HONDA CBR1100XX Super Blackbird (1997-1998) Specs, Performance & Photos

In the mid-1990s, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer wanted to produce the world's fastest production motorcycle to take over the bragging rights and marketing impact held by the Ninja ZX-11, which led to the rise of the Super Blackbird.

The Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird was a motorcycle part of the CBR series in Honda's range manufactured from 1996 to 2007 as a competitor to the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11, which was the fastest production motorcycle at the time. The Blackbird was named after the Lockheed SR-71 aircraft, which was a speed record holder at the time.

The Super Blackbird model passed the ZX-11 with a top speed of 314 kph (195 mph), but two years later, the Super Blackbird was left behind by the Suzuki Hayabusa, which reached a top speed of 317 kph (197 mph).

In the performance department, the 1998 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird had its muscles from a 1,137cc four-stroke four-cylinder liquid-cooled engine fed by four Keihin carburetors that helped deliver an output power of 164 hp with maximum strength at 10,000 rpm and 124 Nm (92 lb-ft) of torque available at 7,250 rpm.

The handling was softened by a 43 mm HMAS cartridge-type telescopic fork on the front and a Pro-Link single shock absorber on the rear, while the stopping power was achieved by two 310 mm discs with three-piston calipers on the front wheel and a 256 mm disc with a three-piston caliper on the rear wheel.