Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

"Are you speeding?" enquires a three-metre-high cardboard policeman holding a radar gun by the side of the Bass Highway, south-east of Melbourne. "Speed Kills", another billboard soon after cheerily informs me.

Yep, you slip into another dimension when you finally get to the Phillip Island GP circuit, because when you roll out of pit lane aboard a litre-class sportsbike and wind the throttle to the stop, all those dark government messages of doom just don't seem to apply.

Inappropriate speed kills, granted, but I for one couldn't think of a safer place to see 260kmh flash across the speedo than while streaking down the circuit's Gardner Straight.

Just as importantly, I had the utmost confidence in the bike that was rocketing me to this speed, because Honda's 2006 CBR1000RR FireBlade was surefooted and stable in a way that completely belied its breathtaking performance.

Honda topped the Aussie litre-class sports sales charts with the 'Blade last year, and with the 2006 update boasting a lengthy list of refinements, it's now hoping for a repeat performance.

 This year a drop of 3kg and a slight increase in maximum power add up to even more punch from a package that's been frying brains for years.

The weight has been shaved from the camshafts (450g), radiator (500g), exhaust (380g) and seat rail (390g), among many others bits and pieces, while the intake and exhaust ports have been reshaped for accelerated flow.

Its inlet-valve springs have been doubled to help raise its rev limit from 11,650rpm to 12,200rpm and its compression has been upped from 11.9:1 to 12.2:1.

The bottom line is a claimed dry weight of 176kg, and maximum power and torque figures of 172hp at 11,250rpm and 11.7kg-m at 10,000rpm. So, just something to get from A to B then...

Also of note is the use of a tougher material in the crankshaft, and the addition of an extra two teeth on the rear sprocket, up from 40t to 42t. This means the 'Blade has a bit more pep when it comes to all-round acceleration, and the more useable go at 'around town' speeds certainly can't hurt its performance as a road bike. Honda says its power boost has negated any drop-off of top speed due to the shortened gearing, so it's a case of smiley stamps all round...

In terms of chassis and suspension there have been minor tweaks here and there - the steering head angle has been reduced by a quarter of a degree, and the swingarm has been shortened by 5mm, which together achieve a 10mm shorter wheelbase of 1400mm, for sharper handling.

The 'Blade has been a long time coming Downunder - the bike's world launch was held right back in December - but once out on the track I soon realised it had been worth the wait.

It's hard not to mate positive adjectives with unprintable expletives when you attempt to describe a bike like this, but suffice to say it offers the rider an experience that is as utterly addictive as it is refined and predictable.

This 'Blade is the pinnacle of that old Honda paradox - extreme performance with extreme control and feedback. By rights it shouldn't be this easy to harness all that power without highsiding yourself into next month. But it is.

 The Honda Electronic Steering Damper (HESD) helps here, automatically increasing its damping force when a combination of speed and acceleration calls for it - like when you're gunning your way out of a corner.

As far as power and torque curves go, it feels like there's a heap of both everywhere. It pulls hard from 2000rpm all the way to its 12,200rpm redline (although it looks more like 12,500rpm on the tacho), but you know you're really having fun when you're on the go above 10,000rpm.

Its brake discs have gone from 310mm to 320mm for a claimed five per cent more power (they're thinner too, avoiding any extra weight), and every time I threw out the anchors they were nothing short of superb.

The gearbox is a ripper too. The gear dog shape has been revised to provide a more positive engagement, and clutchless upshifts were a delight.

I grabbed some laps aboard the 2005 model while at the Island, and when ridden back-to-back it just seems that little bit easier to ride the new model, although it's definitely a case of evolution, not revolution. It's a little perkier (the revised gearing no doubt a help here) and a bit less effort in general.

But you really do have to be a top-flight racer to get anywhere near to realising the supreme potential of a bike like this, so before the day was out I spoke to Joe Rocket Honda's Adam 'Krusty' Fergusson for his impressions of the production bike at ten-tenths pace.

