Difference between revisions of "Honda VTR1000F"

Outside the United States the motorcycle was named the "Firestorm" . The new Superhawk was introduced after the [[Ducati 916]] made [[V-twin]] [[sportbike]]s popular again. The new Superhawk uses an all new 90 degree V-twin. The bike introduced several new design concepts such as the "pivotless frame", side [[radiator]]s, single casting [[engine]] case, [[connecting rod]]s with cap screws instead of nuts, and the largest [[carburetor]]s Honda ever put on a motorcycle. The "Pivotless frame" meant that engine was a stressed member with the [[swingarm]] bolted directly to the engine.  The bike was released in 1997 as an early release 1998 [[model year]].  One motorcycle magazine suggested (circa 2000) that this bike was the fastest 0-60 mph production bike at the time.  A [[racing]] version of the bike was expected from Honda.  In 2000 Honda introduced the [[Honda RC51|RVT1000R]] ([[Honda RC51|RC51]]) known outside the United States as the [[Honda RC51|VTR1000SP]], though the bike had only four engine parts in common with the modern Superhawk.  The [[Honda RC51|RC51]] was an entirely new V-twin racing platform that won the World [[superbike racing|Superbike]] championship its first year racing with [[Colin Edwards]] and the Castrol team.

For the model year 2001, Honda introduced a number of improvements. These included a larger 19 liter tank (the original was 16 liters), internal modifications to the front forks, an improved riding position thanks to less steeply raked clip-on bars and an LCD display for elements such as fuel level, engine temperature, trip meter, odometer and clock. A HISS immobilizer also became standard at this time.