Menus
- What you must remember
- Themore
- Theless
- Prices
- Make your2018 Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade
- Opinion
- Replaces
- Performances
- The technical aspect
- Competitors
- Gallery
- Related articles
Only time judges the legends. Some motorcycles are so deeply rooted in the collective unconscious that we only remember the prestige it diffuses and their exploits from the past. For the Fireblade, it’s different. Its name is synonymous with sport and performance, like certain illustrious lines (R1, GSX-R, ZX-R) to which is added a philosophy of the road spread by Total Control.. But she hasn’t always been on top. Birth and hegemony in 1992, mutation in 2004, doubts at the end of the previous decade … The CBR 1000 RR could no longer let other missiles dominate it in the field of power, efficiency, electronic, comparos. It was high time to raise your standards. See more.
The threat is obvious. This new chapter of the Honda CBR 1000 RR will be one of the most salient in the saga. The manufacturer took a serious look at the design to make it a racy, intimidating motorcycle with a face on the prowl. The 2017 Fireblade seems to be tucked into his shoulders, strained with hatred and at the height of the wait to bite hard. It gives off a feeling of wild beast, stealth machine and combat frigate. Compared to the previous generation, it is as if the engineers had cut in the fat to leave only the nerves on a layer of muscle. The fairing undergoes a clear cut in order to highlight the important sides of the frame. The gathered gaze houses full LED lighting.
Its design also marks the end of the period when the engine guard was apart. Now, the dress is slender, and we see, as on other machines, the return of a muffler taking its quarters along the rear wheel.
It’s not for style. With ever more draconian anti-pollution standards, space is needed to accommodate the catalysts, and that the breath can escape without holding back performance. This is one of the key points on which the CBR 1000 absolutely had to do a big job. Yesterday, its 4 cylinder spit out 181 horsepower, while the competitors established their bases on the 200 horsepower frontier. A chasm of gap.
A heresy for a manufacturer who has gleaned an impressive number of victories in competitions of all stripes. So the engine manufacturers got back to work. With a simple equation: how to find horses without developing a whole new block. The solution is to optimize everything that is possible. Well, we start by increasing the compression ratio, from 12.3 to 13: 1. Then, the moving parts: the crankshaft, the distribution and the transmission are made of better materials than for the previous block. Pistons, rings, timing and valve lift are reviewed, while a drastic reduction in weight occurs everywhere. The ignition cover is made of magnesium and the clutch cover is made of aluminum. Honda has even gone so far as to eat up weight on the length of the screws, the cooling system pipes and the hose clamps..
Thus, the 999 cm3 with unchanged ribs gains a good ladle of 11 additional horses. Honda’s hypersport now announces 192 horsepower at 13,000 rpm, and maximum torque unchanged at 11.6 mkg. However, these values are obtained at higher speeds than before..
Power fans will be critical: a big wait, a big redesign, and finally, the 2017 CBR 1000 RR does not join the club of “200”.
Brand new and already dumped? Not so sure. Honda has always preferred the best compromise over pure power. And it’s not just the watts that count. If the Fireblade is more powerful than its previous version, it is especially much lighter. With 15 kilos less, it drops below the 200 units mark. Let’s take a look at the weight / power ratio and we will better understand the evolution. With 14% improvement, the difference in performance shows a real leap forward, standing at 1.02. With this ratio, there are only two competitors who can claim better, the Yamaha R1 and the Ducati 1299 Panigale..
Already, the situation is not the same. But how did Honda gain so much weight? The priority was to transfer his homemade ABS, as light as an anvil. By adopting a Bosch system, it is already at least 9 kilos of gained. Then the exhaust. The titanium silencer saves 2.8 kilos. Engine side, with the improvements already mentioned + a radiator more compact and lightened by 100 grams, it is still 2 kilos which fly away. Where is there still mass? The framework ! Thinner walls, it is 300 grs; for the swing arm, ditto; a new more rigid and lighter rear buckle, it is 600 grs; and for the Tokico radial calipers, we will find 150 grs; new rims to break down another 100 grs. And voila, we have our 15 kilos.
“Light is right”. I will never tire of quoting Colin Chapman’s motto. However, this is no longer enough in today’s world of hypersports. It takes multiple controls to channel power and optimize dynamics. Until today, apart from a PGM-DSFI injection, the CBR was the most stripped down in electronics. The situation changes, with a massive ingestion of chips and sensors. Be careful, we go from the desert to Las Vegas between two generations of Fireblades.
