NEW 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade and Fireblade SP Announced

Despite the Tokyo Motor Show having been and gone, Honda still have something pretty special in store for us this year. Today they announced a new Fireblade for 2020 and it'll be unveiled in the flesh at EICMA tomorrow. So in today's video we'll look at every detail as well as what you get in the more premium SP model. They say its design is influenced by their RC213VS which is essentially a £137,000 limited edition road-going version of their MotoGP bike so I'm looking forward to going through this. The headline update for the Fireblade will be the completely redesigned 1,000cc inline-four engine which has been designed with a heavy influence from their HRC MotoGP development programme. The outcome is that it will now produce approximately 214hp at 14,500rpm and 113Nm of peak torque at 12,500rpm. That's a huge power figure and a massive leap on the current Fireblade which produces 25 less horses at 189 with the peak occurring lower down at 13,000rpm. That 214hp figure puts the new Fireblade right up there with the best superbikes. The Ducati Panigale V4S produces 211hp for example and the £35,000 ultra-premium spec V4R produces 217. So how have Honda done it? They list a huge number of technical changes to the motor versus the outgoing model, many of which have been inherited in design from the RC213V. Honda say that to achieve the required valve size, combustion efficiency and friction reduction needed to generate that power, they copied the same oversquare 81mm bore and 48.5mm stroke which is a significant change from the 76x55mm dimensions of the previous generation's engine, with the 81mm bore being the largest for any inline-four on the market. Finger follower rocker arms are used as opposed to a bucket valve drive which Honda says reduces inertial weight by approximately 75%. They also use diamond-like carbon or DLC on the cam lobes to reduce valve train friction by 35%, lightweight titanium conrods and caps save 50% in weight compared to the steel version and pistons are now forged from aluminium to save another 5% in weight. The engine is also narrower owing to a design that moves the starter motor from the main crankshaft to the mainshaft of the clutch and the engine is also shorter in length owing to a reduction in distance between the crankshaft, countershaft and mainshafts. The rear of the engine block also now serves as the upper shock mount. This is honestly just a quick overview of some of the tech included in Honda's press release about the new Fireblade, so if you're a real engineering nut, I'd thoroughly recommend tracking it down and having a read as there's not really time for me to go into every detail here. But suffice to say, they've made a lot of changes to this motor right down to advancements in the bolts they've used. Honda partnered with Akrapovic on the exhaust design with a compact, lightweight titanium design which they say helps to keep the mass of the bike central while leaning to the right. The exhaust also features a valve which helps to produce low RPM torque and then opens for high RPM power whilst also reducing noise when closed. The new smaller engine dimensions allowed Honda to completely redesign the chassis with the goal of improving high speed steering, stability under acceleration and braking and feel for front end grip. The new diamond frame made from 2mm aluminium increases vertical rigidity by 18%, torsional rigidity by 9% whilst horizontal rigidity decreases by 11% which Honda says all combine to give maximum levels of feel. The balance of the bike has also changed with the crankshaft now 33mm further away from the spindle of the front wheel which helps to even out weight distribution. It's also 16mm higher, raising the centre of gravity which should also aid side to side agility. The aluminium swingarm has increased in length by about 30mm to 622.7mm in order to mirror the design and therefore some of the handling characteristics of the RC213VS, however Honda have maintained the same weight as the smaller swingarm of the current Fireblade by stamping it from 18 different thicknesses of aluminium. To improve rigidity and handling as well as saving weight, the rear shock now mounts directly to the back of the engine block which means that the upper crossmember has been removed. In addition, the seat height has increased by 10mm to 830 with the bars moving forward and the footpegs moved back and up. This should allow the rider to form a more aerodynamic tuck as should the new subframe which bolts to the top of the frame rather than the sides, narrowing the area around which the rider wraps their legs. All in all, the bike comes in at 201kg wet which is 5kg more than the 2019 model, although that might come as a bit of a disappointment to some, that's a 2.5% increase which is more than offset by the 13% increase in power, resulting in a better power to weight ratio. Honda have opted for twin, radially mounted Nissin brake callipers at the front to replace the Tokiko calipers on the current bike and have opted for slightly bigger discs at 330mm as opposed to 320mm. The two piston Brembo caliper at the rear is the same as the RC213VS. A longer Showa 43mm big piston upside down fork is now used