Honda's new CBR 1000 RR Fireblade is a powerful machine, but one which allows the rider supreme control, writes Tom Robert
IF BIKES were people, the Fireblade would be a nymphomaniac who'd been to a very good finishing school. It makes you look good in public and never lets you down or disgraces you, but get it on your own in the right circumstances, and boy, are you in for a wild time.
It was, in truth, not always thus. When the first Fireblade came out in 1992, it was a bike to be ridden only by men of steel, for whom going around corners sideways at 150mph while rolling a cigarette was a mere bagatelle.
Since then, Honda has been tweaking, racing, thinking and doodling to the extent that the 2008 version of this iconic motorcycle is still the fastest thing on the planet short of a Eurofighter, but so smoothly manageable that it manages to make even a complete idiot know what he's doing.
I'm referring to the one I see in the bathroom mirror every morning, so I know what I'm talking about.
After raking around on a Yamaha R6 a few weeks ago which was so small it made me feel like I was riding a mini-moto, I was looking forward to something a bit bigger, and even though the new Blade is smaller than the previous model, it's still a comfortable enough fit for someone who has the unfeasible temerity to be 6ft 7ins.
It's also 4kg lighter due to a bit of shaving at the frame, engine, wheels and brakes, not to mention a dinky new battery that's a whole kilo less than the old one.
As for the styling, Honda has bravely bucked the trend of angularity to produce a look which is appropriately smooth and powerful, and more power to them, I say, since that particular trend is the one which in the world of cars turned the delightful BMW Z3 into the slab-ugly Z4.
Even in their otherwise excellent ST1200 motorbike, it never really looked quite right.
Start the engine and pull away, and three things become immediately apparent.
One is that the new slipper clutch is superb, a view shared by British Superbike racer Guy Martin, who says: "It is the best slipper clutch I've ever used in a production bike, and if I was racing it in Superbikes, there'd be no need to change it. None at all."
Second is that the steering damper, now in its second generation, works brilliantly at eliminating snatch or oversteer on your way into corners, even if the idiot in you leaves your braking a bit too late. Endlessly forgiving, this is a system which teaches you to get it right, but won't throw you over the hedge if you don't.
And finally, although the torque of the 999.8cc engine is slightly less than before, it's now available from about 1,500 lower, so you get more power at the bottom end of the range.
That means you can ride it like a wuss, and you've still lots of go. Ride it like a pro, keep it above 6,000 revs, and the combination of 175bhp, that reduced weight of 199kg and a red line up from 12,250 to 13,000rpm, means you'll be at the horizon before you can say: "Holy dingleberries, Batman."
Well, or so I thought until I was overtaken by a midget on something unidentifiable, who roared past with a cheery wave and disappeared, leaving a small sonic boom in his wake. Honestly, some bikers are so irresponsible.
Factfile Honda Fireblade
Engine:999.8cc, four-cylinder four-stroke with 16
valves; 175bhp at 12,000rpm, 84lb ft torque at 8,500rpm
Transmission:six-speed gearbox, chain final drive
Top speed:175mph (est)
Price:£8,995 in the UK. Test bike provided by
Belfast Honda, 028 9079 6878,
www.belfasthonda.comIn
the Republic, the on-the-road price is €15,000 including VAT
and VRT. Contact distributor Two Wheels, 01-46 02 111, for your
nearest dealer