Honda Fireblade
Track fangThe Blade has come in for several revisions, extending from detail matters such as tail lights (now LED) through to subtle things such as frame mods. For riders of recent series, the most obvious change will be the lowering of the fuel tank, which reduces the perceived size of the bike well into the 600 class - and more in line with arch-rival the Yamaha R1.
Hate to say it, but it left me a little cold. It's very fast, very sharp, and launch guest Wayne Gardner was genuinely enthusiastic about it. Yes I know he's on Honda's payroll, but I'm still inclined to believe he likes it.
Where it lost me a little is that you have to work harder to make it do anything substantially better around Phillip Island GP circuit than the last two models. It will, but it takes a lot of skill and dedication.
Hard-headed track-day enthusiasts may well like it, but to me it lost a little of its user-friendly nature and felt closer to what the R1 was a year or so ago. There goes my entry on the corporate Christmas card list...
Don't get me wrong. It's very fast, very accurate (more so than the VTR1000 SP-2), but makes you work hard to find that out. Great track bike, but not my ideal partner on the road.
Story: Guy Allen
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