Progress. Technology. Development. All of these things have viciously ganged up on the poor CBR1000, relegating it to the ranks of the cheap, old, touring also-rans.
"Under-powered, overweight, and past it" - Salad Dodger, November 1999.
"True, but it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it" - Me, March 2001
I've always secretly liked the look of the CBR1000FL, and so it came to pass that the Floaty Bloaty Bus (FBB to you) became a member of the Tab household in April 2000 tasked with the job of commuting, covering large M-distances and hooning on a budget, whilst being ultra-reliable. It set me back two and a half big ones (it's amazing how often these 'big ones' seem to slip out of my grasp...), has covered over 12000 trouble free miles since then (taking the total to 28000) and has cost around three hundred quid to run over that period. Not including petrol. Or knee sliders, ahem. It's carried pillions, panniers, tents and cases of lager without complaint and has won praise from SWMBO for it's pillion comfort.
It's smooth (well, it will be when it's had it's new exhaust fitted) and very, very comfortable. It's super-stable round town, where it's torquey motor and 'f*ck-off out of my way' frontal profile afford it a much quicker passage through London traffic than it deserves. Mind you, that might just be me... (he says, rubbing his chins contemplatively).
It's natural habitat, of course, is the motorway, where it's flip-up screen (bought by a mate who had the original one dissolved by a traffic-light-screen-wash-jockey's glass cleaner) makes life on the Mxx a much more pleasant experience than it has any right to be. Happy cruising anywhere between 60 and 13...erm...<cough> mph, you'll find yourself, if you're on an Autobahn, flat out at the same speed as a 2000 model CBR6 which is...<checks 'net>...somewhere just short of a ton sixty. Allegedly. Still, that's progress for you.
It's weight and bounciness mean that it chews through consumables, especially front tyres, and is a bit of a pig to work on due to the all-enclosing bodywork. Fortunately, it's reliability means that it's only had to be naked-ified for regular maintainance so far. Touch wood.
Touching wood is one thing but touching cloth, however, is the most likely occurrance should you decide to exploit the beast's not-so-dizzy limits handling-wise. Re-valving the shock and forks would undoubtedly help here, but I can't justify the expense on what is, basically, a working, day to day bike. The front dives, the back squats and it wallows, judders and generally lollops (great word, "lollop" ain't it?) its way round anything you throw at it but, to date, I've had no major 'moments' on it. BT57s provide ample grip, wet or dry and last about 4k each end, but beware the Dragging Underbellies - something solid grinds down and is bound to prise the tyres from the tarmac sooner or later.
Reliable, comfortable, rapid, understated, and doing just about everything it says on the tin, FBB can be found battling through traffic during the week, resolutely hogging lane 2a on a Friday evening / Monday morning, and stuffing it up the fast boys on a Sunday. Slag it off if you want to, but only if you can keep up with it.
Progress? Technology? Development?
Who needs 'em when you got balls like melons and a brain like a sprout?
Long live FBB.
