Honda 919 First Ride 2002 release

Torrance, CA We, as a nation, must be soft. Maybe it’s been done to us by years of well-being policies, or maybe it’s the antibiotics in our milk. In any case, more than ever, people who just can’t bear the thought of riding a narrow-focus sports bike. “It’s too uncomfortable,” they will say. “Too much rush,” others said. “It’s too difficult,” said another group of disgruntled, tired of the current harvest of copies of superbikes. However, insists Honda, these people are far from trading their daily adrenaline for a bottle of Geritol. For these people this Honda 919 seems to be made to order. In fact, a motorcycle may even appeal to some crossovers who want a motorcycle that should be almost as fast as any pure sports bike on an off-road, performing these duties with the same street fighting and old school charm only on a motorcycle as and 919. After all, its engine is based on the same power plant that once made the CBR900RR such a popular crawler machine in 1993.

Then 893 cubic centimeters were all Honda needed to turn the world of sports bikes on the ear with best-in-class power-to-weight ratio. Today, for this new-old crowd, the mill has grown to 919 cubic feet and delivers even more torque, although peak power figures, not surprisingly, have been reduced in favor of more city driving. But again, this is the focus of this motorcycle, whereas the purpose of its predecessor was much narrower.

But just because the new 919 isn’t a racing motorcycle doesn’t mean it should have as much torque or weigh as much as a milk truck. Its claimed dry weight makes it the lightest naked motorcycle in the open class. And even though the engine doesn’t have a leader in its class of peak power, Honda is more than happy with the performance, insisting that torque and a sense of flexibility will attract more buyers than spicy speakers.

Under the hood

When started from above the engine is a double cam design with gaskets under the buckets. The valves are tilted at an angle of 32 degrees, and while ensuring that the machine is easy to live with, the valve maintenance interval is 16,000 miles. The cylinders have a bore diameter of 71 mm and a stroke of 58 mm and a compression ratio of 10: 1.

Of course, Honda’s latest programmed fuel injection system is one that provides fuel that flows at 50 psi through four injectors in each 36mm throttle body. Each injector nozzle has four laser-drilled holes for “highly sprayed air / fuel charge for maximum combustion, efficiency and power,” says Honda.

“Store the engine – it’s an oil cooler with liquid cooling and a light aluminum radiator.”

Exhaust system type “four by two in one in two” and has tubes “expanding diameter”, which are directed to the two mufflers “in the center”. Keep the riders’ feet safe and cool – these are stainless steel muffler covers. Engine cooling is provided by an oil-cooled liquid-cooled radiator and a lightweight aluminum radiator. There is also a lightweight solid generator that produces more juice than a unit mounted on an old 893 cc engine, and it helps power a multi-threaded reflective headlight.

As with the engine, the 919 frame is designed primarily for street use, following a route that is definitely less aggressive than the original CBR900RR, and even uses some theory of Honda’s “tuned flexibility”. The frame is a square tube, a monastic steel block that uses the motor as a stress element. The lower tube of one box section extends to the front engine mounts, which include a transverse member to connect the frame to the solid front engine mounts. At the rear of the bike the aluminum pendulum has a large one-piece cast swivel unit and an extruded spar with three sections.

The suspension on the 919 has 43mm forks that run at 4.7 inches. At the rear of the bike one shock absorber provides a stroke of 5.0 inches and has a remote tank. Unfortunately, neither end has the ability to adjust either the compression or the damping of the rebound. The only changes a rider can make without breaking things are to increase or decrease the preload of the shock absorber. Seven positions are available to satisfy every rider’s appetite for destruction.

Braking is performed by a pair of 296-mm discs at the front and one 240-mm rotor at the rear. Four piston calipers clamp the front rotors, and a caliper with one piston clamps the rotating disc back. These discs are mounted on hollow aluminum 3-spoke discs.

Because the target audience of the motorcycle is decidedly more inclined to spend time in urban areas than in rural areas, looking for the perfect line through this ideal angle, the 919 devices also emphasize the comfort of the rider and relevant information. The cluster has an analog speedometer, tachometer and water temperature indicators with white numbers. There is also a digital odometer and path meter, as well as indicators of turn indicators, neutral, high beam and normal low pressure fuel and oil. Ironically, for a bike designed so “urban” in its design, the watch is noticeably missing.

Under the helmet

Understanding the specifications handed out by Honda at a technical briefing on the 919, we were prepared to be unimpressed when their latest bike set off. First, the diagram they showed us looked like a graph of an old CBR900 with cut off two thousand rpm. “Here’s your” tuned to the middle range “- we thought. Then there was the overwhelming lack of suspension and steel frame adjustments, which made us think “flexi-flyer”.

