2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Review

Sponsored by McCams. Getting you back on two wheels when it wasn't your fault. I can plot the points of my motorcycling obsession with the Honda Fireblade. When the 1992 original came out I was a 12 year old boy and that thing and other sports bikes of the era were nothing but pages of a magazine to pull out and stick to my bedroom wall. The 2010 model marked another chapter in my life. I joined the Ed team at Superbike and I was gifted one as a long-termer. There's always been a Fireblade at those forks in the road that my personal life have taken along the way. We went a couple of years ago to Rockingham and rode at the 25th anniversary celebrations of Fireblade and Civic Type R and I was lucky enough to jump on the heritage fleet that Honda owned so I was, you know, they had pretty much all of them apart from the 954. Rode them all. They're all fantastic things. The one thing that Honda have always done with the Fireblade, if you're old enough to remember that kind of chocolate cam era that Honda went through where they were hugely embarrassed and hugely over-engineered everything that they made subsequently, the Fireblade benefited from that and its reputation has always been this kind of masterful thing of quality really. Not massively successful on track for a long time but a great road bike and again another chapter in my life, the McGuinness era, writing his book, you know, as a road-going sports bike what John McGuinness did on it at the TT is testament to exactly that kind of quality feel that Honda have been pitching for with the Fireblade. So if we're going to pick a you'd go for dependable, you'd go for reliable and possibly unexcitable maybe. All that's gone out the window for 2020. This Honda CBR1000RR-R SP is a whole new ballgame. I'm sure somebody out there will be able to put me right but in my head, the last time there was a really good Fireblade race bike, James Tosland's on it, it's got Tenkate written up the side, he's winning world championships, obviously Johnny Ray had some success on it and there's also that nutty video of Kianari at Donington I think in the wet, qualifying on one. It's been a long time since Honda has had a really good Fireblade race bike. They need to change that. All that success they're having with this guy, Mr Marquez, the MotoGP, maybe that's not helping them with road bike sales. They need a good Fireblade to sell bikes in here. We're at Doble's, the largest Honda dealer in South London I think. That's exactly what they're pitching for with this. It's a race bike first and a road bike second. So there's a lot to talk about with this bike and as usual what I'm going to try and do is steer away from just chucking loads of numbers at you. My review is going to be more about how this bike made me feel when I was riding it but there are a few important numbers for us to think about. The first is the power, 214 horsepower. They are not Fireblade numbers, 214 horsepower and the weight, the kerb weight on this bike is 201.5 kilograms. Very very un-Fireblade like. It's a clean sheet design, obviously you can tell from the skin on the outside but sometimes manufacturers are guilty of making the outside look super trick and underneath it's still the same as last year's model. This is the opposite of that. Everything that you can see on this bike is new. As I say, I've ridden all of the previous model Fireblades including the 2017 model at Portimao and more importantly for me, the 2013 I think SP model, that was at Qatar. So I've ridden one of the older SP blades on the same track that I've ridden this one. The feeling on that previous SP from 2013-ish was that the average buyer was getting older so what they did with that old SP model was lower the pegs, push the bars out and just made more space for the older guy that was buying that bike because he's old. That's been completely flipped on its head with this. The pegs have come up closer to your ass I think by about 2 centimetres, they've gone backwards by about 4 centimetres. Huge changes to make this bike easier to go fast on track. They're kind of shunning those older guys that were more important to them when they wanted to sell more road bikes 6 or 7 years ago. Everything that you can see here has been designed with one thing in mind at the top of the priority list is speed. Along with that reduced rake in the screen, the tank is a little bit lower as well to give your chest, if you're a manly racer, or your gut, if you're me, room to just fit underneath the screen. It's such a cool thing. There's still room to move around but I would say if you blindfolded 100 riders and didn't ask them to ride because they'd all crash and sat them on a CBR600RR and then on this, they'd probably think that they're on the same bike. Those dimensions have just gone back to what they used to be when super sports bikes were absolutely everything. Squished in, feet