2019 Honda Fireblade SP
Classy, refined, stupidly quick, and with an offer too good to ignore…
I’M MORE THAN thinking about buying a new Fireblade SP, I’ve been really close to making the call a couple of times,’ says Dom. ‘I fell in love with it after seeing James Haydon on one for a Bike test at Rockingham. I already thought it was the bestlooking sportsbike, and discovered it also sounds brilliant, which matters. The four-cylinder howl is amazing. But the main thing is the quality. I know it’s the Honda cliché, but it’s true. If I see one next to a S1000RR or ZX-10R, it has a quality and togetherness they don’t. It looks special, and that’s a huge factor.’ We’re pitched up somewhere in middle England and Dominic is talking about why he’s pretty much decided to take up Honda’s 0% interest PCP deal on the SP. Propped in the low afternoon sun, I can see where he’s coming from. Us middle-age fools love that it’s a proper SP, just like all that 1990s home-market exotica. There’s even a suggestion it might be a descendant of the RC30. Look, it’s got a titanium fuel tank with an HRC sticker. It must be special. And it is. The Blade’s had a touch of bad press, largely for not being as powerful, fast or high-tech as an S1000RR. Who cares? With a claimed 189bhp pushing just 195kg (wet) the Honda is fast enough to rearrange internal organs. The KTM’S big twin has more obvious punch, but it can’t match the streaking rush of the sportsbike, delivered with a unique and intoxicating wail. It sounds great on-board but sounds even better from the roadside.
Being the SP means a high level of sophistication. The semiactive Öhlins suspension is gloriously supple, yet with spot-on control during ludicrous cornering activities, and those Brembo brakes can bunch-up tarmac. ‘The Honda’s suspension is plush,’ continues Dom. ‘It doesn’t feel soft, yet you don’t notice the road surface and it’s perfectly composed and balanced in corners. Compared with my 2002 Blade the brakes have massive initial bite, though once you’re used to it they’re nice and progressive, with loads of feel – I’m confidently and safely braking later. Mind you, the Super Duke R is even better…’
The Honda’s chock-full of elecwizardry, of course, with ride-bywire throttle nicked from the RC213V-S. Riding modes (brilliantly labelled as Fast, Fun and Safe, plus two DIY options) are linked to the semi-active suspension, traction control, wheelie control, cornering ABS, rear lift management, and there’s a slick two-way quickshifter that blips the throttle for you on down-changes. Dom laughs at how the Blade is a ‘Jonah bike’, after high-profile race crashes when the bike was launched were blamed on the electronics. ‘They were race bikes. What happened has nothing to do with me on the road, where the electronics make me feel safer. down a lumpy B-road in second, third and fourth gears, the traction control light flashes over bumps and I’ve got the reassurance of clever ABS. What’s really impressive is coming out of a bend, accelerating hard and feeding the quickshifter, and with the superb chassis it just stays completely stable. The bike keeps everything in check and I feel like I’m Kevin Schwantz. Hang on, it’s a Honda… Mick Doohan.’
Though the Yamaha and KTM both have the air and feel of high-quality machines, the pure Honda-ness of the Fireblade and the swank of its glitzy components make it stand out. We feel the same comparing it with the top-of-therange S1000RR M Package, too. Sure, the variable-valve German is truly phenomenal and would perhaps be a better bike in terms of anything we could measure, from power and braking distance to lap times and the quantity of gizmos. Probably got superior electronics too (though I suspect you need to be a top-flight club racer to notice). Yet the latest all-singing S1000RR still simply doesn’t have the style, refinement and sheer garage appeal of the Honda – or its air of exclusivity either.
You also can’t get the BMW for 149 quid a month with a surprisingly modest deposit. Go for a 2018-model Blade SP (lowerspec electronics but you won’t tell) and it’s just £139pm. There are dealers making their own finance packages too, meaning offers that are even better than Honda’s.
Referring to the Blade SP, Honda’s large project leader is quoted as saying, ‘Its true purpose – wherever it’s ridden – is to enjoy something that is not normally experienced in everyday life, something that cannot be surpassed.’ Given how exclusive and special this Fireblade SP feels we reckon they pretty much nailed it. That you can pop it in your garage for such an affordable amount is ridiculous.
‘The best-looking sportsbike… and it also sounds brilliant’