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Like a Hurricane
Touring on a
35-year-old Honda CBR1000F
7 September 2026, by Chris Beattie
Young Chris
Beattie reckoned the best way to exercise a mate's
under-utilised motorcycle was to take it on a good long
ride, say from Kingscliff in northern New South Wales to
Melbourne in Victoria, covering some 2000km (1200 miles)
in the process.
So, can a 35-year-old sports-tourer
still cut the mustard today? Absolutely!
(Ed's note: this bike is coming up for
sale. If you're interested, shoot us an
email and we'll pass on the owner's details.)
I’ve ridden the roads of the Tweed Coast with my mate,
Bill Holmes (pictured) for a couple of years now. We both
live in the seaside hamlet of Kingscliff, in northern NSW
near Tweed Heads. The area is spoiled for great riding
roads and dotted with many welcoming pubs. Riders
Paradise, only a stone’s throw from Surfers Paradise.
Bill owns the two bikes shown here: a 2007 Triumph
Thruxton I convinced him to buy recently and a 1991
CBR1000F Honda I convinced him to consider putting on the
market after he bought the Triumph. But, as all bike
owners know, there can be a strong emotional attachment
between man and machine; so much so that Bill is a little
conflicted about the prospect of parting with the Honda
he’s owned for coming up to 14 years.
Which gave me the opportunity to suggest that, instead of
letting the CBR languish in a corner of his shed, he allow
me to exercise it with a return ride down to Melbourne for
the birth of my first grandchild. A couple of beers was
enough to sway him, along with a commitment from Guy
'Guido' Allen to run a review of the big tourer in AllMoto.
A week or so later I was on the road headed south.
When I worked with Guy at Australian Motor Cycle News
back in the ‘80s, I attended the world launch of the CBR
range (aka the Hurricane in some markets) at Suzuka in
Japan in 1986. At the time, the range comprised
full-bodied 600 and 1000 sports CBRs – that's one of the
first-generation 1000s, above.
The 1000s were subsequently given a make-over in 1989 and
again in 1992, finishing up in 1999.
So, the origins of Bill’s bike can be traced back to that
launch in Japan. The model lasted for just over a decade
and the combination of its robust and powerful 998cc
water-cooled engine and sports-touring layout has not aged
over the years.
Bill bought the Honda from his brother in 2013. It was
stored it in his shed for 10 years, the only modifications
being a sturdy Gearsack rack and bag and Staintune
stainless steel mufflers. At the time Bill was living on
the Central Coast in NSW and used it to commute to his job
in Sydney. He moved to Kingscliff in 2015, only riding the
CBR occasionally so that over its lifetime it’s barely
averaged 2000km annually.
He says as he got older the big Honda was just too heavy
for the sort of recreational riding he enjoyed on the
tight roads around the coast and hill country of the Tweed
shire. Six months ago, he was introduced to the Thruxton.
It was love at first ride and reignited his enjoyment of
riding. As a result, the CBR was relegated to a corner of
the garage – until I came up with a plan. I would ride it
to Melbourne, using it for the purpose it was designed.
Regularly serviced, the CBR is in virtually pristine
condition for its age, only just ticking over 60,000km
(37,000 miles) on the run south. So, the trip to Melbourne
was on a bike that was virtually in the same condition as
when it left the showroom in 1991. After completing almost
2000km (1200 miles) on it, I can report that it’s still
the same extremely comfortable and capable sports tourer
as when it was launched and stacks up surprisingly well
compared to today’s modern equivalents.
Quite a few people commented on the bike’s sleek styling
during stops along the way. It’s fully enclosed bodywork
and fairing have definitely survived the styling changes
over the years, and I reckon it wouldn’t look out of place
in a modern showroom.
The four-cylinder engine produces 97kW (130hp) at 9500rpm,
with gobs of torque throughout the mid-range. It ticks
over at 4000rpm at 100km/h (62mph), with enough punch for
strong passing power without the need to swap cogs in the
six-speed transmission. At times I found myself cruising
comfortably at around 130km/h (80mph), although there is a
small price to be paid in terms of fuel consumption.
The relatively heavy tourer (232kg/511lbs dry) contributes
to the thirst, not helped by approximately 15kg/33lbs of
gear I had stashed on the rack. While I never hit reserve,
the best I managed was 265km (164 miles) before a top-up.
By then, the fuel gauge was well into the red, the
21-litre tank taking just over 16 litres. With five litres
to spare, I’d estimate total touring range to be around
350km (215 miles).
Fittingly, Bill chose to equip the bike with Pirelli Angel
sports touring tyres, which proved to be ideal for the
trip. Grip was excellent, wet or dry, including riding
through muddy roadworks on several occasions.
As far as sports riding goes, I chose to stay off freeways
as much as possible, only using the M1 for the initial run
from Kingscliff to Grafton, before turning west on the
Gwydir Highway, which snakes its way over the Gibraltar
Range on its way to Glen Innes, Armidale and Tamworth. The
ride though the mountains showed what a great sports bike
the CBR is, easily coping with the tight turns, although
its non-adjustable front suspension and relatively soft
Pro-Link rear induced wallowing at times. This wasn’t
helped by the top-heavy luggage on the back, but I never
had cause for concern.
On the flat, the bike tracked superbly, especially through
the long, sweeping curves of the backroads which
eventually saw me arrive at the sleepy village of Dunedoo,
ending my first day on the road with just over 1000km (620
miles) added to the speedo. This highlighted another
feature of the CBR – its comfort. I could easily have done
another 2-300km (120-180 miles) and felt fresh and with
none of the aches and pains usually associated with long
distances on mostly average roads.
