2017 Honda CBR1000RR launch review

Yes! A new Fireblade! This is exciting stuff, because 25 years ago, the forefather of this bike changed the way we thought about big bikes – and what a change it was! Light instead of heavy, big power from a relatively small engine, it was a quantum leap in another direction for sportsbikes. We’ve reaped the rewards of that ever since.

So as I powered out of a slippery Honda corner at Phillip Island for the first time ever on a traction control-equipped Fireblade, I wasn’t actually thinking about the electronics the bike is finally adorned with. I was thinking more about what a sweet steerer it is, how light and dynamic the chassis feels and looking forward to snapping the chain on a lively engine.

Sitting in the tech briefing an hour before, I wasn’t so optimistic. A lot of what was being presented has been on competitor’s bikes for years, and the bike’s glaring omission in the tech department is the powershifter – or lack of one. Every other Japanese 1000cc sportsbike has one standard, why doesn’t the Fireblade? This bike had better ride bloody well, I thought, because the offering isn’t compelling otherwise, given the others have been doing this all so well for so long.

2017 CBR100ORR IMAGES, SPECS AND DETAILS IN BIKE SHOWROOM

The claimed weight is interesting though. Fifteen kilograms less than the previous bike, but with the addition of electronics is a good sign in a sea of sportsbikes that are getting heavier and heavier. A claimed wet weight of 196kg is six kegs less than the relevant GSX-R1000, so it’s good to see the Fireblade remains dedicated to keeping things trim. It feels that way, too.

Tiny tot
It’s also tiny, the bike making even small riders appear bigger. It truly is 600-sized and it was with mirth I watched a larger bike journo struggle all day to get out of the 280km/h breeze – he just couldn’t. But he is a solid 191cm or so. At 178cm, I could get my bonce out of the breeze, but only with the chin firmly on the tank. The shape of the screen means being glued to the tank isn’t totally necessary, the wind flows well over you, however the lack of powershifter made it harder to get the gearchange done as you hit the main straight and under the wind. But that’s not why I reckon it needs a powershifter as standard.

Powershifters make you feel good, they sound awesome and everybody can play factory racer with these magic boxes bolted to their shift levers, even non-sportsbikes carry them now – BMW’s K 1200 R, a monster naked sports tourer has run one since 2005 or so and is a better bike because of it.

Honda does offer one for under $600, if I was a dealer I’d be bolting them on for chump change – it makes the bike. Honda had a powershifter-equipped bike at the Island launch, and it made the bike much better, particularly out of turn 12 (I could get the shift done with my head under the screen) and leading up to the turn seven. The bike doesn’t like shifting without the clutch, presumably because the gearbox has to handle some solid horsepower, so is built tough inside the box, and being able to step into another cog with the throttle pinned as you change direction is much more comfortable.

The powershifter works both ways, too, and does its job well – braking hard into Honda without having to touch the clutch is a joy and the sound the thing makes (think “factory superbike”) adds to the fun.

Don’t order your Fireblade without it.

Speaking of noise, this is one of the best sounding sportsbikes. I don’t understand why Suzuki insists it must crane that massive end can onto its GSX-R1000, when down the road at Honda it has a svelte muffler that makes big-bore four cylinder music through the rev range.

Rider's bike
The engine itself isn’t typical Honda, though. The bike seems to save its grunt for the last stretch of the throttle cable; the first time I noticed this was as the front end pawed its way to the sky out of Siberia – but not in the usual spot, and higher than I expected for a power-wheelie.

It was fun, but the way it did it was not the typical behaviour of even a big bore 1000, and it got me thinking it was the traction control or something similar causing it. So I turned it all off and… the same thing.

It wasn’t gently lifting the bike on torque, it was like I’d flicked the clutch to bring it up and I feel like it’s a quirk of the new fly-by-wire throttle. It’s not dangerous, just not the way I am used to leaving Siberia. Like I said, though, it was fun!

Everywhere else the engine feels strong. The test bikes were running standard gearing and sixth gear at the end of the straight was an option for me, rather than a necessity. Shorter gearing could have made lap times a bit keener. The track was cold, though, and some clown had driven a truck across the track at MG, tracking mud right through the middle of it, so it was a good testament to the bike that only one rider bit the dust.

It is a real rider's bike: responsive, light, narrow and the Honda DNA is evident. I loved the brakes –once I had the rear lift assist dialled off. Leaving it standard led to the brake releasing itself hard into turn four and turn 10 as the bike tried to keep the rear wheel on the deck – no thanks, I’ll do it myself! With that sorted, it’s a corner carver of high note: lots of feel, solid mid-corner feel manners and capable of holding most lines you choose for it, and the kind of steering I remember fondly from my rides on another Honda legend, the RC30. That’s a good thing.

There are a few let downs, though. The footpegs are cheap, there’s still a cable-operated clutch from 1998, with no clutch span adjustment – and did I mention no powershifter..?

There are, however, classy looking LED lights, a dash that provides an excellent launching pad to alter modes (but not turn off ABS) and the red version certainly got my hairs standing to attention when I first saw it in pit lane. It looks heaps good.

Interestingly, of those power modes (1-5, one being the liveliest), two felt the best to me. Still full power, but the throttle delivery was sweeter, allowing more feedback from the rear Pirelli Super Corsas Honda had fitted for the test, and reducing the snappy (but fun!) power wheelie performances.

Effortless
With the track finally warm in the afternoon, the electronics where I liked them (power setting in two, torque control at a mellow three and the engine braking on minimum – I set all this through the User1 mode – I had my most enjoyable rider around the Island for a long time.

The way the bike tracked up the hill from turn six through to turn night, surely one of the most enjoyable sections of track in the world, before everything goes quiet and slow for turn 10, is superb.

Knifing into turn 10 is as effortless as on any other bike I’ve ridden, just because it slows and turns so precisely, the feel is magnificent and I can track into the ripple strip on the brakes, before getting back on it for turn 11 and beyond.

So is the Honda’s Fireblade delivered on the 25th year of its being enough? Good question. The new tech it’s laden with brings it in line with the competitors, just like Suzuki’s GSX-R, launched at the same track two months before, but doesn’t give it an advantage. It would have been nice for Honda to further the playing field here – a seamless gearbox or something – however it’s clear budget was on the mind of the development team and fair enough given the wane of sportsbike popularity.

What the bike does do well, though is act like a real riders bike – if you turned everything off, you’d still have feel and confidence in the Honda, because it talks to you, steers neutrally and while the engine isn’t exactly “linear” in its power delivery, it is effective, fun and has the grunt to match the Fireblade tag. Dynamically, it’s excellent.

At $22,499, it’s right in the ballpark with the new GSX-R1000 (standard version), just factor in the powershifter – don’t buy one without it. It has most other electronic goodness, a slipper and assist clutch and most importantly rides like a Fireblade – light, direct, full of feel. Japanese sportsbikes create tough competition these days and it’s gratifying to say the bike that started this era of sportsbikes is back amongst them all.