Honda CBR900RR

Rolling proof that less is really more.

December, 1991 Cycle World

Super CBR

Honda sheds some new light on open-class sportbikes

Honda has seen the enemy. And it is weight. Cycle World has seen what Honda’s vision has wrought. And it is a dream come true.

It is a motorcycle that promises to change forever the way big-bore sportbikes are conceived and built. It is capable of the awesome engine performance that only a literbike can provide, yet it is as light and as agile as the very finest middleweights. It is the CBR900RR, the prototype for the Open-class bike of the future. And it is coming early next year to a Honda dealer near you.

The CBR900RR is going to rewrite everyone’s definition of Open-class performance. At a claimed 408 pounds and with a wheelbase of just 55.1 inches, the 900 is a mere wisp of a big-bore sportbike, matching even the lightest 600-class machines in weight and overall size. And although the 120-horsepower output of its 893cc engine falls 15 or 20 ponies short of what the hottest Open-class iron currently pumps out, simple arithmetic tells you what’s really important: that each horsepower must propel just 3.4 pounds, giving the 900 a power-to-weight ratio which equals or exceeds that of any production streetbike of any size.

Specifications