In keeping with the CBR’s stated sports/touring role, the
riding position tends to throw most weight onto the
low-set handlebars, with the rider’s footpegs set towards
the rear. I expected that I’d need to take regular breaks
to alleviate stress on my wrists and neck, but instead I
realised I could easily have handled stints of 3-400km
(180-240 miles), fuel consumption notwithstanding. The
small screen was actually quite effective, so that wind
buffeting was kept to a minimum.
Not surprisingly, the combination of the twin front discs
and single rear provided confidence-inspiring stopping
power, the extra luggage seemingly having no impact on
braking.
One thing I really liked about the Honda was its simple
yet comprehensive dash layout. Two smaller gauges monitor
temperature and fuel level, flanked by a large speedo and
tacho. The fuel gauge seemed to read on the ‘glass is half
empty’ side, diving deep into the red zone by around 200km
(120 miles), without needing to switch to reserve. As I
came to realise, there was still ample fuel in the tank.
I started the second day of the ride early, leaving the
Dunedoo Hotel at 7:30am, with damp roads and a fog that
lasted for the first 100 kays or so. The occasional
squashed ‘roo and remains of deceased wombats kept me on
my toes as I took the Newell Highway headed for the
NSW/Vic border town of Tocumwal. On this run there was
little traffic, and the wide-open spaces encouraged me to
occasionally open up the Honda. With the roads in pretty
good condition – at least in NSW – spurts up to
160-170km/h (100-105mph) impressed me with the bike’s
stability and the drivetrain’s smoothness. Even the
occasional oncoming roadtrains barely disturbed its
equilibrium.
The only thing upsetting its progress at times was the
too-soft suspension, which was also commented on during
original tests of the CBR1000F range when it was first
released. The air-assisted, non-adjustable front end is a
limitation for sure, but only for dedicated scratchers,
whereas you get to fiddle with preload and damping on the
rear at least. I found the settings as they were to be
about ideal.
Bumps and potholes were absorbed without any fuss,
although a wallow could be provoked at speed through
undulating turns. I never felt threatened by it, but for
those who prefer sharper handling, you’d want to fiddle a
bit with the mushy front end and experiment with the rear
settings. Then again, the CBR is a sports tourer, so with
a little attention to detail you could easily sharpen it
up for weekend scratching, then revert to softer settings
for commuting and touring.
The final stint for the second day saw me cross the border
in the late afternoon. My destination was Seymour, around
100km north of Melbourne. I had at least managed to avoid
the notorious Victorian stretch of the Hume Highway but
would encounter it the following day. The many potholes
and roadworks (many with 40km/h limits and no actual
roadworkers in sight) during the run into Melbourne kept
me on edge as I, several times, had to play ‘pothole
slalom’ to avoid becoming yet another victim of Victoria’s
appalling lack of road maintenance. The challenge of
dodging the road mines at least highlighted the agility of
the big tourer. Its steering was pinpoint accurate and
saved me from becoming another Victorian road statistic.
After a good, solid drenching on my ride through Melbourne
down to Mornington on the city’s southern boundary, I
finally pulled into my daughter’s driveway and hauled the
Honda up onto its centrestand. They are such a great
addition to any bike and make maintenance chores like
lubing the chain a breeze.
As with the two previous days, I felt like I could easily
have ridden another 1000km – although it was nice to enjoy
a cold beer and a warm open fire at the completion of a
very pleasurable ride on a very capable and
well-thought-out bike.
As Bill commented before I departed Kingscliff: “It’s a
really great bike mate. It’s never let me down. If it
wasn’t for me loving the Thruxton so much, I’d keep the
Honda in the garage for longer rides.”
I’m typing this looking forward to the possibility of a
return run home, but Bill just called to confirm that he’s
finally decided that he’s a one-bike rider, so the Honda
is on the market. So, if anyone is looking for a supremely
competent low kays mileage eater and fun sports tourer, email AllMoto
supremo Guido and he’ll pass on Bill’s contact info.
***
Next Gen
See our review of Honda's next-gen sports-tourer, the mighty
CBR1100XX Super Blackbird.
***
SPECS
Honda CBR1000F 1991
ENGINE:
TYPE: Liquid-cooled, four-valves-per-cylinder, inline
four
CAPACITY: 998cc
BORE & STROKE: 77 x 53.6mm
COMPRESSION RATIO: 10.5:1
FUEL SYSTEM: 4 x 38mm Keihin CV carburettors
TRANSMISSION:
TYPE: Six-speed, constant-mesh
FINAL DRIVE: chain
CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR:
FRAME TYPE: Steel tube
FRONT SUSPENSION: 45mm Showa forks, 120mm travel, air
adjustment
REAR SUSPENSION: Showa Pro-Link monoshock, 130mm travel,
full adjustment
FRONT BRAKE: 2 x 296mm discs with 2-piston callipers
REAR BRAKE: 276mm disc with 2-piston calliper
DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES:
DRY/WET WEIGHT: 232kg (511lb)
SEAT HEIGHT: 780mm
(30.7in)
WHEELBASE: 1512mm (59.5in)
FUEL CAPACITY: 21lt (4.6 UK gal, 5.5 US gal)
WHEELS & TYRES:
FRONT: 17-inch cast alloy, 120/70-17
REAR: 17-inch cast alloy, 170/60-17
PERFORMANCE:
POWER: 97kW (130hp) @9500rpm
TORQUE: 104Nm (76ft-lb) @ 8500 rpm
TOP SPEED: 264.2 km/h (163mph)
STANDING QUARTER: 10.7sec, 206km/h (128mph)
***
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