All of the major motorcycle manufacturers make fast things, and all these fast things are very fast indeed. So, by now you’ve probably guessed I’m going to discuss a fast thing, a Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird fast thing to be precise.

The test bike came equipped with Dual Combined Brake System, Fuel Injection, and Engine Immobiliser.

The throttle is very sensitive and any movement will release more of the 150 horses. This is most noticeable when cornering on rougher roads where a bump may cause an involuntary action to the right hand. However, when you really mean to wind the throttle on, hang on tight, because this baby is a very fast thing. How fast I hear you ask? Well put it this way, you’ll have to keep slowing down to allow your thoughts to catch up, it’s damn fast. I left the suspension settings as I found them, as they gave a firm but not too hard ride and at no time did I feel my safety compromised by the bikes handling. Handling on the whole is excellent and well in tune to the bikes performance. Damping adjustment is a screw affair and is under the bike on the chain side. This adjustment will require the bike being placed on the centre stand and the adjustee getting down on hand and knees. Pre-load is very obscure with nothing noted in the manual, but, it would appear necessary to remove the rear cowling in order to reach the adjusting nut with the tool supplied in the kit.

Avoid wearing loose fitting clothing, as it will make your ride very uncomfortable by flapping against your body as you try and plough through the air stream. This being said, gives you an idea of how much weather protection you can expect from the fairing. Seating is very much sport bike, but Honda have gone to great pains to make it more comfortable than you’d expect. The riding position does make it difficult to look behind when both hands are on the bars, the shoulder tends to restrict the movement of your full face helmet. Once you get up to the 100kph mark, the air flow over the screen will lift a fair amount of weight off your wrists, and it isn’t uncomfortable to rest the chest on the tank for lower wind resistance and giving the arms a rest.

The digital speedo is easier to read than an analogue one and because the engine is so quiet I would like to see a gear indicator. Mirrors are good and unaffected by vibration, but could do with a little more outward adjustment. The headlight is great, it gives a broad band of light just below the height where it will blind the driver in front of you, and when high beam is employed the beam widens vertically turning night into day, well, in front of you anyway.

A good investment would be a tank protector as it is exposed to belt buckles and jacket buttons, and the paint is so good you won’t dare to scratch it. The turning circle is a little on the wide side, but you’d never want to park it near those idiots in a Woolies car park anyway. According to the manual, and I hope it’s a misprint, maximum loading is only 185kg for rider, pillion and luggage, gee I've met some blokes weighing that much on their own. I know of a couple, who tour their ’96 Blackbird with trailer in tow, plus quite a bit of gear and I've never heard any complaints of frame worries (not like a certain Suzuki) so I think the maximum load rating is more a case of a high speed stability safety factor. I mean Honda designers probably didn’t expect everything to stay sane at 300kph with excess kilograms hanging out the past the back axle. Speaking of pillions! they have quite reasonable accommodation, but the taller the person may require more frequent rest stops, to stretch legs.

I visited some friends to see if those of 165cm stature might have a problem. Dave was able to get one foot flat and the ball of the other foot to the ground. Even with his pillion aboard it didn’t make much difference, but on the whole it was thumbs up. Sheralyn was far more technical and said the bike was very pretty.

Is this fast thing practical though? Should something like this be confined to the race track and not allowed on the road? HELL NO, it’s no more impractical than an HSV Commodore or Subaru WRX. After all, negotiating city traffic can be down right tedious, so why not have something to take away the dulldrums, while getting from A to B. The Honda fast thing is a very exciting machine, with extraordinary acceleration, and anyone riding it will always be up ahead of the flow of traffic out of harms way, plus, be more aware of what’s going on around them due to the fact that they aren’t encased in one of the multitude of boring little tin boxes scurrying around the road network. Of course if you indulge yourself to one of those Ride Days at Eastern Creek Raceway or the like, you’ll also be able to take advantage of a true super bike experience, and probably show up some of the purpose built sports bikes to boot.

Approximately $19,500 will see the test bike in your garage and ready for the road. This Super Tourer has been around for a few years now which means there are plenty of second hand examples available, and usually in good low kilometre condition. It also means that any bugs that may have been in existence will have been eradicated. The front tyre is an average $220 cost while the rear will set you back $280. Major services are every 24,000k’s.

Loved it!….Test bike supplied by Fraser Motorcycles Broadmeadow phone 49522675.

May your lid never skid.