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Honda SP-2 – Kevin Turner buys Honda’s Championship winning twin. Does it do the business on the road as well? Read on...

With thanks to Portman Motorcycles, Guildford for all their assistance

Honda SP2 - big, imposing, championship winning... and rocks on the road as well I bought my SP-2 in January 2010... meaning I spent the next four months waiting for the weather to pick up before I could have a proper play on it. Frustrating, but thankfully the wait was worth it. The SP-2’s racing heritage is well documented, as is the fact that the road going version of the Bayliss-beating superbike is pretty similar to the HRC race machine.

It certainly looks the part; the whopping great swing-arm, huge forks and exquisite detailing make the SP-2 a thing to be admired. Give it a polish then sit back with a cup of tea and stare for the next 45 minutes. It’s not beautiful in the traditional 916 sense, but it’s hugely purposeful; a real bruiser of a bike.

I certainly approached the test ride with a degree of caution: 133bhp plus cold winter roads, coupled with the bike’s fearsome reputation didn’t instil much confidence, but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually got going. One criticism often levelled at the SP is the stiff ride, but I didn’t find it significantly worse than many other supersports bikes I’ve ridden. It’s certainly on the firm side, but not unbearably so. The SP-2’s predecessor (yep, the SP-1) was notoriously bad around town, its glitchy fuelling making pedestrian speeds something of a nightmare by all accounts. Thankfully, Honda have all but rectified this with the SP-2, the larger throttle bodies and upgraded injectors making it rideable, even in hideous London rush hour traffic.

Honda SP2 - built to race, but handles long distance touring well... well, tank range aside that is... But that’s not why Honda built the SP-2. As soon as a glimmer of sunshine made its way through the clouds I booked a session at Brands Hatch to find out how an HRC-engineered bike felt on the track. The answer? Pretty special.

It’s quite a heavy bike to push around in the garage, but that translates into great stability when banked over, while the twin pistons hammer it forward with serious grunt. With the bike still unfamiliar and the track dry but absolutely freezing, I was a little reluctant to really throw it around, but even in less than perfect conditions, the SP-2 felt very fast and reassuringly planted.

My previous bike (actually, it’s now my second bike as I couldn’t bring myself to sell it in the end), an old 636 Ninja A1P felt equally good through fast and slow corners alike, but the SP-2’s grunt out of the bends allowed me to make progress where the Ninja would be floundering. I’m quite sure the Honda will convincingly beat the Kwak once I’m used to it, although it has to be said, the Ninja isn’t the docile old man’s sports bike some would have you believe - MCN deemed it the perfect everyday supersports a while back and I have to agree, so while the Honda certainly grabbed my attention on track, it also needed to prove itself against the old green war-horse in the real world.

Time to strap on a tent and some panniers and pootle off to France for a few days. We planned a route that would take in the D-day Beaches and end up at Mont St-Michel – roughly a thousand mile round trip, and enough to expose any touring issues the SP may have been hiding under its magnesium engine covers.

Honda SP2 - actually takes on a mountain of luggage... and still has time to stop and sniff the flowers As you can see from the images, the Honda was pretty well loaded-up but it didn’t miss a beat. Not only did it accommodate my luggage and a tent with ease (thanks to the useful bungee points), but it proved very much the equal of the Kawasaki in comfort terms as well. This really surprised me as I’ve always raved about what an excellent all-rounder the 636 is, and I certainly hadn’t expected a bike with such a pronounced racing pedigree to come close. In fact, the only negative point I can think of is the poor tank range, which demanded a stop pretty much every hundred miles (the SP’s tank has an 18 litre capacity so you’re talking approximately 25 mpg; not great, but around town that drops to about 17!)

Anyway, fuel issues aside, the SP was a revelation, its huge torque making even long motorway slogs bearable. In fact, the only problem I encountered was a leaking fork seal, which I have to put down to being one of those things that happen from time to time (usually when you’re miles from your favourite garage).

Verdict: The SP-2 may be getting a bit old in the tooth now , and there’s no doubt a well set-up modern 600, let alone a thou would be quicker on the track. But how many Gixers and Blades do you see everyday on the way to work? The SP turns heads like few modern bikes will; it has a presence and a pedigree that make it as enjoyable to look at parked on the drive as to hurl into Paddock at 100mph. I can’t wait to get it over to the ‘Ring!

Thanks again to Portman Motorcycles in Guildford Not only did they source me a pillion seat free of charge, they also quickly replaced the dodgy battery that was on it when I bought it.

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