Sporty – Honda CBR1000RR – SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! – Page 1 – Static: from “Total Control” to “Traction Control”

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Honda CBR1000RR / SP 2017 test: neither gross nor submitted !

Sporty - Honda CBR1000RR - SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! - Page 1 - Static: from & quot; Total Control & quot; to & quot; Traction Control & quot;

Forget the old CBR1000RR lacking in performance and technology: Honda celebrates 25 years of its Fireblade with a redesign – finally – at the top level. And thanks to its advanced electronics, this 2017 CBR1000RR and its luxurious SP versions are full of sensations without betraying its original concept of "Total Control". Test.

Page 1 – Static: from "Total Control" to "Traction Control"

Absolute reference to its, the had become in recent years one of the hypersportive motorcycles among the least evolved, on par with the whose complete redesign MNC will test soon. Despite its formidable efficiency on the road, the Honda was unable to compete on the circuit with its more sophisticated rivals, moreover more powerful by around 20 horsepower (the current "standard" is around 200 hp against 180 hp for the 2016 CBR ).

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To locate the extent of its delay, consider that BMW introduced in 2009 on its electronic accelerator linked to adjustable maps and traction control. His opponents quickly followed, first on the European side (,) then on the Japanese front (then). All are now based on an armada of assistance formerly reserved for Grand Prix motorcycles, a sine qua non for taking advantage of their extraordinary potential without going into orbit.. 

Sporty - Honda CBR1000RR - SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! - Page 1 - Static: from & quot; Total Control & quot; to & quot; Traction Control & quot;

The CBR1000RR, it receives this year only these "scholarly chips", no less than eight years (8 years!) After their first "leap" … Hardly believable in view of the sporting past of the winged crest, precisely rich in its ability to innovate. This situation is all the more paradoxical as the Honda competition service, the prestigious HRC, is one of the pioneers in electronic management on its track bikes: logic would have wanted the production sports car to be commercially promoted via parallels. technological with .

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"Honda’s desire was to go through with the" Total Control "concept, that is to say to continue to develop a motorcycle where everything is under control thanks to its fair balance between weight and power and its perfect balance ", answers Bruno Skotnicki, press manager of Honda moto France, when MNC asks him the reasons for this long wait. And to say that in the meantime, the CBR1000RR has nevertheless offered two significant evolutions since then, in then in !

In "off", some responsible for the development of this Fireblade 2017 have also recognized that this copious upgrade should have taken place four years earlier. It is likely that the collapse in sales of sports motorcycles is not unrelated to this interminable step back: in France, the Fireblade only seduced, down 45% compared to the previous year. Clearly insufficient to justify the enormous R&D costs necessary for a (r) evolution…

12 hp more, 15 kg less and an Airbus electronics !

With great ills, great remedies: the CBR1000RR has a new fairing for 2017 thanks to the replacement of most of its components, up to "90%" according to Honda. All parts of the bike benefit from this huge makeover, starting of course with its essential parts: the engine and the cycle part (all the details in our page 3). 

Sporty - Honda CBR1000RR - SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! - Page 1 - Static: from & quot; Total Control & quot; to & quot; Traction Control & quot;

True to form, Honda has lightened its sporting flagship as much as possible while boosting its mechanical performance. These include the redesigned and lightened chassis (approximately -1.2 kg), the 2 kg gained on the 999.8 cc 4-cylinder engine and the 2.8 kg saved thanks to the silencer now made of titanium. The result is spectacular: the 2017 Fireblade claims 196 kg for 192 hp, a difference of 12 hp and 15 kg. It is quite simply the best weight / power ratio since the creation of the line in 1992 (read in particular our). 

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However, let us relativize this weight loss by specifying that it comes largely from the replacement of the Honda electronic ABS by a Nissin combined device, lighter by about half a dozen kilos. This decision was undoubtedly hard to digest for the engineers behind the E-ABS, but it was necessary insofar as the expensive "house" system – invoiced 1000 € – was both heavy (+10 kg) and less reactive. And above all, it was not compatible with the latest technologies available on the market.

