FireBlade TT
2016 CBR1000SP
Things are starting to get really saucy now. John McGuinness has won the 2015 Senior TT and to celebrate, Honda have decided to release a ‘TT Special Edition’ Fireblade SP for 2016. There was only 50 made and 30 of them were used as travelling marshal’s bikes for the 2016 Isle of Man TT. Special edition ‘SP’ Fireblades and extra-special edition ‘SP2’ Fireblades were most likely an attempt for Honda to spark a bit of excitement back into Fireblade ownership, as by 2016 there hadn’t been a significant upgrade to the model for seven years, since the 2008 Blade hit the showrooms. But what a Blade it was, with reasonable power for a bike back then, sublime handling, decent looks and typical Honda reliability – I had the pleasure of racing one for a season in the British Superstock Championship and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.
The TT Special that we got our hands on came with full Öhlins suspension, Akrapovic exhaust and a load of trick Gilles bits and pieces like rearsets and lever guards. It looked like a race bike with road bodywork on, and as soon as I sat on it, I realised that’s exactly
how it felt, too. First and foremost, the rearsets seemed to be set up for an extremely short-legged person, and being reasonably averagely sized (a smidge under 6ft) I found the riding position a little bit cramped.
I couldn’t wait to hear the roar of the Akra, so without any further ado, I fired the Blade up (pun intended). And it was loud. Obnoxiously loud, if the truth is known. When sat ticking over, the engine didn’t seem that happy; the revs would rise and fall of their own accord, as though the bike was hunting for fuel, and the booming sound emanating from the end-can only served to intensify the problem.
As soon as we got going though, the engine revved as cleanly as could be, and the sound, although a bit too loud, was magnificent. Any bike that sounds as well as the SP did, doesn’t half bring out my inner-chav – my ears (and everyone’s in the surrounding area, for that matter) were treated to a loud blip at every opportunity – the ladies love that, you know.
The Öhlins-shod SP didn’t just have the riding positon of a race bike, it had quite a taught set up that reacted well to every rider
input, and like its elders, was happier with every extra mph of speed you asked of it. Fast corners and long, sweeping bends were where the SP felt most at home, just like those that you’d find up on the mountain section of the TT course.
The 16 Blade wasn’t bad in the slower stuff, but there did seem to be something amiss with the front brakes when approaching the slower stuff. As you applied pressure to the lever, very little would happen for the first inch of lever travel, but then all of a sudden the brakes would grab and the bike would be up on its nose. The brakes were really strong, but a bit too unpredictable for my liking – I didn’t feel as though I could hammer them, as I didn’t know what would happen.
What was predictable was the throttle, and the way the power worked. This model Blade was the last real superbike to avoid the likes of the ride-by-wire throttle, umpteen power modes and traction control. I understand that all that modern electronic trickery gives you more control and ultimately keeps you a bit safer on the road, but it’s not very rock and roll, is it? Rock and roll is flying by the seat of your pants (and your right wrist) and not asking a computer to make all the decisions for you. A quickshifter would have been nice, but nonetheless it felt like an easy to ride (if a little uncomfortable, thanks to the rearsets, and reasonably low screen), modern sportsbike that would reward you for good behaviour, and punish you for bad. That’s what I loved most about riding the TT Special Fireblade SP.