HONDA CBR929RR FIREBLADE
Two decades ago Honda released it’s ‘sharpened’ Fire blade – known to many as the 929. How does it fare today?
Mike Booth rides a 20-yearold Blade.
In the 1990s Jarvis Cocker gave us the advice to meet up in the year 2000 and that’s where I’m going today, by the fountain down the road… In the pre-brexit Britain of 1999, we weren’t worried about what would happen when we left Europe, instead we were all worried about whether or not the ‘Millennium Bug’ was going to mean we all had to buy new microwaves come New Year’s Day. Thankfully, it was all just a case of ‘Project Fear’!
Meanwhile, in the late 1990s Honda had been busy developing an all-new Fireblade which, in all fairness, was something they had to do, after Yamaha’s introduction of the all-conquering YZF-R1 in 1998.
There had been tweaks and improvements here and there for the Blade from launch in 1992, but the Millennium Blade – or CBR900RR-Y and for 2001 the RR-1 as it should be called – had upgrades and full re-designs in almost every area. The chassis was made lighter and now featured what was called a ‘semi-pivotless frame’, where the main frame rails didn’t actually join on to pivot plates on the (much longer and beefier) swingarm. That swingarm design also came pretty much directly from 500cc GPS, where Honda’s NSR500 ran a longer swinger for improved traction.
The engine was also finally fuel-injected and had gone up around 10 or so cc to 929cc. Despite this, it was not only more compact, and positioned further forward in the frame (in an attempt to improve the bike’s handling), but it had a whole host of upgraded parts inside. A bigger bore and shorter stoke meant the new Blade could rev harder and faster, with cleverly engineered forged aluminium pistons which, although bigger, weighed almost exactly the same as the cast aluminium ones which they replaced. The hollowed out camshafts were also 20% lighter, giving the motor a sharper response on the throttle, while a new cylinder head design improved airflow.
As well as electronic fuel injection, the 929 Blade came with an electronically operated intake and exhaust valve system – the Honda Variable Intake/ Exhaust Control System (H-VIX) for the best performance at both low and high revs. Think Yamaha’s EXUP valve…
Ergonomically, the previously very wide fuel tank was slimmed and shuffled around to aid mass centralisation. The bike was kitted out with a pair of super-fashionable upside-down 43mm forks and the 16-inch front wheel was dropped in favour of a 17-incher. Tadao Baba, the bike’s design team leader who developed all models until the 1000cc one of 2004, felt previously that inverted forks and a 17-inch wheel brought with them too much weight.
Looks-wise – when you think of how stunning the first two generations of R1 looked at the time and how striking the original Blade was – this one is a bit of a misfit, in my eyes. That twin-light scowl from the original and the later ‘Foxeye’ multi-reflector look is gone and replaced with a wide, single headlight assembly. There’s nothing offensive about the looks of this Blade – although perhaps that’s the issue I have with it?
Let’s get on board. The Blade had taken a decent leap forward into the 21st century and although far from space-aged, you could really tell the difference from the older models, just from sitting on it. The dash incorporates a digital speedo as well as a small temperature gauge and clock, which, despite being a bit dim, was easy to read; there wasn’t a plethora of information on there like there tends to be on modern bike’s clocks which, if you ask me, smartens the job up a bit. I’ll admit a gear position indicator on the dash would have been nice, though.
The motor fires up at the first touch of the button, burbles smoothly into life and the engine revs cleanly from the get-go. Unfortunately, that engine note was all too hushed by an end can which would have looked more at home poking out of the engine room of a 19th century steam yacht.
Trundling along on the 929 is really rather nice. It is comfortable and spacious, but feels a lot nearer to what a sportsbike should feel like, compared to the original model. Don’t get me wrong, it is still really soft, but the geometry and ergonomics of the 2000 bike felt a lot less alien to a sportsbike junky like me.
What did feel a little peculiar was the initial pick up of the engine – it was aggressive and a little bit too snatchy for my liking. Once the engine is driving, the power is nice and smooth, even when really stretching the cables and at the ‘big boy’s’ end of the rev-range, but that transition from closed throttle to an ever so slightly open throttle was really hard to get right. I can forgive the 929 for this though, as back then fuel injection was a pretty new affair and compared to modern equipment, the 2000 Blade’s PGM-FI system was fairly rudimentary to say the least, and it was something they sorted for the 954cc Blade of 2002-2003.
On a positive note, I really liked the mirrors. They were nice and long so you could see round your elbows without having to contort your body too much. That said, long mirrors don’t make it any easier to squeeze your bike into a small garage or strap into a van (especially if they are the type that don’t fold down easily).
As I upped the ante on the 929, I started having very occasional, but very concerning head shaking tank-slappers. Bumps in the road or crests hit at speed, even when fully upright, would sometimes send the bars into a real left-right-left-right hissy fit that nearly sent me hedge-wards a couple of times. Once I’d figured out when and where it would do it, I managed to get a bit of a grip of it, but there were a couple of occasions where the Doberman’s nose started popping out! So, yeah… we had a few moments!
So what goes wrong with the old 929? As mentioned, the snatchy throttle benefits from a Power Commander and some set up time (and an end-can gives a bit of noise.) Like the EXUP valves of old, Honda’s H-VIX exhaust valve is also prone to seizing and the rumour is that second gear can be a bit weak. This Blade also has a small ‘T-bag’ filter on its fuel pump located within the tank, which often gets clogged up with rust and robs the bike of power. As the 929 Blade has fallen out of popularity (the 954 is more sought after), it has entered the ‘cheap trackday hack’ market, so be extra wary of crash damage and check the fork legs and swingarm for scrapes.
Although lovely and strong as standard, the Nissin four-piston calipers quickly lose their bite, so check for sticking pistons and also factor in a set of braided lines and high friction pads if you are planning on riding it with the enthusiasm it deserves. Pleasingly, this generation of Blade has a ‘normal’ 17-inch front wheel, so you aren’t limited on the choice of rubber available like the previous incarnations…
I don’t mean to be harsh as the 2000 ‘929’ Fireblade was a real turning point for the Blade family as a whole, but back in the day it really didn’t set the world on fire like the original had done eight years previously and although it had its good points, and I enjoyed riding it, it just seemed to lack a certain je ne sais quoi, for me!