HONDA CBR 1000RR SP2 BSB SUPERSTOCK
There was a time when a ‘stocker’ was relatable to the bike you saw down the dealers… but that’s no longer the case. This is Tom Neave’s 2019 Superstock SP2 Blade, and it’s about as fit for Her Majesty’s highways as a melon is for hammering nails. The SP2 is Honda’s homologation special, sharing the core of its DNA with the SP and RR models, but forall its similarities, there are a load of performance-inspired differences. For starters, the pistons are stronger and lighter, the intake (1mm) and exhaust (1.5mm) valves have been made bigger and the
cylinder head has been reshaped so higher profile cams can be slotted in, assuming the class you’re racing in allows for it (you can’t change them in ‘Stock’). The addition of Marchesini forged wheels has upped the bike’s game in the handling department, and the introduction of a full Akrapovic race system and a kit ECU has meant that Honda’s been able to draw out a bloody impressive 207bhp from this fibreglass-clad racer. That’s a figure that can’t be sniffed at, and I found the punch of the package notably better from the minute I thumbed the starter. In fact, the whole bike felt different, being taller in the saddle, generally firmer and a lot more aggressive in the ergonomic department. The addition of clip-ons and rearsets gave this bike a whole new persona, backed up by the deafening bark of the Akra system which gleefully gave my ears a good ragging as I screamed my way through the revs, hooking up the slick changing ‘box that benefited from a Kit ECU’s shifter and blipper function. The pull of the bike was much sharper, the fuelling crisper and the pace of the package much quicker. Of course, that’s to be expected from a bike that’s seen a 28bhp gain and has
binned off the equivalent of a large sack of spuds. The weight difference was impossible to ignore, especially on corner entry where the SP2 took minimal encouragement to go from upright to full lean quicker than a hooker drops her drawers. I actually had to recalculate the aggression of the handling, simultaneously getting an appreciation for the manually adjusted Öhlins cartridge forks and shock that had taken the place of the SP2’s standard fitment electronic pogos. As good as they were on the SP, they couldn’t hold a candle to the race-spec kit in this bike. The whole SP2 felt much more planted, proved much more capable of absorbing the relentless imperfections on the track and, most importantly, offered so much more feel.
Having had the best part of four days development (over two tests) at the hands of Tom and the Honda team, fine tuning the bike’s setup and performance at every opportunity, the Blade I was riding was arguably the best it was ever going to be, and that reflected instantly against the stop watch. On my first flying lap I’d knocked nearly two seconds off the SP’s time, and there was still plenty more to come. The drive out of the corners was another big plus point, being much stronger but smoother and, essentially, a damn sight easier to get fired up and blasting out of bends. If there was a downside, the extra oomph was enough to catch you out on occasion, causing the bike to wheelie where it hadn’t been and spin up through some of the faster corners on track. In that respect, the ride was a lot edgier, but for all the right reasons. Another place where the game had been upped meteorically was in the braking department. With the ABS binned off, Brembo Z04 pads bolted in and braided hoses completing the mix, the stopping performance of the SP2 was now on another level. Hauling the Blade up was no longer a game of Russian roulette, which did my nerves a lot of good and meant I didn’t have to resort to the bottle to calm things down that evening. There was so much more feel through the front brake lever, allowing for a more tangible relationship when trailing deep into corners, meaning I could hug apexes tighter and take more control of where I wanted the Honda aiming. I liked this new sensation a lot, along with the rest of the package. The motor was perhaps the star of the show, being an absolutely different animal to the road-going SP with its life-sucking emission castration devices, but the whole bike was so good that it would be wrong to ignore the perfection of the entire package. It was like no Blade I’d ridden before, contradicting some people’s perceptions that the latest Hondas aren’t quick enough, sharp enough or characterful enough. On face value, this bike had it all, but the third and final contestant in this showdown would’ve argued it had even more to offer. It was now time to try out the superbike.