Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

£15,225 + 999cc inline four + 189bhp + 196kg + 16-litre tank + 832mm seat + Miles so far: 1490

WHILE I MIGHT be alone in finding a sense of peace in strapping luggage to a sportsbike, Honda’s besieged PR department will also find it immensely relieving – it means they don’t have to listen to me whinge about ‘throttle connection’ for another month. And it also means the Blade is in with a shout of actually winning something.

This is because I know how to overload a sportsbike; I’m the king of ludicrous soft luggage. If it doesn’t move, I can strap it to the back of a race replica. And the rules are stacked in my favour as the terms of the competition include an anti-bmw GS caveat: we will be judged on price per litre of water safely(ish) attached to the bike. So with my 70 litre Sw-motech Drybag swallowing a full 50 litres of bottled water (not quite the 70 litres advertised; must be 20 litres of air), then strapping easily and securely to the Honda’s pillion pad with supplied tie-downs (I’d add bungees for good measure), the Blade hit 70mph on the road outside RIDE’S office without damaging the Honda’s bodywork or spilling a drop (the Drybag is waterproof – presumably inside-out as well as outside-in).

So 50 litres at £126.00 equals £2.52 per litre – which, I think, should make the Blade the comfortable victor. And which means I’ve achieved what John Mcguiness, Guy Martin, Honda’s World Superbike and British Superbike racing teams have all failed to do in 2017 – I’ve won something on a 2017 Fireblade.

“It means the Blade is in with a shout of winning”

Simon preparing for part-time fire service duty

If nothing else, it is secure. As much as Simon’s idea of safety