Page 14 - Motoring World (January 2020)

REWIND/PLAY

1992 HONDA CBR 900RR / 2020
HONDA CBR 1000RR-R SP

HOT BLADE

The Fireblade moniker is back to redefine performance

HONDA 1992 While the CBR series of sportsbikes was first intro-
duced in 1983, it wasn’t until 1992 that a Honda
CBR 900RR sported the Fireblade moniker. The CBR900RR was
also the first to get the ‘RR’ suffix.

Led by Tadao Baba and his team, the goal was to
create a bike that maintained the nimble proportions
of a 600, but give the litre-class bikes a tough time.
The first prototype was thus a 750cc.

Powering the first ‘Blade was a 893cc inline-four
THEN which made 122 bhp in a bike that had a wet weight
of only 205 kg. Understandably, it set a strong prece-
dent for the competition to go down the same light-
weight route, as it quickly dominated the segment.

Honda updated the bike in two years, switching the
iconic round headlights with angular ones, besides a
host of performance updates. Today, first-generation
Fireblades are rapidly rising in value.

HONDA CBR 2020 Unveiled at EICMA 2019, the Honda
CBR1000RR-R SP is once again out to rede-
1000RR-R SP fine performance motorcycles, with lots of Rs
and performance figures.

Honda claims only a few components and the
handgrips have been carried over from the
previous model, with the rest being a new
bike derived from its experience in MotoGP.
NOW The 999cc inline-four engine now makes 214
bhp at 14,500 rpm which should be plenty for
a bike weighing only 200 kg fully fuelled. It is
aided by the latest electro-wizardry to man-
age that power, and it even gets winglets for
added downforce.

It will be produced in limited numbers and
it won’t be cheap when it arrives at dealers,
either. What it will be, though, is the potential
flagbearer in the world of performance pro-
duction motorcycles. The Fireblade is back. ■

14 MOTORING WORLD | JANUARY 2020