up under your ass, it's a really good feeling when you're on track. When you're on road, well, that's a compromise that Honda are hoping that you're willing to make. 2020 is the year of the winglet. Lots of the big bike manufacturers have chucked them on and you could argue that they all need them. It stems from MotoGP. Look, here they are. You can see them. And they are super trick. Pirelli have got them, Ducati have got them, and Honda have added them to the Fireblade. They're kind of internal wings rather than in your face, kind of Panigale-style wings. They do add downforce. There is a function to them. They do need them at racing levels. Do we need them on the road? Yeah. Why not? So that whole frontal area has been massively reduced. One of the trick things that Honda have done with this bike, and it's the first time I've seen it on any Japanese bike, I think, is they've moved the ignition barrel out of the way of the airflow that's heading into the airbox. So you keep the key in your pocket and then down on the side of the dash, you flick the ignition on. It's not just a trick gimmick to sell bikes. The actual function is to do with performance. It's about cleaning up the flow of air from the front of the bike straight into the airbox. What that gives you everywhere is this raw tea. The best way that I can describe it is kind of Kawasaki-style airbox growl. I've never had it on any of the Fireblades that I've ridden previously. For me, it's always about Kawasaki with that airbox noise. This bike does that now too. It's a lovely noise at the front and there's an incredible noise coming out the back. They've worked really heavily with Akrapovic to perfect the art of an EU-compliant exhaust in terms of emissions, but also one that ridiculously somehow manages to pass the EU sound limit level thing. It sounds like an out-and-out race bike on the track. And of all of the bikes that I've ridden and told you guys about in the last nearly 10 years, this is the one that you definitely don't need to waste any money buying an aftermarket exhaust for. So among all of the technical wizardry, the part that I'm going to focus on the most in general is that front end. Without doubt, the best front end of any sports bike I've ever experienced. The heart of the system is Ohlins Semi-Active. It's an MPX at the front and a TTX shock at the rear. The levels of adjustability that it has will get to when I'm showing you how the dash works and the systems that it has, but just the feeling that it gives to guys like me. One of the points that I want to make with this review is more about how this bike makes me feel. I've said it before, just in case you haven't heard me, I'll say it again. I'm not a racer. I am the track day knob at the Fast Group track day wobbler. A Brembo Stylema or Stylema caliper, call it what you will, coupled with this Ohlins Semi-Active front end witchcraft. Absolute witchcraft. So our full day was spent on SE1 compound Pirelli slicks with warmers for every session. So you literally can roll down pit lane, roll into turn one, bang your knees straight on the apex from lap one, from your out lap. What I had to start doing initially was completely readjusting my turn in process. I found that I was just tipping in and hitting the apex minus 10 metres. I was getting to the inside of the corner way too early. Just because of the confidence that this inspires, the levels of grip that it finds and the process of being upright to being lent over. Everything happens in the blink of an eye and once you've got your head around it and you've readjusted your own lines and your own riding style to suit, you realise where most of what this bike is really good at comes from. Again, let's get back to what I was saying at the start. They've built a race bike here with a secondary audience for it really. They've built this bike to win races. The project lead for this bike told us that on the launch. Winning races is why they've built this bike. So what they've done is built the perfect race bike and then road legalified it or something. So in terms of the geometry and the chassis set up and everything that they've done, this is perfect for the Irwins, Haslam, Altista, all those guys. Clearly, I'm not built like them and I don't think or ride like them and I'd like to think that most of you guys are more like me than you are like those. What that means is you get a tiny insight into what makes a really good race bike every time you jump on this bike. You can ride it to work and appreciate why that bike is doing what it's doing on track just because of the geometry and how good that front end is. I can't reiterate enough how much I enjoyed clinging onto this bike and just putting loads of faith in this front end and those warm slicks and just having a really, really good day on track. The motor does a lot to go through. It's bang on 1,000cc and it makes 214 horsepower. The way that they've achieved that is typical