Honda targets WSB glory with all-new 215bhp Fireblade
All-new 215bhp weapon targets WSB glory
‘The Fireblade delivers a claimed 215bhp at peak’
Honda’s Fireblade has never really been about headlinegrabbing power - until now. The radical new version sees Honda pull out all the stops to deliver a claimed 215bhp at peak courtesy of a brand-new, massively oversquare (81 x 48.5mm) 999.9cc inline-four engine.
Honda say the new Blade’s bore and stroke is same as the V4powered RC213V-S and also mimics that of Ducati’s class-leading Panigale V4R. It also produces similar power and torque.
Its new top-end includes a swap to finger followers, Diamond Like Coating on the cam and a clever, new patent-pending ‘semi-cam gear train’, which is just code for ‘shorter cam chain’.
The bottom-end has been reworked, too, with con-rods now forged from a titanium alloy of Honda’s own making, smallends coated with beryllium copper while the piston skirts are Tefloncoated. This all reduces friction, allowing higher revs and the big power figures they’ve clearly been chasing. It has a whopping 26bhp more than the outgoing model. The new engine also has an intricate cooling system to prevent bore distortion, while at high rpm the pistons are sprayed with oil to cool them down. Helping to force as much air as possible into its superwide bores is a new air intake, which is apparently so direct that Honda had to ditch the ignition barrel and fit a keyless system.
Sticking out the side is an all-new titanium exhaust developed with Akrapovic containing clever valves and pipe work designed to not only ease it through Euro5 regulations but to also help reduce the overall size of the exhaust by a third.
There’s a new, more rigid, frame, and the wheelbase has been increased by a whopping 50mm partly due to a 30.5mm increase in swingarm length, while the crank is further from the front wheel for a higher centre of gravity to help make it turn faster.
The suspension is fully adjustable Showa (the SP version gets semiactive Öhlins) while new Nissin calipers are more rigid (Brembo Stylemas on SP). The rear tyre is now a 200/55 (up from 190/50). Electronics are the same for the most part, but with small tweaks. The throttle has been updated for faster response at smaller openings, while launch control now comes as standard. The IMU is now six axis rather than five for more accurate interventions, which has allowed Honda to add ‘slip rate control’ which prevents the traction control getting confused when the rear tyre loses traction whilst cornering. With BMW’s class-leading 203bhp S1000RR unchanged for 2020, it looks like Honda have got bored of being beaten on road and track and have pulled out all of the stops to create a far sharper Blade – which should please Leon Haslam next season (see Sport page 58).