Ridin' For Harambe, Part 28

The first episode with recurring characters!

Those of you who are relatively new to the Substack and/or my side-gig writing in general may be bewildered by this, so: Ridin’ For Harambe is a regular feature on my old site that showcases readers with their motorcycles. I started it in September of 2016 with this CB900 and we had twenty-six episodes after that, featuring many old hands and well-known commenters on the site.

Anyone can contact me with a submission for the feature; the purpose is so that my motorcycle-riding readers are aware of the larger community in which they participate, and vice versa.

Given the relative frequency with which ACF members contact and make deals with each others, it was bound to happen one day that we would have the same motorcycle with two different owners. And such is the case now, with the meeting of

0. Jeff’s fuel-injected 2000 Honda Super Blackbird showcased in Part 23; and

1. the manic-depressive ZX-14R-riding autowriter featured in the October Surprise Edition.

Jeff and I have been talking for the better part of a year about re-homing the Blackbird. Two weeks ago our schedules aligned so I flew out to Seattle to pick the bike up. The idea was to ride from Seattle to Salt Lake then fly home, with possibly a stop at my current remote office along the way.

Jeff has taken meticulous care of this CBR1100XX. There was once a day when this was the fastest showroom bike on the planet; now it’s just another motorcycle with about 135 horses on the dyno. 1999 and 2000 were special years for the Super Blackbird, which was sold here from 1997 to 2003, because they combine the electromechanical clocks of the early bike with the fuel injection and detail improvements with which it finished production. 1999 Birds are properly black; this one is Dark Titanium.

I figured I could make 400 miles a day with considerable pain but no real issues. I didn’t count on some genuinely wicked weather through the Snoqualmie Pass and weapons-caliber sidewinds on the plains afterwards. After about 300 miles of leaning ten degrees into the wind over damp pavement, I decided to be a grownup about the whole thing…

I pulled the Bird the rest of the way in a U-Haul trailer with a 2023 Silverado LTZ, reviewed elsewhere on ACF. Once I was settled in Salt Lake, I met up with a few friends to go riding, including a youngster whose father-in-law had just sold him a near-perfect ZX-10:

I’d be lying if I told you that the Bird can beat a ZX-10 in a 40-roll, but they are in the same neighborhood and above 80mph you’d much rather be on the Honda, with its outstanding wind coverage and impressive stability. 44,800 miles rolled through the analog odometer sit lightly on the “Dos Equis”; I’ve ridden press bikes that felt more worn out.

If you’re following along at home, I now have all three of the “Top Speed Bikes” — well, that’s almost true, since in addition to this XX and my ZX-14R I have two Radicals with JHayabusa-derived engines. In the case of my PR6, it’s a literal stock K7 Suzuki mill with a light rebuild by KWS in South Carolina.

Compared to the ZX-14R that eventually made the top-speed wars irrelevant, the CBR1100XX feels more like a “real bike”, if that makes sense. The riding position is more comfortable, there’s more slack in the drivetrain, and you’re not faced with a variety of configuration choices to be made in an LCD panel. I’d choose the Honda over the Kawasaki for any ride after which I wanted to feel relatively rested, be it ten miles or two hundred.

The Bird also has a nontrivial advantage of not looking like a rolling advertisement for Monster Energy Drinks, which is worth a bit of extra slack any time you’re being timed or observed by law enforcement. I certainly didn’t drag a peg on it but I did get it leaned over a bit in a variety of situations and was perfectly happy doing so.

One of my Instagram followers, seized perhaps with an irresistible impulse to one-up an acquisition of which I was clearly and childishly proud, wrote something along the lines of “LOL THESE ARE SO CHEAP NOW I CAN’T AVOID OWNING ONE.” I suppose it depends on your definition of “cheap”; good ones are still commanding between five and eight grand. I wouldn’t say that’s cheap. I would say it is a bargain. Thankfully, Jeff was willing to make this even more of a bargain for me — and he indicated he would use proceeds from the transaction to join the Trackday Club, which is simply the most intelligent course of action I’ve ever heard a grown man lay out in person.

Unlike the Hayabusa and ZX-14R, which feel like single-purpose statements of free testosterone level and willingness to do stupid things at the drop of a hat, the CBR1100XX is a real motorcycle that just happens to go fast. Having owned and enjoyed a VFR800 Anniversary Edition for a while, I have to say that the Blackbird is basically a superset of that bike, doing everything the Viffer can do except make a certain amount of noise — and you don’t need to feign amnesia or indifference when a kid on a modern bike rolls up next to you. Recommended without reservation.

I’ll be stabling the Bird in Utah for a few months then bringing it home to Ohio before the snowfall. If you come to visit, you’ll want to see it in person. In a world of young riders agonizing over whether or not a 500cc twin is “too much bike”, the CBR1100XX is the very definition of excess. Which, in this case, is a good thing.

Do you have a motorcycle to showcase here? Drop me a line or comment below, at which point I’ll contact you.