Honda stuff that I've covered on previous Fireblade launches where I try to explain the Japanese approach of gathering together a small enough pile of dust to make a mountain. By that, I mean they've worked on every single possible area of this motor to extract as much power and performance from it as possible. Beryllium coated small ends, forged conrods, some other kind of metal and octanium skirts on the pistons, diamond-like coating everywhere. They've reduced the length of the cam chain by running it off a secondary drive off the back of the crank, finger follower cams. It's just got the lot. Probably too much for me to talk about here and I think, unless you're an absolute nerd, it's not really the kind of stuff that matters as much as how the bike makes you feel. What? The thing that I keep coming back to. The other thing that I keep coming back to is the fact that this is a bike that's been built for racing. So what that means is racers don't really use mid-range, not like we do. Obviously they use it, but they don't use it every day in every gear like we road riders do. So what that results in out on track is a bike that absolutely demands to be revved. It doesn't just need revs to perform, it demands them. If you get caught napping and you're in the mid-range, you're going to get gapped. You're going to get gapped on track days by 600. You've got to scream this thing and where on other Fireblades in the past and even other 1000cc sports bikes, you kind of get to 11 or 12,000 revs. You think, maybe I'm going to change gear any second now. Not with this bike. You've got to hang on. You've got to go all the way out. Peak power is 14,500 revs. It's a flipping screamer of a motor. So when you couple that peak performance being all the way around the clock and then a little bit more and then a little bit more, it's so far around the top end that few riders will ever experience it on the road. That great big gap in the mid-range tells me that one of the things that you should think about if you're in the market for one of these bikes is the group tests that you're watching from other credible media outlets. I'm mates with most of these guys. I trust their opinions. My opinion is when it comes to group test time, it all depends which track they're running them at. So if you're looking at a 1000cc group test at Donington, for example, big, fast flowing track, I think this bike would finish further up the peck in order than if it was at somewhere like Cadwell or a short circuit at Brands Hatch. This bike needs revs. It needs lots of space to do its thing. The gears are massive. Easily over 100 miles an hour in first. Second gear off the top of my head is, you know, you're probably doing 140 miles an hour in second gear alone. So in terms of harnessing all of that crazy power that's all the way around the rev range, Honda have a next level for me and for them, six-axis IMU with a very easily baffling array of adjustability. You get to it all through a very easy to read 5-inch TFT dash, but it's the kind of thing that you're going to need to sit down and do your homework on if you want to make the most of what's available. You can stick with the default modes, of which I think there are three, rider modes I mean, and within each of those rider modes there is a default suspension setting. Remember it's semi-active suspension, so the forks are talking to the throttle bodies, are talking to everything else that's going on in this bike, trying to figure out what you're asking of it. Nine levels of traction control, three levels of anti-wheely or wheely control, we'll get to that as well in a minute. Multiple levels of ABS control. So like I say, just take your time to do your homework and study what this bike is capable of when you push various buttons down here. Don't be tempted to write it off or slag it off because it's not capable of doing what you think it is. I guarantee there's a setting in there somewhere that suits how you want to ride it. Was it comfortable? Well, it was on track, you know, 20 minutes at a time. So again, in the real world, I can't speak about the comfort levels that this bike has. It is a cramped riding position, but that doesn't mean that it was giving me cramp. Feet right up under your ass. It is very much a racing crouch that you need to adopt to ride this bike. So I certainly found that it was bearable after an entire day on track in really high temperatures on and off track. Quite a demanding circuit to ride, coming in sweating, puffing and panting, but not really aching that much. I don't mind the fact that the pegs are where they are. I quite like the riding position. Makes me feel like a racer. Surely that's the whole point of riding a bike like this. The fueling, super clean. Honda have increased the throttle body size from 48 to 51 or 52 mil. I think the whole process of picking up the throttle by wire throttle and transmitting that to drive at the rear wheel is a really