Description
Click here for an CycleVIN Motorcycle History Report on this 1996 Honda CBR900RR. Additional photos are available here for your perusal.
Thanks to the introduction of machines like the Ducati 916 and the Yamaha R1, the 90s were a glorious decade for sportbikes. But the start of what we consider modern sportbikes came out of Honda when they introduced the CBR900RR in 1993, and it’s primarily due to Tadao Baba. Baba started at Honda in 1962 out of high school, and he steadily worked his way up through R&D.
The CBR900RR was his first solo project with Big Red, and the goal was to create a sportbike that was easy to ride. In an interview with Cycle World, Tadao noted, “I told people at the time this new bike would change the thinking for sportbike design, that it would be fun both in corners and a straight line. Originally we started with a CBR750RR but we already had the VFR, so perhaps make it a 1000? No. We also had CBR1000F. Instead we saw that if we took the dimensions of a 750, use the base motor but keep same bore and increase stroke it came to 893cc, so a new class was born, the 900 class.”
His outlook on current sportbikes was quite negative:
“How can these be called sports bikes when they are so very big and heavy? They didn’t deserve the name.”
You can probably guess what Baba focused on, and the results were staggering. The CBR900RR was just 4 pounds heavier more than the CBR600F2, and it was a whopping 76 pounds lighter than its lightest literbike competition! Simply put, it was a revelation.
This example is VIN: JH2SC3304TM002822. Please Note: The seller acquired this bike through Iconic Motorbike Auctions last month, paid us for it, and then decided he wanted a ZX-7RR more instead – so it’s back on the block!
The odometer shows 4,233 miles, of which approximately 450 were put on by the previous seller. The current seller never took possession of it.
The previous seller acquired this bike in July 2019 from Adam Wilkins at Wilkins Motorsports in Brewster, New York – it was Adam’s personal bike and sat on their showroom floor without any fluids in it since the early 2000’s. The service department recommissioned the bike with fluids and completely went through it before he had it shipped. Almost all of the aftermarket parts and modifications were on the bike when he got it, so it is our belief that they were done in the mid/late 90s.
The one exception is the clear XPel film protection on the tank applied by Clear Bra Indy to prevent rubbing from a zipper – the seller applies this to all of his motorcycles and notes that it can be taken off easily.
The other period modifications include:
Polished frame.
Competition Werkes tail tidy.
Two Brothers Racing carbon fiber exhaust.
Yellow Zero Gravity windscreen.
Aftermarket grips.
The sale includes a purple Look tank bra, and the seller notes that he had new Bridgestone Battlax tires installed by Indy Ducati when he acquired the machine.
Offered on a clean Indiana title, this CBR900RR is currently located at our headquarters in Marina del Rey, California as the previous seller just shipped it out to us to for a final once-over and test ride – it needs nothing and is ready to enjoy as-is. As our Adam puts it, “it’s perfect and a stunning example.”
