2020‘BLADE v 2010‘BLADE
Built ten years apart, but both astonishing value for money.
Two hundred horsepower. NNO, let’s be precise about this, a dyno’d 201.03bhp at the rear wheel at a shrieking 14,000rpm. And Honda’s new-for-2020 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade feels as intense, overwhelming and special as these nnumbers suggest. The direct rush of top-end power as the 1000cc inline four passes 10,000rpm is so extreme your brain struggles to keep up.
This is the most powerful and focused Fireblade yet. And it’s a change of direction. Honda have always used the ‘Total Control’ slogan for their range-topping sportsbike, right back to the revolutionary CBR900RR in 1992; the first Blade may have been lighter and sharper than anything before it, but Honda’s focus was acceleration, rider feedback and usability. The maxim for the latest bike should be ‘Total Headcase’. Not just because of the ludicrous power and 600-like revviness, but because of its miniscule dimensions, stiff chassis, gofaster riding position, and an avalanche of technology designed to make it go around in circles as fast as possible. Race replicas don’t get racier. I appreciate this about the CBR 1000RR-R. You wouldn’t buy a sledgehammer and expect to be able to use it like a copper mallet, so why can’t a sportsbike be as sporty as possible? I admire Honda’s utter commitment to their vision.
But while huge numbers, crispness and rider aids are impressive, it may not be the Fireblade we actually want. Especially as the forerunner was such a damn usable motorbike.
At the start of 2008 we did a sportsbike test with the class-leading Suzuki GSX-R1000, Yamaha R1, heavily updated Kawasaki ZX-10R and the all-new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. The Honda arrived late (it was the first test bike in the country yet had curiously been sent to Autocar magazine instead of the UK’S best-selling bike mag) so we’d had time to fully explore, enjoy and acclimatise to its rivals. Yet the Blade immediately blew us away. ‘The new CBR1000RR is genius,’ frothed our April 2008 issue. ‘The way this compact, elegant package combines jawdropping performance and confident handling with refinement, ease of use and sophisticated design renders the opposition obsolete.’
For me, the dent left by the model was as deep as the one created by the CBR900RR. For the same reason too. ‘No other bike has the CBR’S usability-to-performance ratio,’ we gushed. Total Control. Evidence of its rightness lies in the model life: the 2008 design survived in evolved form until 2019, exceeding the run of the original 900 by three years. And it’s good to be back. Today the spangly 2020 CBR1000RR-R is joined on warm Leicestershire roads by a 2010 Fireblade (only detail changes to the ’08 bike – colours, subtle styling, stronger crank,
‘Why can’t a sportsbike be as sporty as possible? I admire Honda’s commitment’
optional ABS). Lifted from the ever-helpful Fasttrack Motorcycles (0116 262 3099, fasttrack.co.uk) and up for £5285 with 23,000 miles and full history, the Honda is as accommodating as I recall. Suspension is sporty yet supple, the riding position plugged-in without being excessive, and low-speed direction changes are superb. If feels far more sat-in after the tight head-down 2020 model but it takes no time to become acquainted and confident. Just jump on and ride.
And the contrast in engines is staggering. The older bike was a bit rattly even when new, carrying on the Blade tradition of sounding like the camchain’s making a bid for freedom. The older engine isn’t as smooth as the new one either. But as we dart into Rutland through a series of chicanes and tight elbows the white bike is so much more usable than the red one it’s embarrassing.
The 2010 model pulls harder out of low-speed turns in second gear than the 2020 model does in first. Realise a corner is way tighter than expected and that you’re a gear or two higher than is prudent, and the tractability of the older Blade lets you just wind the throttle and still drive out hard. Do the same on the new Blade and there’s a deep intake drone… but not a lot of actual acceleration until revs creep past 6000. Only then does the exhaust valve open, the exhaust doubles in decibels, and the inline four starts to wake. The difference in roll-on acceleration for fast A-road overtakes is similarly striking.
Compare dyno curves and it’s no surprise. The new Honda’s whopping peak horsepower might overshadow the 166bhp of its
‘As we dart through chicanes and tight elbows the white bike is so much more usable than the red one it’s embarrassing’
predecessor, but at 7000rpm – middle of the range, realistic road revs – the older CBR has an advantage of almost 25bhp. That’s on full throttle. The really telling thing is that the 12-year-old engine design also produces more grunt on 40% throttle at 7000rpm than the new one does on 100% throttle. No wonder it feels so bloody wonderful.
It’s only after the longer-stroke earlier model peaks at 12,000rpm that the latest one takes control. Hold onto gears, keep it wound open and feed ratios with the super-slick gear shift, and the RR-R is sensational – the top end explosion is like Han Solo making the leap to lightspeed. And the noise… no other four-cylinder bike on the planet creates the tearing, screaming, haunting din of a 2020 Fireblade making its rider’s eyes bulge.
Not many bikes steer like the new Honda either. Front-end weight bias and the wristy riding position make it quite hard work when pootling, but response, feel and ability to alter course when dissecting smooth, grippy corners at proper lean are glorious. It genuinely is like a taut supersport 600.
Unfortunately, the handling and stratospheric revs aren’t the only 600-like traits. The CBR1000RR-R is tiny. And focused: you lift a foot up high to the footpeg… then lift it higher still to actually find it. Glance down and you see the top of the left-hand switchgear, rather than the buttons to control the data-loaded widescreen dash. After the rounded tank and sat-in feel of the older bike, the new bike’s flat-topped tank, slenderness and perched-on seating only emphasise diddiness.
It’s also stiff. There’s no doubting the quality of the Showa forks and shock – pushed into their working zone the damping action and feedback are superb. But at legal (ish) speeds on typical British roads the 2020 Fireblade tracks bumps rather than swallowing them, fidgets over imperfection and generally provides a jiggly ride. Not nice when you’re screwed up like a giant on a minimoto. The earlier machine has far more ability to hide half-arsed road repairs and is much less nervous over mid-corner ripples. Greater sense of control from the less extreme riding position as well. 12 years back I said that on the then-new Blade I was, ‘confident, less taxed and more relaxed – as a result I’m faster and safer. And for longer.’ Same deal today.
After a long afternoon on first-class roads, we head back to Fasttrack where the new Fireblade quickly draws a crowd. As it should. Details like oh-so-subtle machining evidence on the top yoke, integrated wings and peekaboo headlights are class, and you can tell at a glance it’s an exceptional thing. And it is exceptional, from the precise chassis and brake bite to bewildering electronics and astounding power. On occasions when road conditions (and your bottle) allow full use of 200bhp and Motogp-inspired handling the 2020 CBR-RR-R delivers a greater high than its forebear. Its soaring revs, planet-shrinking power and trackday-winning handling are phenomenal. I’m still full of admiration for this bike.
But it’s the 2010 Fireblade that I want to ride home on. More comfortable, less tiring, its forgiving chassis and flexible engine make it easier to ride fast – you use more of what it has, more often. Less likely to batter a tired back and worn wrists, too. Switchgear is easier to get to grips with, we’re still suckers for a bold analogue tacho, and there’s as much fine detailing and Hondaness as with the latest one.
And, of course, it’s five-and-a-half grand. Or put another way, just over a quarter of what the faster, sharper but far less rideable RR-R costs. That’s value, that is.
‘Planet-shrinking power and trackday-winning handling’
» Socially distanced hugs to Fasttrack Motorcycles for the loan of their 2010 Honda Fireblade. It’s yours for £5285.Call on 0116 262 3099 or visit fasttrackmotorcycles.co.uk