MotoOnline.com.au editor Alex Gobert in action at Phillip Island aboard the Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing CBR1000RR. All images: Garry Morrow:

It’s the test that magazine test riders dream of, the holy grail of motorcycle testing in the media. Not many get to do it, and those that do relive the memory for years to come.

What I’m talking about here is having the opportunity to test championship-winning race bikes post-season, experiencing the very bikes that we have reported on all year long.

The 2010 Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship belonged to class returnee Bryan Staring, a surprise winner who made a big breakthrough in his career during the season.

For Staring, nobody expected he or the Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing team to win this year. Not so soon, and certainly not since the team came together at the 11th hour just weeks before Phillip Island’s February season opener.

As the reigning Supersport champion for the Yamaha Racing Team, Staring was re-signed for what he thought would be a title defence. YRT had different intentions with a switch to Formula Xtreme, and it was at that point where Staring opted out for a private effort in the ASBK.

Defining the word privateer is a tough one in ASBK sense in this day and age, with Honda not officially fielding a factory team, however Staring’s team also doubles as the factory Honda Motocross and Supercross effort run by Full Throttle Sports.

While Bryan himself isn’t hands on as many true privateers are, his team is definitely made up of a close-knit squad lead by Western Australian businessman Russell Farrow and surrounded by a dedicated crew from Perth.

Much of the development on Staring’s CBR is carried out in WA under the instruction of Farrow, the team made up of the exact people who took Staring to the 125cc Grand Prix title in 2004.

Throughout the year the team is based out of Victoria at FTS, the bike maintained by Marty Dowd – Staring’s former team manager at YRT from last season.

Staring’s gamble to leave the balanced surroundings and pay cheque of a factory ride eventually paid off in the end as he added a third national road race title to his resume, proving his doubters wrong and reaching the pinnacle of the sport in Australia.

Gold Coast-based Staring was able to win five races as well as a single pole position this year, his five-race win streak mid-year providing a massive boost for his title prospects.

In addition, Staring picked up four separate podiums in 2010 to make it nine rostrum appearances for the year, eventually winning the championship in treacherous wet conditions at Symmons Plains’ two-plus-four finale alongside the V8 Supercars.

A lot of time, effort and money has gone into this championship for Staring and the Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing team, with the ultimate reward being that the 23-year-old has been signed up for a factory-supported ride with Pedercini Kawasaki in the European-based 2011 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup.

With a massive learning curve ahead including a new bike, new team, new circuits and new living environment to adapt to, Staring will use every ounce of experience gained during this season to make the most of his opportunity next year.

Australian Superbike regulations aren’t anywhere near the expensive specification that you see in World Superbike or other leading domestic competitions, although what you see is what you get, which ultimately are very refined production-spec bikes with minimal chassis adjustments and slightly modified engines.

Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing put forward a typically tamed beast for its championship season, a first class team with a world class rider.

This is Australian Superbike machinery at it’s best.

Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing enjoyed a rapid rise to the top in 2010.

Cougar Bourbon Honda CBR1000RR Ride Impression
I’m going to put it right out there from the beginning: Bryan Staring’s Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing CBR1000RR is the easiest Superbike that I have ridden. Period.

You know all of those reviews that boast about just how rider-friendly the production ’Blade is to ride? Well, Staring’s race bike certainly falls from the same tree.

From my out lap I could tell that I was in for a lot of fun with just minimal frights, and being a little on edge is completely normal when you’re a moto-journalist testing a championship-winning race bike.

When speaking to Staring later I told him I thought his bike was pretty tame just like the street bike. His response was that tame is probably the perfect word to describe his CBR.

Ergonomically it’s comfortable for a race bike, and Staring’s decision to utilise three foam seat pads works well to get your weight up and over the front-end of the bike.

In the engine department, you’d be amazed at the smooth power delivery and it very much contains the same feel that the production engine does. It’s a whole heap more powerful all-round, however its delivery in on point.

Second gear makes light work of Turn Four and MG at the Island, basically easing on the power and accelerating quickly to the 14,500rpm shift point of the next gear.

Speaking of the shift point, it’s slick and precise, although it’s about time Honda added a gear indicator to the ’Blade as standard equipment so we can all benefit.

I’ll be honest and say I couldn’t feel the traction control at all even though it would be far cooler to say it was superb, however Bryan tells me it comes in handy in the closing stages of racing when the tyres are shagged.

Exiting the faster third gear sweepers at the Island is super fun as the Dunlop D211GP Racer rear control tyre squirms for grip, and that connection between the throttle and rear tyre is second to none.

Open the gas, feel the power transfer to the tyre to drive you forward and then play with the throttle as you please – it’s yours for the taking as you twist the throttle tube as hard as you dare.

Staring explained that the team very rarely had to adjust the rear suspension during the season once they got a base setting and I can see why. The team commenced the season using Showa, switched to an Ohlins shock at round two and then added the Ohlins fork internals for round three when he took his first race win.

During our test the bike was set-up for the tight surroundings of Symmons Plains identical to how Bryan won the title, and that also meant that the fork setting I used at the Island was much stiffer than the team would usually use at that circuit.

What this meant was that it was far to hard for the Island – particularly at my speed – and that made it hard to get a true gauge on just how good the forks can be at their maximum performance.

