Honda CBR 1100 XX Super Blackbird

Bike #5: a black 1999 Blackbird

13980 km - May 9, 2003
My cousin mentioned that the guys at MVR had a Blackbird on offer, so I went over there and took it for a spin. As expected, it was a very nice bike to drive. I like the way it looks and fits, there's plenty of smooth (fuel-injected) power and the frame and suspension can handle it all easily. Also, technically it was very good. The ZZR I have now is not too bad in that respect, but still there are quite a few little things to complain about. So, well, this is a Honda...
14010 km - May 10, 2003
Thought it over, and decided to buy it :-)
If all goes well, I'll be driving it later this week. MVR will take in the ZZR (which has done 69000 km by now) and try to sell it for me.
14250 km - May 17, 2003
Picked it up 2 days ago. And what can I say, it's a great machine. 270 was no problem at all, an absolutely stable ride. I think I'll be able to get used to this :-)
Just one small snag: the brake light doesn't work when using the 'front' brake. I'll have it looked at today.
14600 km - May 20, 2003
Fuel consumption is 12.5 km/liter, which is quite a lot. But hey, what can you do? Slow down? - yeah right! ;-)
The brake light is fixed, the switch was changed free of charge. Next friday the Stinger and the heated grips will be fitted.
14900 km - May 23, 2003
The Stinger has been fitted very neatly (right below the dashboard), and two bright blue leds were fitted under the windscreen. Just one problem: I'm too tall to see the leds properly, so they will have to be relocated.
The heated grips didn't fit well enough, so that will have to wait.
Observation: this bike does wheelies in first gear using only the throttle... I like :-)
21400 km - August 5, 2003
It's been a while - busy, busy, busy :-)
By the way, small service was done around 18000 km - no surprises there. Heated grips, tank protector and blue led number 3 were fitted (and the leds still aren't bright enough, so the saga continues...).
Both front and rear tyres were replaced today; the front might have done a few more kilometers, but what the heck. Rear is another BT-010 but front is a BT-011, which is a first for me. It should provide more grip, which is a good thing since (for me anyway) the front is a little less "confidence-inspiring" than the rear. We'll see.
On that same note: putting the footrests down on the tarmac is great fun on this bike, however, the bodywork is also touching down... Not as much fun and a lot more expensive...
Fuel consumption is still 12.5 km/liter; even plodding along at 100 km/h doesn't improve it much - my record stands at 13.5 km/liter.
23100 km - August 18, 2003
A weekend in the Ardennes. The picture says it all, doesn't it ? ;-)

play video (1.7 MB)

26800 km - November 8, 2003
No real news to report, the bike runs just fine. Service was done around 25000 km, no surprises there.
Sparkplugs were not replaced, Ruud thinks that can wait - which I think is great, they're bloody expensive.
32000 km - March 4, 2004
Long time no see - winter is not very exiting.
Another service was done: new sparkplugs this time, new tires (BT010's), a new air-filter (K&N), the radar detector has been 'cosmetically removed' ;-) and the heated grips were glued on again (they tried to fall off, not a good idea).
Plans are in the making for a week in Italy, the end of May. Can't wait.

Oh, I almost forgot: another speeding ticket as well, about 10 days ago. 144 where 120 was allowed. And to add to the festivities, the (again friendly, no really!) cop (riding a BMW, bleh) also gave me a ticket for 'overtaking using the righthand lane', or whatever it's called in English. Twice as expensive as speeding in this case. Ah well, just think of it as taxes, that's less painfull...
36800 km - May 26, 2004
The bike has been prepared for a week in Italy - we're leaving in 2 days. New tyres were fitted (the old ones will be kept in storage, they're not worn out yet but they wouldn't make it to Italy and back). Also new oil was put in.
See y'all later :-)
41850 km - July 16, 2004
Italy was great, and the bike was great. The chain needs adjustment but that's all. Brake-pads will be fitted next tuesday.
And I dropped the bike two days ago :-( The only damage is cosmetic, but it's still quite annoying - especially since it was entirely my own fault...
47300 km - May 30, 2006
Long time no see - it's been quite a while since my last entry. A lot has happened since then, but not much of it had anything to do with the bike. I've done less than 6000 km's on it in the last 2 years, an all time low for me. Much too busy enjoying life with my girlfriend :-) And besides, since I moved in with her, the ride to work has become shorter and even more boring (corner-wise). So the car gets all the 'dumb' rides.
However, summer is getting closer and closer, and I feel like riding the Bird again this year. I've looked at other bikes these last few months. But even though there are a few interesting new models on the market (e.g. Triumph Sprint ST 1050, Kawasaki ZZR 1400, and even a couple of BMW's look promising - who would have thought...), and there are still some 'golden oldies' I still fancy, none of them tempt me enough. So I've decided to stick with the Blackbird for now, and to invest some money in it to make it a bit better/nicer/more to my liking.
This is what will to be done to the bike, by MWS in Almere:
- Powercommander II (and of course several Dynojet runs to set it up properly)
- New front springs (and adjusting the rear shock to match the front)
- Major service, including new airfilter, spark plugs, oil and brake pads up front
- New tyres, Michelin Pilot Power
- New ball head bearings
- New hero-blobs
Also on my maybe-do-later-list: raise the rear s (and/or the rear seat), raise the clip-ons, lower footrests, topcase, better s*****r-leds, wall anchor.
But first let's see how the new springs, tyres and engine setup work out.
47500 km - June 7, 2006

