All Duels – The Two Big Routsters! – Cold efficiency or hot sensations?

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The two big Routsters !

All Duels - The Two Big Routsters! - Cold efficiency or hot sensations?

No longer really roadsters but not quite road, the Honda CBF1000F and the Suzuki Bandit 1250S combine the advantages of these two categories to lead to a concept that is increasingly appreciated: road roadsters … or routsters! Duel.

Cold efficiency or hot sensations ?

Despite the rain which has long crossed our waterproof membranes, it is with a smile that the first virolos are welcomed, intended to test the dynamic qualities of our two opponents of the day !

Not that the editorial staff of the Site is inclined to masochism, but the availability of the engines of our two test machines makes it possible to ignore the elements by drawing nice trajectories without worrying about the gear engaged !

Driving on the torque is all the easier as their four-cylinders turn out to be smooth, accepting to resume without flinching at 2000 rpm in sixth (at this speed, the digital meters display 55 km / h on the two motorcycles). More modern and readable, the Honda console also offers the time, a fuel gauge, two trips and an average and instantaneous consumption indicator..

The Bandit’s two chrome-rimmed dials still have their effect and have the same functions, apart from the consumption indicator. The set is nevertheless easier to scroll via two buttons much more accessible with winter gloves.

Despite the senatorial pace imposed by the precarious grip and the increasingly deplorable coating of secondary roads, the gap is inexorably widening in favor of the Honda: benefiting from flawless traction despite its "small" rear tire, the CBF1000 especially benefits from a go-around and a combined braking that can be dosed to the millimeter to grab a few meters when entering and exiting curves.

Victim of slight jerks of injection and drooping steering, the Suzuki requires more effort to keep pace: while the rapid changes of angles are only a formality on the Honda, the Suz ‘demands more grip and authority.

The Bandit 1250 is not to be relegated to the status of an anvil for all that, but the comparison with this astonishing CBF1000 gives the clear sensation of opposing a large and a medium displacement! Not the most flattering for the Suzuki at this stage, this impression persists however when it comes to soliciting the two "four-legged" cavalry: although it comes from the 2007 CBR1000RR and develops nearly ten additional horses (107 ch against 98 ch for the Bandit), the linear block at will of the CBF is indeed pale in the face of the punch of the Bandit 1250 !

As expressive as a member of the English Royal Guard at 4000 rpm, the Honda engine then climbs into the revs without weakening but without the slightest ounce of character and vibrating from 5500 rpm. On the contrary, the Bandit, taking advantage of its additional 257 cc to display a truck torque value (108 Nm at 3,700 rpm against 96 Nm at 6,500 rpm on the CBF!), Pulls itself out of the curves with joyful vigor for a four-cylinder in-line and offers much hairier … and devoid of vibrations !

Its catalyzed silencer (as bulky and unsightly as that of its rival) perhaps stifles the vocalizations of the Suzuki four-cylinder at low and mid-range, but it does not in any way affect its elasticity as a Romanian gymnast and its strength as a doped bodybuilder. on steroids! Strong but well-bred, the GSF1250SA’s engine knows how to be as quiet and purring as an old maid’s cat, before transforming into a medieval catapult as soon as the pilot screws the right handle. !

Whatever the speed or the gear engaged, the CBF1000 does not stand the comparison: whether in performance or in sensations, the Bandit "12" catches it with each acceleration and takes its turns with gusto, while the CBF1000 struggles. to keep in touch … without ever losing your frustrating "zen attitude" !

Rejuvenated by the return of the sun – after a day and a half spent "rolling" and trying to take pictures under a biblical deluge! -, it is with a furious desire to do battle that we approach winding parts that are almost entirely dry! Revengeful and firmly determined to put an end to the unequivocal demonstrations of force of the Bandit 1250, the CBF1000 begins hostilities with a knife between its teeth…

The opportunity to once again salute its exceptional homogeneity, even when its pilot tickles the limits of reasonableness: quick to throw himself into the rope and change course when released, the Honda accepts braking on the angle as who laughs and keeps imperial rigor and stability when the bitumen crumbles at the exit of a bend swallowed drum beating.

Never far behind, the Suzuki pilot takes advantage of the more substantial ranges of use of his engine to take back what he loses in curves: less well suspended (while his shock absorber mounted on a rod should logically give him an advantage in terms of progressiveness) , the Bandit 1250 S is penalized by its less incisive front axle, whose guiding precision is cruelly affected in the presence of bumps and other malformations….

Stable and flawless, the Suzuki does not have to be ashamed of its dynamic behavior on the attack: it simply shows the weight of years against a model with a much more recent design and bluffing balance..

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