Honda CB 900F-C Bol D'or

AMIDST ALL THE V-twins, V-fours and now even V-threes, Honda's inline four-cylinder CB900 is still a firm favourite. Introduced four years ago it was developed from Honda's lOOOcc formula one machine. Few changes have been made sicne 1979, which shows just how much thought had been put into making the 95bhp street machine.

The 900cc is a good all-round capacity for the serious big bike rider, it's not that large that it can't be twisted in and out of London's rush hour traffic, and it's fast enough to rocket you from zero all the way to the police station in a matter of a few seconds.

It's nice to be able to blast away from anything and everything while keeping the revs to a minimum, with hardly any vibration felt through the footrests, handlebars or mirrors. But also sitting in a most comfortable position, unlike the radical Katanas and such-like that have you twisted in all sorts of awkWard back-breaking, wrist-wrenching and nut-knack-ering positions.

Handlebars are the black clip-on type which allow for backWard and forward adjustment. Naturally as you move the bars further forward they get wider, and the opposite as they are moved backWards. No up or down movement is catered for, but if you really wanted to be silly it's possible to put the bars below the yokes.

The CB900 looks fantastic, this year's model has black engine and exhausts topped off with polished alloy cam cover, carbs, generator cover and footrest brackets. The footrest brackets are new and bear a striking resemblance to the ones fitted to the CB1100R.

Riding the 900 for the first time it felt big and heavy but this was mainly because I'd just been zipping round on a moped for a hellishly long two weeks. I found I soon settled down to its size and weight, but make no bones about it it's not a 250, weighing in at 515lbs. Looking down, the 17inch wide engine sticks out beyond the petrol tank, and is a gentle reminder that there's lots of go slung below you.

Flat out one way speed was 128.88mph. As a matter of fact, when MCW first tested the CB900 back in 79, top speed was only 0.2mph faster. Then again when we tested it in 80, top speed was up to 132.34mph. As you can see from the acceleration graph 70mph is reached in 5secs with 10Omph in a quick 10secs dead. Fastest quarter mile was 12.25secs with a terminal speed of 110mph.

Not only is the 900 a goer but the power is spread over the whole range, allowing a drop down to 1000rpm in top gear and then back up to three figures without even a look at the gear lever. The 900 didn't like being changed up through the gears too soon though, sometimes it would clunk and clonk and other times it slipped back to the gear below. If used correctly the five speed box gives no trouble.

Chain drive is still favoured among the big sporty machines. The 900 has a sealed link chain that like most now is self-lubricating. Average life, if used sensibly, is around the 15,000 to 20,000 mile mark.

I covered over 800 miles in the two weeks I had the 900, and the big chain never needed adjusting— and it had taken a lot of stick. Fuel consumption is one of ony a few sore points against the 900, as somebody once said, "speed costs money, how fast you wanna go depends on how much money yer got." This couldn't be nearer the truth, with only an average of 36 very short miles before one gallon is guzzled down the throats of the four 32mm Keihin carbs. One hundred and fifty miles are capable before the fuel tap has to be turned towards the direction of reserve, but after this a very sensible whole gallon of gas is left. Never once did the fuel consumption get on the right side of 40. While I am on the bitching side the front brake had a spongy feel to it, but still managed to stop the bike in a shortish 28 feet from a correct 30mph. The rear disc was a little larger than the front two at 11J inches as opposed to 11, and all three squealed for the first few hundred miles, until they bedded in and were quiet from then on.

All three brakes use the twin-piston caliper set-up, this means two pistons next to each other which increases the pad area. The top piston comes into contact with the disc first, Honda say this gives a leading shoe effect. A better idea to my mind would be to have two pistons working from each side of the disc.

The TRAC anti-dive on the front forks has four positions and is mechanically worked from the caliper. As the brake is applied the caliper pivots which turns a lever to work the anti-dive. All clever stuff, in practice it does work quite well. If you are wondering what TRAC stands for it is torque reactive anti-dive control.

Rear suspension is with normal shocks, these are gas charged and have an incredible 40 different adjustments, one to suit everybody. Four preload positions that are adjusted ony by a C spanner, five rebound positions, and on top of that two compression stroke adjustments. Changing the preload can make a difference but when you start talking about rebound and compression strokes it's really going too far.

Few motor cyclists are going to know the correct set-up for themselves with so many different adjustments. Long bends taken at well over the speed limit posed no problems for the 900, crank it into a corner and it'll lean over all the way. The front does seem rather low, under heavy brake testing the mudguard had at sometime touched the oil cooler but this had no effect on the handling. Tyres were the Japanese Dunlop Gold Seals, the rear being very profiled with grip far round towards the rim, great for extra grip. Both tyres are tubeless.

More and more people are leaving their lights on during the daytime the 900 has a 7inch 55/60watt quartz halogen headlight that has a bright z beam, which obviously is brighter towards the near side of the road. The rear has dual bulbs, built into a wacking great big lens.

The 900 comes in standard form for £2625, or with the fairing that includes a clock and voltmeter for £250 extra.

In either form Honda's 900 is a race proven winner that I hope will continue for a long time to come.