Stolen...

Well, what can I say ? Stolen during the night, in front of my house. I hope the sorry creatures that did this get what they deserve, but I doubt it.
Fuck them.
NA - June 13, 2006
A weekend in the Ardennes with some friends. Being bikeless at the moment, I had to rent one. I chose a BMW K 1200 S - just about the dearest bike to rent out there, but it is a great ride. Suspension (ESA), steering and brakes are fabulous (the best I've ever experienced anyway), the engine is very smooth and powerful, and the bike fits quite nicely. Just two negatives: the price (it is value for money, but it is a lot of value for a lot of money - almost 20000 euro...), and the engine gave a lot of vibrations between 5000 and 7000 rpm. That may have been just this particular bike, but it's quite annoying. But other than that, if I had the money for it would definitely be on my shortlist. Or maybe the naked R version, I really like the styling on that one. We'll see.

Specifications:

1999 Honda CBR 1100 XX Blackbird
1137 cc liquid-cooled fuel-injected 4-stroke 16 valve DOHC inline 4
164 PS @ 10000 rpm
12.7 kg-m @ 7250rpm
223 kg

Options fitted:

Nikko Racing - 707 or 737, I think
Exhausts were already fitted - look nice, sound nice & loud
Bridgestone - Battlax BT-010 & BT-011
Front and rear were fitted when I bought it, perfect. Front BT-011 front fitted at 21400 km
Michelin - Pilot Power
Front and rear fitted at 47300 km
Bagster - Tank protector
Fitted, looks and works fine. I have removed the sides of the tank protector to give my legs a bit more room - it makes the fit a little loose, but it works well and looks better than the original (I think anyway).
Bagster - Omega saddlebag
Fitted, looks and works fine
Beltronics - Vector Europa 966R
Radar detector transferred from the ZZR
Heated grips
Fitted

This is not my own picture ! - but it might have been... ;-)

Engine

Lightweight 1137cc liquid-cooled four-cylinder engine with one-piece upper crankcase and cylinder block.
Side-mounted cam chain and ultra-narrow cylinder-sleeve spacing reduce engine size and weight.
Double overhead camshafts actuate valves using simple and direct cam over-bucket design.
Included valve angle set at a narrow 3Q0, resulting in a compact combustion chamber.
Straight intake ports and four-valve-per-cylinder technology offer optimum power output at all rpm levels.
Oil-cooled alternator is powerful and compact.
Automatic cam-chain tensioner.
Slim-tipped NGK VX spark plugs offer high performance and minimal buildup for consistent operation.
Unique gear-driven dual engine-balancer system almost completely eliminates high-frequency engine vibration.
Six-speed close-ratio transmission.
Large-capacity aluminum radiator combines with high-efficiency oil cooler mounted directly beneath the steering head to help maintain optimum performance and long engine life.
High-performance exhaust system features two 6.4-liter canister-style stainless-steel mufflers polished to a satin finish.