So it is good that we know when our first instincts are wrong, and that we are not afraid to change our minds when confronted with new information that contradicts our erroneous biases. The first of which, the weight, had to be thrown away immediately. Just sitting on the bike in place, it’s amazing how physically the little bike feels. The photos suggest something like the growth of the old CB1000, although this bike feels at a good 20 with something more percent compared.

Ergo by car – not superfluous – a classic standard. The seat is all you need to keep your soft butt off the hard plastic pan from below, but a little more. Look elsewhere for the comfort of the Gold Wing, although the 919 seat is much better equipped than most sport bikes.

The bars are also fairly standard, made of steel and reclined so that your arms are in a natural, albeit slightly blunt position, with your elbows lowered to the sides and slightly in front of you. Of course, you will be comfortable keeping your feet under you and not too far behind or in front of your knees.

This puts you in a slightly inclined position, which is convenient for walking around the city or pranksters.

“Even at 2,000 rpm, the engine never complained when the throttle opened.”

Because the riding position is so vertical, it’s easy to list the 919’s feeling of lightness with ergonomic seats – at least at first. But when rolling through turns, starting a U-turn and then tightening the line, a little more than thinking and lightly pressing the bar in the direction you need to go, the bike obeys your command, you immediately return to the specification of the chart and Honda’s claim to “most lungs in the classroom ”. Without a doubt, the 25-degree bike tilt and 57.5-inch wheelbase play a role here, as does the low center of gravity.

However, in the middle of the corner everything starts to go wrong. If there is a bump or a number of bumps at the corner entrance, the standard suspension settings allow the rear of the bike to move up and down as desired. This at best makes keeping the line difficult, as bouncing behind the end tends to do uncomfortable things for the front feeling. To rectify the situation, we tried to increase the preload of the rear shock absorber (the only option available) by raising the regulator in increments from the second to the fourth position out of the seven available.

Immediately the back became stiffer, but she was no longer in control of the bumps. In fact, tighter tuning has only heightened our awareness of the need for a bike to increase rebound damping. The trip became intermittent, and control only increased slightly. Eventually we lowered the tuner to the step (up to the third of seven) and just learned to live with things by focusing on other, more positive areas of 919 performance.

The motor, for example, is a great unit that has led us to develop a serious button case in which we are constantly tensing the facial muscles at the corner exits. Any gear, any speed, and the 919 cc engine pulls without a hiccup. Even at 2,000 rpm the engine never complained when the throttle opened. The same compliments can be paid for the performance of the engine at high speeds, although you rarely have to go there. Most of the time we played in the 5,000 to 9,000 rpm range, never needing anything bigger or smaller.

Sometimes we shifted the gearbox, at least just to try a smooth gear shift of a great six-speed transmission and well-chosen gears. It also allowed us to hear bubbles coming from the double mufflers under the seat coming out right after our stern. Neither loud nor completely quiet, but quite pleasant. Jogging was another reason to enjoy the application of the excellent front ligaments Nissin 919. Excellent initial bite, which was accompanied by an equally excellent modulation and feel, inspires confidence in every bend.

On the open highway the smooth nature of the engine shines through again, virtually eliminating any hum in the line you expected. The only thing that keeps this bike from being a serious all-round mileage ride is the Yamaha FZ-1-style fairing, which provides enough blast deflection to prevent you from better embodying a human parachute.

All in all, Honda has worked well with this new 919 of them. It is already on the fast track to becoming a staff favorite. So much love has already flowed its way that we asked Honda about the bike as a long-term tester, as we believe that this wonderful car is just a set of clips and a decent shock from becoming a great motorcycle.

Technical characteristics:
Recommended retail price: $ 7,999 Engine type: 919cc liquid-cooled, in-line four-cylinder DOHC, Diameter and stroke: 71.0 mm x 58.0 mm Compression ratio: 10.8: 1 Valve train: DOHC; four valves per cylinder Carburetion: PGM-FI with manual enrichment scheme Ignition: digital with computer control with three-dimensional reflection Transmission: Six-speed final transmission: # 530 chain with sealing rings Front suspension: 43 card fork; 4.7-inch rear suspension: single shock absorber with seven-position spring preload adjustment; 5.0-inch front brakes: 296 mm dual floating discs with four-piston caliper. Rear brake: single disc 240 mm with single-piston caliper Front tire: 120 / 70ZR-17 radial Rear tire: 180 / 55ZR-17, radial wheelbase 57. inches Rake (throw angle): 25.0 degrees Path: 98.0 mm (3.9 inches) Seat height: 31.5 inches Dry weight: 427.0 lbs Fuel capacity: 5.0 gallons Color: asphalt