FIRE STORM
Honda’s road racer is a bargain at £22k
A FEW weeks ago I was lucky enough to get some track time with Honda’s flagship superbike, the SP2 Fireblade.
Lucky? Yes.
They’ve only built 500 of these
£22,225 race-bred specials. Just
39 have made it to the UK and all of them have been sold.
Twenty two grand for a motorbike? Has the world gone mad?
No, it hasn’t. Having ridden it on track for long enough to destroy a set of tyres I can say it’s worth every penny.
The SP2 is easily recognised by its gold-coloured, forged magnesium alloy Marchesini wheels. If you want a motorbike to behave and to do as it’s told, light wheels are a great place to start.
Anyone who’s ever held a rapidly spinning bicycle wheel by the axle will understand all about gyroscopic forces. The heavier the wheel, the harder it is to turn at high speed.
Wheel weight also has a huge effect on suspension. A lighter wheel allows a lighter spring to be used and offers finer damping control.
The Fireblade is already a very lightweight motorbike but the Marchesini wheels on the SP2 make a noticeable difference to the steering, particularly in high-speed direction changes.
Coupled with the semi-active Ohlins suspension and nicely matched Bridgestone tyres, its behaviour over bumps and poor surfaces is uncannily tactile. It’s just as well.
I assumed I had full traction control at my disposal. Through a quick fourth gear right hander – the last section taken at full throttle – I was mindful of the dash lights illuminating out of the corner of my eye, as they do when traction control kicks in.
For lap after lap, with my instructor in front of me laying big dark lines from his tortured rear tyre through this buttockgrindingly fast turn, I assumed the invisible hand of electronic assistance was stopping me from crashing.
It was only later that I discovered it wasn’t. It’s Honda’s Torque Control system. A different thing altogether.
The wheel speed sensors detect slippage (back wheel revolving faster than the front) and the ECU briefly limits torque by altering the ignition settings. It then stops intervening and allows full torque again. I wish someone told me that before I swung a leg over it.
Still, not many killed – I brought it (and myself) back in one piece.
The SP2’s real ace card – apart from me not crashing it – is power to weight ratio.
Just moving it around, you’re really taken aback at how light it feels – like a 600.
As a result, the sensation of acceleration is biblical. Horizons, braking markers and corners rush up at you just like in a speeded-up video game.
But it’s so easy to ride quickly, flattering almost.
Full throttle, clutch-less upshifts are possible due to the standard fitted quick-shifter, and the auto-blipper means there’s no need to touch the throttle on back-shifts so you can concentrate 100% on using the massive power of those Brembo front brakes. The quickshifter is so smooth it’s almost like an automatic gearbox.
There’s even a launch control system and pit-lane speed limiter – the latter handy for bumbling about in town, I guess. Three riding maps – Fast, Fun and Safe – allow you to tailor the bike’s behaviour to your mood or the conditions.
But it’s just the polished, balanced and refined way this exclusive Fireblade feels that sets it apart. To describe a near 200bhp, 195kg superbike as userfriendly seems inappropriate but it is, trust me, it is.
When you consider the exclusivity and supercar-level performance on tap, £22,225 doesn’t seem much to ask…