+ Click to Enlarge TIME TO COOL OFF: Droppa and his test team took the bikes from Jozi to Loskop dam and back - with just a stop for breakfast. Picture: DENIS DROPPA

March 16, 2006
By Denis Droppa

Honda and Kawasaki, to stay ahead in the crazy, mine's-better-than-yours superbike world, have each sharpened their litre-class sport flagships and both bikes are now in South Africa.

The Kawasaki ZX-10R gets new styling along with technical tweaks to improve its lap times. Its output stays the same at 128.7kW and 115Nm for a dry weight of 170kg but the 998cc engine's been revised to produce better firepower across the rev range.

There's a higher-profile rear tyre, the engine's mounted higher in the frame to improve flickability through high-speed turns and a steering damper is now fitted to improve on-the-ragged-edge handling.

Best of all, the price has dropped to R99 995, making the ZX10R the most affordable bike in its class. It'll be interesting to see whether this starats a price war.

The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade has trailed its rivals in the power-to-weight stakes until now; for 2006 power is up from 121kW to 126.4kW, torque has risen by six Nm to 114.5Nm and the weight's down from 179kg to 176kg.

We took them for a spin to see how they fared.

I'd be lying if I claimed I could feel a big difference on the road between the old ZX-10R and the new. It's the same manic, hang-on-for-dear life pace that goes from zero to "Hell, yeah!" in a couple of seconds, with the hunched-forward riding position and that beautiful lightness and flickability that makes it feel like a 600cc machine.

The seat's 15mm lower so shorter riders won't have to tippy-toe at the traffic lights and there's a big difference in pillion comfort, so now you can take your missus on breakfast runs with less moaning.

Each bike invites the racing position - otherwise known as the first-night-in-a-prison-shower posture - with low-set handlebars, high footpegs for maximum ground clearance in corners and anatomically shaped tanks with grooves for your thighs.

The Honda has a slightly more upright riding position but it will probably be no more comfortable over a longer distance as its seat is still harder than that of the ZX-10R, despite better padding than the old Fireblade.

The missus preferred sitting on the Kawa, which has improved pillion comfort over the '05 Ninja. The footpegs are still knees-behind-the-ears high but the back seat doesn't slope down as much.

What surprised me about these bikes was their relative comfort over a long ride. I'd expected them to be good only for short-hop breakfast runs but we completed a 500km round trip from Johannesburg to Loskop Dam and back - stopping for breakfast - without feeling we needed a chiropractor afterwards.

These bikes aren't made for touring but they'll do if you don't have a BMW K1200 handy.

120km/h in first

Each has a very long first gear - you'll get well over the national speed limit before hooking second. This so that you don't have to fight wheelies every time you pull off. The other five gears are short and close-stacked.

The 'Blade is greased lightning and now feels just as strong as the Kawa from a standing start. In fact it has a little more grunt through the gears than the ZX-10R, which prefers more revs.

In the highly unlikely event that you'd want to accelerate from 5000 to 7000rpm in sixth without snicking down, the Honda will do it about two seconds quicker because the '06 Fireblade has a larger rear sprocket (42 teeth vs 40), yet both bikes are much of a muchness on top end.

Each will reach 290km/h-plus if you're deficient in the boep area and plaster yourself on the tank behind the bikini fairing. That's fiendishly fast but they take a bit of work to get there and don't cruise at high speed as effortlessly as 1200cc or 1300cc sports tourers with their considerably more torque.

The Honda is sewing-machine smooth. The ZX-10R has no unpleasant vibration but you can feel the engine. Neither bike sounds particularly charismatic; they don't have the soul-stirring wail of a Yamaha R1 at full chat. Aftermarket pipes needed...

The Honda, as before, has underseat exhausts but they don't heat up your butt like the previous bike, while the new ZX-10R has underseat pipes for the first time, which also didn't cause any heat-imposed squirming.

Difficult to see

The Kawa's redesigned instrument panel is no better than the much-criticised previous version and it's still difficult to see the revs - nigh impossible if you're wearing a tinted visor. The clocks are sexy but Kawa has clearly gone for form over function here.

The Honda's more conservatively analogue tachometer, on the other hand, is the picture of clarity. Each has virtually useless mirrors but the Honda's are a bit wider apart so you don't have to lift your arms to use them.

Who do you prefer: Angelina Jolie or Tara Reid? Looks are a subjective issue but two of our test trio preferred the Kawasaki styling and the third went for the Honda.

The new ZX-10R has smaller headlights and a larger ram-air duct than before and is missing the old bike's gold bits that nicely offset the black, but the tail is more handsome with its underseat exhaust and integrated tail light/indicators.

The 'Blade has a fitter, sharper look with a slimmer, sexier fairing and narrower headlights.

On public roads, in real-world road conditions, the dynamic differences between this kick-ass fast Japanese duo are minor and it's nice to see Honda move up the performance food chain.

Price difference

If it weren't for the price difference, selecting my favourite from this pair would be very, very difficult. But given that the ZX10-R is R15 000 cheaper the choice becomes a no-brainer.

Matthew Durrans, of Two Wheels magazine, comments:

How do you choose between two bikes, each of which that can lap within 10 percent of World Superbike times? When each will lap so quickly in standard trim, within a couple of tenths of each other, does it really matter which one is quicker?

No. Each is capable of melting your synapses before you hit top gear and a terminal speed somewhere just beyond 300km/h, and will make any multi-million rand supercar hang its head in shame.

Stupidly fast

The ZX-10R is stupidly fast, the most powerful of the current crop of 1000cc superbikes, but its new chassis also makes it the least intimidating to ride on the track.

The CBR1000RR may have less power but it is more rewarding to exploit within the confines of a race circuit. It's refined where the ZX is a bit rough, fast when the Kawasaki is ballistic.

Both are quite simply amazing, the choice is impossible, but if you must insist, make mine a Honda.