Despite that the brakes were phenomenal even if they are mostly standard apart from the Goodridge lines and aftermarket lever/master-cylinder – the Brembo lever inspiring confidence and providing additional feel into the tighter bends.

At the end of the day I was expecting a lethal weapon of sorts, however the end result makes Staring’s ride one of the tamest racers I’ve ever ridden in my life. And that’s a good thing!

Australian Superbikes are far more standardised than many national series around the world.

Cougar Bourbon Honda CBR1000RR Tech Info
The Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing CBR1000RR of Bryan Staring has been developed as a simple package, designed to be as effective and consistent as possible at a variety of circuits.

The team uses Ohlins suspension at the front and rear, opting for the 30mm NIX Fork Cartridge Kit housed in production outers, while at the rear is the TTX shock absorber.

The front brakes use standard calipers and pads with Goodrigde brake lines, although the most important piece of kit is the Brembo master-cylinder and lever that provides a more direct feel under heavy braking.

As far as the rear brakes go, they are completely standard from the caliper, pads and even the brake line.

MRP adjustable rear sets are used, while other aftermarket components making up the chassis include Zachs Fairings with decals designed by Exotic Graphics, Motologic engine case covers, a Radguard radiator protector, JT Sprockets and RK Chains.

Staring’s ’Blade also features an aftermarket fuel cap for easy access, plus a GPR Stabilizer that’s mounted atop the triple clamps.

Engine wise, the standout externally for improved performance and lighter weight is the Akrapovic exhaust, with the engine built in Western Australia and bike pieced together by Staring’s mechanic Matt Rowe.

Once the bike is complete, Marty Dowd, who managed the Yamaha Racing Team Supersport operation that Staring won his title with in 2009, carries out the maintenance in Victoria.

ASBK rules enable teams to carry out minor engine tuning, and the team has the cylinder head ported and machined in WA and thinner head gaskets for more compression, along with a number of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) parts sprinkled throughout. A Uni Filter is also fitted.

The team has opted to run HRC parts including kit camshafts, velocity stacks, ECU, wiring harness, alternator and data logging for the suspension, wheel speed, throttle position, air/fuel mix.

The ECU and wiring harness enables the team run two separate engine mappings on the bike at a time, which is switchable via the button that usually is the hazard light on a regular street bike.

Also, the pass button that’s operated with the rider’s left index finger becomes a quick-shifter of sorts as it temporarily cuts the engine for faster shifting without having to back off the engine.

A low level traction control system is used through the HRC ECU and wiring harness, and the team have put a lot of time into making the most of it for Staring.

The TC system is most worthy during the latter stages of a race when the tyres are wearing out, especially on the exit of tighter turns, although it’s certainly not what you would find on a MotoGP or World Superbike.

When combined, this complete package is what makes Staring so fast on race day, the team utilizing experience, knowledge and various resources to ensure Staring has the best opportunity to finish on top as he did on five occasions in 2010.

Staring is a man on a mission after wrapping up the Supersport and Superbike titles back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. Image: Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport.

Staring’s Take
Bryan Staring is one of the good guys of Australian Superbike racing, dedicated to the sport with three national title to his name and going on to an international career in 2011. It’s safe to say that the 23-year-old originally from Western Australia learnt a lot this season, so we sat down to get his take on his title-winning Fireblade.

What would you say the strong points are of the Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing CBR1000RR on track?

The greatest thing about my bike would have to be the versatility of it. It’s very good at adapting to all sorts of easy circuits while being easy to tune. It’s got a good chassis that gives it a good feeling, very predictable. The majority of the time all we ever worked on was getting the front-end right, and then after that the balance of the bike was really good. We never made any changes to the rear-end of the bike after that. We always tried different geometry changes and so on to gain grip in the rear, which was a good challenge in itself with the Dunlop control tyre.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the bike in race trim against?

Its advantage is that it’s been so easy to tune. It probably doesn’t have a huge amount of horsepower in comparison to some other motorcycles we were competing against, but it was strong enough and we had great grip at both ends for every circuit in every race.

You entered this season as reigning Supersport champion, and to me it seems your ’Blade is the perfect bike to make the step up to Superbike racing on…

Definitely, although I have to say that I thought I’d have absolutely no problems going to the Superbike and that I’d be on top of it straight away. But I think looking back in reality it took me a few rounds to adjust and make the most of the real small things in my riding to make the most of the bike. So, when I worked a few things out I thought I should have worked them out earlier, but in the end it worked out okay.

How about the traction control that’s featured on the bike – does that come into use very often when you’re battling for race wins?

Yeah, we do use it and it’s the only time I’ve ever used traction control or anything like it. I wouldn’t say that it’s an enormously powerful system, or a highly developed TC system, but it was very subtle and that’s all we needed. I guess it worked perfectly for what it is. It definitely took the edge off the power, although we didn’t really start playing around with it until the second round. We started learning about it then, but it really helps in the last half of the race.

You were in what was effectively a brand new team together in the Superbike ranks with the Honda, so did you have a base to work from as far as suspension goes?

We were lucky that we had a good base from the first bike we purchased from Paul Free from the season before. That gave us a good indication of what they used, and then we put our own suspension in it and began our own development from there. We started off with a really good motorbike and I think we finished with an excellent one.