to allow more range in geometry changes when dialling in your preferences at the track. The fully adjustable rear shock is also from Showa, using their BFRC light or balance free rear cushion light design which ought to improve responsiveness. The bike also gets a steering damper from Showa which is electronically controlled on three levels with input from the wheel speed sensors and the IMU. Speaking of which, Honda has traded the 5-axis IMU or inertial measurement unit of the current bike for a 6-axis unit which provides more accurate pitch and roll data to be sent back to the ECU for input into the rider aids. The throttle by wire system has been improved for faster response and has 3 default riding modes. There are also options to fully customise power delivery on 5 levels, 3 levels of engine braking and 3 levels of wheelie control plus the option to fully disable it. Honda's selectable torque control which is essentially their name for traction control has 9 levels plus off and has been optimised for the new bikes power delivery. It also has a launch control feature which Honda calls start mode. It can limit the revs at either 6, 7, 8 or 9,000rpm even with the throttle wide open allowing the rider to focus on releasing the clutch when the lights change. Rear lift control and lean sensitive ABS keep braking in check with two modes available. Sport is designed around road riding whilst track is designed for higher speeds and therefore more aggressive braking. Elsewhere electronically there's a 5-inch TFT screen for managing all of these settings with a simplified 4-way switch on the left hand switch gear. Honda has also added their smart key technology which is their name for keyless ignition and steering lock. Not only does this add a bit of convenience but Honda also claim that they've improved their ram air duct by taking a straight line through the headstock which has in part been made possible by the removal of the ignition barrel. The rest of the bodywork of the bike has also been redesigned with both aesthetics and aerodynamics in mind. The frontal area has been reduced by dropping the tank by 45mm which allows the rider to get into a lower tuck. The front mudguard has also been redesigned with convex surfaces on each side to direct airflow away from the tyre which creates drag and onto the smooth fairing sides. The airflow from the front tyre has also been optimised to make best use of the radiator and oil cooler. At the rear the fairing has also been extended closer to the rear wheel which again keeps some air off the tyre reducing drag but it also reduces spray in the wet which ought to improve grip. All in all these changes add up to give the Fireblade less drag than any bike in its class with a drag coefficient of 0.27 if that means anything to you. Aero winglets are definitely in fashion for both sport and naked bikes at the moment. Take the recently launched Ducati Streetfighter V4 for example which embraces the trend fully with 4 winglets having 2 on each side. And we were possibly expecting Honda to take it to the next level after they patented a design earlier this year for retractable dynamic winglets that would pop out in the appropriate road conditions and disappear when not needed. But it looks as though this was purely to protect their intellectual property because although the new Fireblade does indeed have winglets they're fixed in position. Winglet enthusiasts will still be happy though as they've stacked 3 on either side making for 6 winglets in total. That's almost a meal at KFC. Honda claim that the winglets generate the same downforce as the 2018 RC213V MotoGP bike and help to limit wheelies on acceleration as well as improving stability under braking and corner entry. So that's the plain old regular Fireblade, what about the premium spec SP? Firstly the suspension is swapped out for Ohlins all around with a 43mm NPX fork at the front which is an upgrade on the NIX fork of the current SP. An Ohlins TTX36 shock is used at the rear and both get their smart electronic control system meaning that all the settings can be dialed in from the dash as well as 3 modes And while the same Brembo brake is used at the rear, the Nissin front calipers of the standard bike make way for Brembo Stylema 4-pot radial mount calipers and they're pumped by a Brembo master cylinder and brake lever. The quick shifter option also comes as standard on the SP as opposed to the optional accessory on the standard bike. So that's pretty much it for the new 2020 Fireblade, no prices as of yet but I think you'll agree there's a lot to like about the updates to this bike. I already can't wait to watch some group tests and see how it compares to the best of the superbike market. What do you guys make of it, will it be able to beat the V4s from Ducati and Aprilia or the BMW S1000RR or the Yamaha R1M which was recently updated as well? Or do you think one of these bikes will still have the edge? And despite on track performance, which would you buy if you had the money? Let me know in the comments below, I'll be heading to EICMA this week to get some first hand footage of this bike as well as the best of the new bikes from other manufacturers so if you want to see those videos hit subscribe and the bell and I'll catch you next time.