And that’s exactly the case on the Nordschleife.

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