OK, Honda switched its ABS to install a Bosch, but not that. There is also the IMU box, capable of analyzing the movements of the motorcycle on 5 axes – The manufacturer did not seem to you it considered appropriate to equip itself with 6 axes like some rivals. Thus, the Fireblade largely optimizes its braking: you can press like a piglet without the rear wheel taking off the ground, and avoid mess bowls with the system that modulates the braking force according to the angle taken..
Then, it’s full control to gain engine and traction efficiency. A ride-by-wire throttle and APS throttle position sensor improve right hand response and sensitivity. The arrival of the power is then delivered via a Power Selector offering 3 different characters: the 1 releases all the gniak on all the reports; the 2 moderates the potato on each report in order to offer a certain sweetness; the 3 tempers as much as possible to favor safety.
The CBR 1000 finally offered traction control, which Honda defines as “HSTC torque control”. Thanks to the ABS sensors, the system intervenes if it detects an acceleration of the rear wheel or a deceleration of the front wheel. If so, the system reduces engine power. It can be set to 9 positions and be deactivated as needed, or as desired.
Another intervention technique but this time with deceleration. The pilot can intervene on the engine brake thanks to the SEB (that’s good). Adjustable on 3 levels, it allows to “hold” the engine on 1, relieves it more in 2, and even more in 3.
An Up & Down shifter is also part of the game but only optional on the Fireblade. To have it in series, it is necessary to type in the more advanced versions SP or SP2.
Active ABS, Ride-by-Wire, Traction Control, engine brake, anti-wheeling, 3 engine maps – The CBR has refueled. And to facilitate the management of all these people, the pilot has the choice between 3 driving modes called RMSS.
It happens at the level of the dashboard. Brand new, it refers to the rank of nice memory the previous LCD unit with multiple information. Here, it is a color TFT screen which adapts to the ambient light and offers 3 display modes. The “City” mode to have access to the RMSS sub-modes, the “Track” mode to add some information (lap time, laps achieved, and difference compared to the best lap), and the “Maintenance” mode where s’ display a digital tachometer, gear engaged, throttle opening, engine temperature and battery voltage.
Let’s take a closer look at the “City” in order to see how the RMSS accommodates the different piloting assistance. The CBR 1000 RR can be driven according to the “Track”, “Pleasure” and “City” laws. The names overlap but you’ll understand.
In “Track” mode, all the power is there, with linear acceleration and minimal traction control and engine brake intervention;
In “Pleasure” mode, the system models the power on the first 3 gears, has little effect on traction control and more consistently on engine braking:
In “City” mode, the pilot is entitled to an increase in average power on the first 4 gears and a strong intervention on the traction control and the engine brake..
These 3 modes might not satisfy. Fortunately, Honda has it all covered. There are also 2 “User” modes which allow you to make your own combinations of settings and configure each level of intervention to your liking. All this is controlled on the handlebars from the left stalk.
Let’s go back to this screen for a moment, in order to find out all that it can display. While many still appreciate the hands of yesteryear, we cannot ignore digital technology. You can now see the engine speed, the gear engaged, the water temperature, the distance traveled as well as 2 daily totalizers, the instantaneous or average consumption, the consumption on routes A or B, the average speed and the time elapsed since switching on the ignition, the quantity of fuel remaining after the reserve warning light comes on, the distance remaining to be covered in reserve, the gear change settings, the throttle opening angle, the battery voltage, the date or a text defined beforehand. We can see the speed too, and the time incidentally. There are also some warning lights around, for the turn signals, the shiflight, the ABS, the Traction Control, the Neutral and the engine oil. Phew !!!
Strongly enriched in electronics, the Fireblade could not ignore technical fundamentals. A silicon “Maverick Top Gun” will not make you go faster if the bike is dragging a chassis capable of. This is not the case of the big CBR, with each generation praised for the quality and the homogeneity of its part-cycle..
Apart from the thinning of the walls, its frame retains the same aluminum structure and the same geometry, but it is 10% more flexible on the torsional level; this decreases inertia. On the other hand, the swinging arm is stronger on this side..
For suspensions, Showa responds again. The inverted fork is still a 43mm BPF but revised for smoother damping. At the rear, no change for the BFRC mono-shock absorber, with double tube technology for more progressiveness and more consistency between the expansion and compression phases. Each element is fully adjustable. For this big redesign, we would have liked to see the new BFFF fork with separate cartridges, as on the ZX-10R and the GSX-R 1000 R, just to gain even more efficiency..
