Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP

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Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP

14th photos

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Andreas Bildl

1/14
Much has been reported and speculated about the power and effectiveness of the new CBR 1000 RR-R.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

2/14
Now it can finally show what it can do in the form of the SP version with electronic Ohlins chassis on the race track in Qatar.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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In the lower speed range, the four-cylinder is smooth, from 9,000 tours there is no stopping.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

4/14
He turns and tugs and storms ahead without a break-in, impetuous, almost linear, turns as if stabbed towards the limiter.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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The nine-stage traction control intervenes gently, the three-stage wheelie control gently holds the front wheel back from getting on.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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You feel at home in their saddle so quickly.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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The Fireblade takes fast, long arcs confidently and stably.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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The most noticeable thing about the chassis: That it actually remains completely inconspicuous.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

9/14
The Fireblade has remained true to one thing, however, and the latest version also makes it easy for its pilot, …

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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… Pulling harder and harder on the cable and reeling off lap after lap.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

11/14
The noble Brembo Stylema Monoblocs, together with the 330 mm discs, catch the projectile without fading even after tens of rounds.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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Even if the smoothly ironed Losail circuit is not a particularly tough test for the chassis, …

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Honda

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… the Fireblade SP made a difficult impression on its first appearance.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP
Andreas Bildl

14/14
It will soon have to prove elsewhere whether it can still be used in everyday life.

Driving report Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade RR-R SP

Damn strong debut

Much has been reported and speculated about the power and impact of the new CBR 1000 RR-R, now it can finally show what it can do in the form of the SP version with electronic Ohlins chassis on the race track in Qatar.

The conditions are perfect. Around 18 degrees, sun, hardly any wind and at least the ideal line of the Losail circuit in Qatar has been cleaned. The mechanics pull the tire warmers from the good dozen Honda F.ireblade SP, underneath it comes greasy, shiny Pirelli Diablo slicks in an SC1 mixture.


Andreas Bildl

Much has been reported in advance about their enormous 217 hp and the enormous speeds they allow. About the extremely short-stroke design, the technical relationship to the MotoGP racers, but none of that matters anymore, now it’s on to the track.

Seating position says race track

The seating position alone signals that Honda is taking a completely new direction: the new Blade has an uncompromising view of the race track. The handlebars are low and wide, the pegs are higher and further back than the previous model. The flat tank with the recess for the chin offers the driver enough space to dive behind the fairing in front of the wind. Red area at 14,500 rpm.

Has enormous fire, but can also be gentle

At first, however, it was astonishing how smoothly the in-line four-cylinder runs, especially at low engine speeds, how cleanly it accepts the gas. And as he unpacks the club with the throttle fully open, from 7,000 rpm there is music in the hut, at the latest from 9,000 rpm there is no stopping. He turns and tugs and storms ahead without a break-in, impetuous, almost linear, turns as if stabbed towards the limiter. If you instinctively want to step into the next gear with the accurate quickshifter (standard on the SP) in the precise gearbox, the powerhouse keeps turning. The last 500 rpm the storm subsides a little, chack, next gear. On the one-kilometer-long home straight you just manage to turn fourth because of the enormously long gear ratio – at 100 km / h the blade turns just under 3,900 / min. Nevertheless, there are 299 on the speedometer well before braking point, its display does not count any further.

Convincing control electronics

Even at five-digit speeds, the unit runs mechanically quietly, can be exquisitely accelerated in an inclined position, and the power is great. Also because the electronics fed by a Bosch six-axis IMU do a clean job. The nine-stage traction control intervenes gently, the three-stage wheelie control gently holds the front wheel back from getting on. Only fully fired from a first-course corner, her intervention looks a little rodeo-like in view of the oncoming power.

The chassis of the old Blade was fine, so it’s not surprising that the new chassis connects seamlessly. Despite five centimeters longer wheelbase and more stability trimmed geometry, the new one can be peppered in the corners without much fuss or getting used to. You feel at home in your saddle so quickly that the set-up of the sport mode quickly seems too soft.

The electronics have three modes ready – Rain, Sport and Track – each with different settings for power output, traction and wheelie control, engine braking and the active chassis. Steering damper, cornering ABS, launch control and quickshifter can be freely adjusted.


Honda

The modes of the active chassis can each be fine-tuned. The damping of the fork and shock absorber can be changed, and the Ohlins system offers separate setting options for acceleration, cornering stability and braking maneuvers. Whereby the system not only responds to the grip on the brake, but also to decelerate by accelerating.

Smart: All three driving modes can be freely configured, so that you can only save three slightly different settings for track days, which can be easily selected during a turn using the handlebar switch in order to test different settings without interrupting a pit stop. Those who prefer to leave out the active regulation of the spring elements can choose from three manually changeable, otherwise fixed setups. Sounds complicated? After a short period of getting used to it, it isn’t at all. Enough of the electronics? Okay, back to driving.

Chassis noticeably inconspicuous

Second turn, change from sport to track mode. With the tighter set-up, the blade is much more crisp, especially in long acceleration phases such as an endlessly long left curve that is fully accelerated, the force of the engine kneads the rear tire vigorously and shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear in full lean. What is still missing is the last lightness when turning for the first time. Out in the pits, reduced brake support in the chassis menu, but the suspension elements are generally a bit tighter – even better. So we are working our way through the setup step by step and let the blade roar across the course more and more freely. Because when the control flap in the Akrapovic titanium exhaust opens – in the first two gears at 5,600 rpm, a little earlier in the upper gears – the Honda roars away with a triumphant howl. The most conspicuous thing in terms of the chassis: That it actually remains completely inconspicuous, masters long, fast arcs just as confidently and stably as the pulling three-way right or slow first-gear turns.


Honda

In one respect, however, the Fireblade has remained true to itself, even the latest version makes it easy for its pilot to pull harder and harder on the cable and reel it off lap after lap. The noble Brembo Stylema Monoblocs, together with the 330 mm discs, catch the projectile without fading even after tens of rounds. Personally, I would prefer something more spontaneous and stronger when the pads are put on for the first time, but there is nothing to complain about the pure braking performance.

Everyday test is still pending

Even if the smoothly ironed Losail circuit is not too hard a touchstone for the chassis, the Fireblade SP made a difficult impression on its first appearance. How the speed-oriented four-cylinder with its somewhat subdued punch in the lower half of the speed in connection with the long gear ratio performs in everyday life remains to be seen. Because the predecessor is said to have been stronger up to around 11,000 rpm.

Conclusion

With this strong debut on the racetrack, the Fireblade SP has shown that it can be expected. The big Superbike comparison is likely to be one of the most exciting in a long time. The preparations are already under way.

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