clean one. There was a couple of glitchy areas on the previous generation Fireblade I think and again when you couple it with the up and down quick shifter system, definitely a contentious issue with the previous generation Fireblade. I didn't have any issues with that all day. Really enjoyed the fueling experience. Didn't have a single false neutral up or down the box and just came away feeling like they ticked that box. Now I know that other people have suffered issues with false neutrals in between first and second for example, but in the last couple of weeks I've experienced quick shifter issues on a number of manufacturer bikes and I think there's a degree of acceptance from me as a rider that I need to adapt how I'm trying to shift on most bikes. Less than ten days ago I was nearly throwing myself over the screen of a V4 Streetfighter because I wasn't being positive enough with my shifts between 4th and 5th. Each bike is different. Just because it has a quick shifter and a blipper and all those lovely things doesn't mean that they're all exactly the same. Adjust what you're doing to suit what the bike wants and you'll have the kind of day that I did in Qatar. Like I say, no false neutrals, no issues with gearing and just perfect fueling. Let's talk about wheelies. Now I love wheelies. Everybody loves wheelies whether they know it or not and I like to do wheelies all the time. Quite often in the reviews that I do, whether the bikes like it or not, I'll stick one up and then try and justify it by saying that it gives me an opportunity to talk about how well a bike fuels, the weight, distribution. I did one on this bike at the end of the day. I only did one and it didn't end like all of the other wheelies I've ever done on any track launch or other wheelie to be honest. It went really bad. I wrote the bike off, I wrote my suit off, I wrote all my kit off and crashed the bike on track. So a nice and safe environment. Entirely my fault. We spent all day on super warm Pirelli slicks. Then when we did the camera tracking behind the car, the bike was on road tyres that were cold, I got a little bit carried away with this. It got away from me. So wheelies, in hindsight, are still very, very good but they're not always as easy as you think and the peaky nature of this motor, not trying to make any excuses here, definitely all my fault. The peaky nature of this motor means if you want to pick one up, pick it up at about 90 in second. Don't try and pick it up at 40 in first. I turned everything off so I can't blame any of the systems and I'm just saying this again, not for legal reasons but just to hit the point home. It was entirely the fault of the rider. I crashed a wheelie. They won't let us have the footage. I was behind the camera car. I can understand why they won't but I've seen it and it looks pretty good. So maybe one day Honda will let us have the footage when there's a new Fireblade that comes out, when this becomes an old model. In PR terms I think it's bad for Honda, that's why they don't want to let me have it. I appreciate that. I'm very sorry Honda. And also, if you're ever going to do wheelies for work, don't do them in front of Half Beltram who runs the Honda BSB team, both Irwin brothers, the entire team of Japanese guys that built this bike, all of your mates from the world's press and the head of PR for Honda UK, all stood on pit wall, all watched me do a wheelie, all watched me destroy a lovely, lovely motorbike. Sorry, sorry Honda. The final and most important set of numbers, the price. £23,499. It is the best Fireblade that's ever been made and it is the most expensive Fireblade ever sold. It's very different to other Fireblades that have preceded it and you will have to tweak your perception of what a Fireblade is if you're going to ride one and live with one. I know my fastest days are behind me. I'm 40 years old now and for me to ride this bike at 40, it's like a double edged sword. I wish that I'd got the chance to ride a bike this good when I was 30 and then carry on enjoying Fireblades for years and years. I know I'm on that downward slope to track bikes being a little bit wasted on me. It's a shame that no matter how much better than this future generations of Fireblade get, my best days on track are behind me and that's a little bit sad. As it stands, whether it's me carefully removing the staples from the centre of a magazine so that I can stick one to my wall, whether it's me getting that dream job as a journo and being given Fireblade to do thousands of miles on roads all over the world, countless laps on track. Like I say, the Fireblade story for me is one that has ridden in parallel with my journey through motorcycling. It's far from over but there are other bikes that catch my eye now before a sports bike will. It is what it is. What I do know is I now know exactly what people mean when they say that something defined their generation because I am generation Fireblade.