Chassis/Suspension

Twin-spar diamond-configuration aluminum frame offers light weight and high rigidity.
Triple-box-section extruded aluminum spars are welded to a cast aluminum steering head and gravity die-cast aluminum pivot plates. The bolt-on seat rail is made of box-section steel.
43mm cartridge fork features the Honda Multi-Action System (HMAS) for smooth, progressive action. Wide forged-aluminum triple-clamp offers light weight and high rigidity.
Pro-Link rear suspension uses an HMAS rear damper which offers stepless rebound damping adjustability.
Triple-box-section extruded aluminum 40mm x 90mm swingarm offers exceptional rigidity.
Ultra-wide, hollow-section, triple-spoke, cast aluminum wheels carry wide- profile Mono-Spiral radial tires.
Honda's Linked Braking System uses a second master cylinder and a proportional control valve to couple the three-piston calipers of the dual front and single rear brake discs. Using either the handlebar lever or the foot pedal partially activates all three calipers, and the rider controls brake force distribution between the front and rear wheels depending on which control is used. As the rider increases braking force and weight transfers forward, the proportional control valve progressively shifts the balance of braking force in three steps toward the front wheel. A delay valve smoothes front brake engagement to minimize suspension dive when performing minor speed corrections using only the foot pedal.
310mm floating front-brake discs use stainless-steel mounting plates. Rear brake disc measures 256mm.

Additional Features

Extensive wind-tunnel testing results in an extraordinarily low overall frontal area and one of the lowest drag coefficients in motorcycling, while maintaining a high level of wind protection and rider comfort. The drag coefficient (cg - a measurement combining drag and frontal area) of 0.00155 surpasses figures for most machines in the 250cc class.
The fairing features a very sharp nose, made possible by an innovative piggy back headlight design. The separate low- and high-beam units are each lighted by a powerful single-filament bulb, and the units are stacked, one on top of the other The result is a narrow frontal aspect, with a very bright and extensive light pattern made possible by advanced multi-curvature reflector design.
The engine air-intake system consists of panels which isolate the system from the heat-producing radiator and engine area. Two large-capacity ram-air ducts feed air to the airbox and deliver it to the EFI system.
The fairing has been designed to reduce the number of panels. Gas-assist injection technology is used to increase strength and lower weight.
Specially designed front fender features indented ducts on the top front area which create a wing-like low-pressure zone on the upper surface. This aids steering and helps counter the wind's effect on the front wheel.
Integrated, fully electronic instrument panel is lightweight and features a flexible thin-film printed circuit board.
Front turn signals are integrated with the rearview mirrors, achieving improved airflow characteristics.
Large-capacity, 6.3-gallon fuel tank. LED fuel gauge in instrument panel.
Lightweight and strong #530 drive chain.
Underseat storage area designed to carry most U-type or cable locks. (Lock not included..
Tie-down bolts are provided at the sides of the seat and at the trailing edges of the passenger-peg mounting stays.
Left-side seat cowl opening reveals a frame-mounted handle to help lift the machine onto its centerstand.
Injection-molded nylon rear passenger hand rail is more comfortable to the touch than metal rails in chilly or hot weather.
Convenient ignition switch/fork lock for added security. Transferable one-year unlimited-mileage limited warranty.

New for 1999

Ram-air system produces increased power in mid- and upper-rpm operating range while simultaneously improving fuel consumption.
Electronic CPU provides two digital 3-D fuel injection maps for each cylinder and one digital 3-D ignition map for cylinder pairs, creating ideal fuel mixture and spark advance settings for superb driveability.
Unique knock-control sensor monitors ignition advance to improve mid-range performance.
New 360-degree exhaust collector, combined with EFI and recalibrated ignition settings, produces a 10 percent increase in usable mid range power, while also increasing top-end power output.
Oil cooler radiation capacity is increased 18 percent to manage additional power output resulting from ram-air system.
New seven-plate clutch design features improved friction plate material and saves 3.5 kg over previous design.
New first gear engagement design provides quieter, smoother shifts.
Linked Braking System setting revised to provide increased front bias with front brake lever application while maintaining excellent overall system balance.
Front and rear suspension valving revised to provide plusher feel at low speeds, while maintaining excellent damping rates.
Rear-wheel damper hardness increased 12 % to provide improved feel and increased durability.
New auto-choke system eliminates manual choke control and provides smooth engine warm-up.
Fuel capacity increased to 24 liter.
Gold anodized AC generator and clutch covers.
New over/under dual taillight design.

This part will touch the ground in very enthousiastic right-hand corners