Blade to rest
To SP or not to SP? That is the question...
“My advice is dig deep and get the SP...”
SPEC HONDA CBR1000RR FIREBLADE SP £19,125 + 999cc inline four + 189bhp + 196kg + 16-litre tank + 832mm seat + Miles: 2139
THE BEST ADVICE for anyone buying a base model 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is to examine its tyres and if they find ‘D214’ and ‘Dunlop’ next to each other, dispense with their services immediately and fit sporty boots instead — I’ve tried Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SPS and Michelin Power RSS, but anything pukka from Metzeler, Dunlop or Bridgestone will likely be as good.
Choice of rubberwear is important because its makes more than just a difference between grip and no grip – keep up granddad, that’s how it was in the old, pre-tc days. Now, the Honda’s hyper-sensitive, healthand-safety-gone-mad traction control means sub-optimal tyres give you unpredictable throttle response instead, as the bike’s brain modulates its delivery trying to keep you upright.
So the Blade likes sticky rubber and reduced TC intervention, whereupon it behaves like a normal litre sportsbike when you get on the gas mid-corner; it digs in, drives, and goes like the funk.
Mind you, its 189bhp is the lowest output among its peers. But the original CBR900RR in 1992 wasn’t especially powerful either and, more importantly, it was light — and that mattered against heavyweight rivals like Yamaha’s FZR1000RU EXUP and Suzuki GSXR1100WP. Today the Blade’s competitors are also featherweight, so it matters less.
My next advice to a potential Blade owner is not to buy the base model CBR but dig a little
deeper — an extra £3900, from £15,225 to £19,125 — and get the CBR1000RR SP instead. This is because the SP’S quickshifter/autoblipper and semi-active Öhlins deliver disproportionate improvements to the Blade riding experience (the ride quality is fabulous, and punting seamlessly up and down the box makes Honda’s DCT system redundant). Also, the SP should already come on suitable tyres and besides it looks much nicer than the base bike, with its Hrc-lite colours, sliver frame and gold wheels. On the downside, its lack of pillion pegs and pillion pad makes
the SP harder to strap luggage to. Tip: peel off the plastic lugs over the pillionpeg mounting holes and you can just get enough purchase for a bungee hook.
Another tip for Blade owners is to invent a human shrinking machine and spend a few minutes reducing your proportions. Not because the Honda is small but because its fairing hugs the chassis so tightly there’s none left to keep the wind off the rider. And the screen is about the size of a fingernail. Screen extenders are available, but the only way to get behind the fairing is to shave your shoulders and legs in half.
And finally, if I lived in an alternate universe where I had the income to afford a new litre sportsbike, would I buy a Blade? The SP would be my third-equal choice, behind BMW’S S1000RR (still all-round king) and Ducati’s Panigale 1299 (wonderful theatre, and as for the new V4...), but level on points with Suzuki’s astonishing GSX-R1000. If Suzuki made one in red and white with gold wheels, no contest. But as I’ve already got a 1996 Blade, a Honda Civic Sport, a Honda lawnmower and a Honda generator, be a rude not to keep it in the family.