Because if the CBR1000RR takes a big step forward thanks to its optimized chassis and engine, it achieves a real leap in on-board electronics. It’s simple: the 2017 Fireblade is practically moving from the Stone Age (ABS only) to the very latest generation of driver assistance! The gap is so large that a single day of testing was not enough for MNC to tour the features: taking control of a space shuttle ready to go to Mars would hardly have been more exotic. !

Sporty - Honda CBR1000RR - SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! - Page 1 - Static: from & quot; Total Control & quot; to & quot; Traction Control & quot;

Joking aside, the Honda enters with its head held high in the backyard of ultra-sophisticated Superbikes by integrating a fully electronic accelerator and especially the now unavoidable Inertia Unit (IMU). This "extra toy" supplied by Bosch continuously measures the position of the bike along five axes, which makes it possible to adjust the management of the various assistance systems with as much precision as gently..

These assistances include driving modes (three with predefined settings and two to be configured by hand), five levels of power distribution, but also traction control and engine brake adjustable to nine and three positions respectively. Add to that a superb color TFT matrix display that is as readable as it is complete, and you already have an enticing poster (all the details in the part on page 3) ! 

But Honda did not stop there! To drive the point home, the Japanese manufacturer is offering its Superbike in three versions: standard and SP as in 2016, but also a new SP2 with forged rims and engine prepared to receive the HRC racing kit! These CBR1000RR "SP", strictly single-seaters, receive an ultralight titanium tank (1.7 kg against 3 kg on the standard), Brembo monobloc calipers (Vs Tokico), a shifter that operates on upshift and downshift but also Ohlins suspensions instead of the Showa of the "basic" model.

This second generation of damping – released on the Honda – has the particularity of being semi-active, which means that its behavior can change in real time thanks to the data provided by the inertial unit (read the section dedicated to on page 3 ). Note in passing the cosmopolitan side of the CBR1000RR 2017: if the ABS and its sophisticated central are "made in Japan" (Nissin), all the other electronic parts come from Germany (Bosch) and Sweden (Ohlins) !

High-end presentation and finish, like the price !

At this stage of the "static" discovery of the motorcycle, MNC cannot help but wonder that Honda could have further supported this transformation with a design that was a real break with the previous one. The sharper lines, especially on the front part with "full LED" lighting, are undoubtedly successful but do not contrast radically with the 2016 model. Too bad, for such a striking vintage…

Sportive - Honda CBR1000RR - SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! - Page 1 - Static: from & quot; Total Control & quot; to & quot; Traction Control & quot;

Likewise, the brushed titanium silencer is unmistakably beautiful, but its integration in the high position visually weighs down the rear. The exhaust outlet of the previous model – much shorter – was placed closer to the bottom of the engine, for the benefit of the look but above all a better centering of the masses. Euro4 standards and their higher requirements on pollutant discharges are responsible for this new provision. No pot…

Examination of details reveals an impeccable finish, as is customary on Honda motorcycles in general and on its high-end machines in particular. The integration of the electrical network is excellent, the surface treatments and the welds are neat and no component is cheap. In terms of the points that annoy, MNC nevertheless deplores the absence of a gap adjustment to the clutch lever and braided brake hose, including on the SP versions. The optional shifter on the standard version also annoys…

Sporty - Honda CBR1000RR - SP 2017 test: neither raw nor submissive! - Page 1 - Static: from & quot; Total Control & quot; to & quot; Traction Control & quot;

We nitpick, do you think? Not really, given the considerable price increase in 2017: € 17,999 for standard (up € 2,500 compared to 2016!) And € 22,599 for SP (+ € 3,400). The SP2 should for its part evolve in the 25,000 € (price to be defined), but beware: its distribution is voluntarily limited to 500 copies per year in the world, just to meet the quotas imposed to align it in world Superbike (WSBK ) !

  • MNC special file :

While you glance in to integrate the host of technical novelties of this CBR1000RR 2017 and their operation, MNC puts on the leather suit to discover it in dynamics on the very fast and hilly circuit of Portimao (Portugal). On the program: three 20-minute sessions with the standard version on original tires (Bridgestone S21), then a little more hours with the "SP1" fitted with Bridgestone V02 slicks. Vamos in !

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