The steering damper remains the electronic HESD element. To have better, even a big top, you have to ogle (again) on the SP editions, with Ohlins suspensions and Brembo brakes..
And those of the standard CBR? Classic and efficient: Tokico (lighter) radial 4 pistons with new more efficient pads. For the rear, a caliper with single piston.
25 years after its appearance, the Fireblade offers something to return to the best seats in the segment. The aura of victories in the Tourit Trophy was no longer enough. More powerful, lighter, very well equipped in electronics, the Honda CBR 1000 RR 2017 can now provoke the best hypersports on the market. While displaying its new philosophy, the “Next Stage Total Control”, the continuation of the “Total Control” dear to Tadao Baba, the designer of the first 900 CBR of 1992.
What you must remember
Themore
Theless
Prices
16,999 €
Price
nine
Compare
the credits
Make
your2018 Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade
Estimate, calculate and compare the cost of insuring your motorcycle.
Calculate the cost of
insurance
Test the price of the motorcycle insurance specialist
Opinion
on 4 opinion
users
Read the reviews
Replaces
CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2017
Model marketed in
2017
2018
2019
Performances
-
Max speed:
about 300 km / h
The technical aspect
2018 Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade
- Frame
- Frame: double aluminum beam
- Tank: 16 liters
- Seat height: 832 mm
- Length: 2,065 mm
- Width: 720 mm
- Height: 1125 mm
- Wheelbase: 1,405 mm
- Weight in running order: 196 kg
- Train before
- Telehydraulic inverted fork Ø 43 mm, deb: 120 mm
- 2 Ø 320 mm discs, 4 piston radial calipers
- Front wheel:
120/70
– 17
- Transmission
- 6-speed gearbox
- secondary by chain
- Rear axle
- Mono-shock, deb: 138 mm
- 1 disc Ø nc, 1 piston caliper
- Rear wheel:
190/50
– 17
- Motor
- 4 Cylinders
in line
, 4 stroke - Cooling: by water
- Injection Ø 48 mm
- 2 ACT
- 4 valves per cylinder
-
999 cc
(76 x 55 mm) -
192
ch
at 13,000 rpm -
11.60 mkg
at 11,000 rpm - Compression: 13: 1
- Crit’air:
Detached pieces
exhaust
motor
fluid
electricity
filtration
braking
chain kit
Competitors
BMW S 1000 RR 2018
Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ZX-10R KRT Replica 2018
Ducati 1100 Panigale V4 2018
Aprilia 1000 RSV4 RR 2018
Yamaha YZF-R1 1000 2018
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 2018
MV-Agusta F4 1000 2018
Gallery
Related articles
-
Flawless continuity. Can we thus simply state the most powerful missile created by BMW Motorrad?!? No, the S 1000 RR is much more than that. The one who…
-
Already deeply revamped for 2008, the CBR 1000 RR Fireblade evolves in only 2 axes in 2009. The first, essential and vintage, is the appearance of the…
-
Already deeply revamped for 2008, the CBR 1000 RR Fireblade is evolving in only 2 axes in 2009. The first, essential and vintage, is the appearance of…
-
Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2011
2008: We smoked in the presence of a very large mutation of the CBR 1000 RR. From top to bottom and from the engine to the end of the fairing, the…
-
Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2010
We are in the presence of a very large mutation of the CBR 1000 RR. From top to bottom and from the engine to the end of the fairing, the Fireblade marks…
-
Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2009
We are in the presence of a very large mutation of the CBR 1000 RR. From top to bottom and from the engine to the end of the fairing, the Fireblade marks…
-
2008 Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade
We are in the presence of a very large mutation of the CBR 1000 RR. From top to bottom and from the engine to the end of the fairing, the Fireblade marks…
-
Already deeply revamped for 2008, the CBR 1000 RR Fireblade evolved in only 2 axes in 2009. The first, essential and vintage, is the appearance of the…
-
2020 Honda CBR 1000 RR-R Fireblade
The throttle is in the corner, twisted as dying approaches. The launch control is working as hard as it can, wondering if it is not going to be…
-
2018 Honda GL 1800 GOLDWING Tour
Look ahead, far ahead. But not towards the road, the horizon or the postcards. Point your eyes higher … Even higher; towards the stars. Consider that…