"It tends to steer a bit better when you push it and it holds a line better mid-turn, but for your average track day punter the main benefit is that it spins up a lot quicker off a turn, and accelerates that little bit harder," he said.

"It's not flighty like other bikes in the class, which is typical Honda - it's really forgiving.

You can bang 'em on the road and ride them nice and easy or you can bring it to the track and flog the guts out of them," he added.

 I didn't get the chance to ride the bike on the road, but my time aboard the 'Blade augured well for real-world use. The ride position is surprisingly roomy for a bike so physically small, and even at 190cm I didn't feel especially cramped.

The finish is really top notch - lovely paint complements classy componentry. Its bodywork has been restyled to give it a sleeker look, and its instruments are clear and easy to read - needle-and-clock-style tacho and digital speedo - while there are also two trip meters and a clock.

The 2006 'Blade's price has been confirmed at $18,990 plus ORC, which gives you a very healthy ratio when it comes to bang for your bucks. As to how it will go against the likes of the GSX-R, R1 and ZX-10R, that will only be decided by back-to-back comparos and those with balls the size of watermelons. That's a reflection of courage, not tankslappers, by the way.

But judged on its own merits, Honda's latest and greatest has pushed Big Red's bar that little bit higher, and in doing so has produced a machine that most mortal riders will find impossible to fault.

FIVE MINUTES WITH...
Rhys Griffiths, Honda MPE Marketing Services Manager

MT: What has been the underlying theme behind the development of this latest generation Fireblade?

RG: Since the first CBR1000RR it's been a matter of developing a motorcycle that's as good as a GSX-R, R1 or ZX-10R on the racetrack, but one that's also a great road bike. What we're trying to show here today is that with a few little tweaks you can have an awesome track bike, but put it all back to standard and you'll have a much more comfortable option as a road bike. In a more general sense its development has been all about reducing weight and increasing the power - just slightly - but most importantly making it rider friendly.

MT: Is there any chance of Honda releasing an up-specced version of the 'Blade, like Yamaha has done with the SP version of the R1?

RG: No - there are no plans at this stage for a machine of that type to be developed.

MT: Do you think much more power can be squeezed out of this engine, or is Honda's focus now shifting to getting more out of the existing levels of power via better chassis and suspension technology?

 RG: Motorcycles will sell on their stats to a large degree, so I can't see them ever detuning the engine to any extent, but what they won't do is make them as powerful as they can. Race Superbikes these days are putting out well over 200bhp at the rear wheel, and race Superbike spec is not really all that high in terms of purely engine spec. Honda could do that with the 'Blade, but it's building in longevity and rideability that is key. The other thing is weight. I think the 'Blade is some 8kg heavier than the GSX-R, but I believe that when it comes to longevity in terms of finish and the bike's overall service life, the Honda will end up being the far better machine five years from now.

MT: What's Honda hoping to achieve with this particular model?

RG: We want to do the Aussie Superbike title again, which would make it three titles in a row, and we want to top the class sales chart - nothing less is going to satisfy us. So we have to aim for over 1000 unit sales, and Adam [Fergusson] and Glenn [Allerton] have to stick the thing at the front of the Superbike grid.

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Primary drive: Gear
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame type: Aluminium composite twin-spar diamond
Front suspension: 43mm inverted Showa forks, fully adjustable
Rear suspension: Unit Pro-Link monoshock, fully adjustable
Front brake: Twin 320mm discs, Tokico radially-mounted four-piston calipers
Rear brake: Single 220mm disc, Nissin single-piston caliper

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Dry weight: 176kg
Seat height: 831mm
Fuel capacity: 18lt

PERFORMANCE
Max power: 172hp at 11,250rpm
Max torque: 11.7kg-m at 10,000rpm

OTHER STUFF
Price: $18,990 plus ORC
Colours: red/black or silver/grey/black
Test bike supplied by: Honda MPE
Warranty: 24 months unlimited kilometres

THUMBS UP:
Awesome engine, but refined too
First rate Honda finish
Inspired handling

THUMBS DOWN:
Deceptively fast - ie licence burner
They wanted it back...