Can the 25th anniversary Fireblade’s new electronics give the average road rider the confidence to go faster?
How hard could it be? Don’t lean over too far and don’t run on; the electronics will take care of the rest, surely? APS,ABS, HESD, TBW, HSTC… there are so many acronyms (I counted 14) that there must be enough tech in this bike to keep even the least confident of journalists upright at the Portimao circuit.
On the day, and nervous as hell, I was surrounded by race professionals – Jenny Tinmouth, Dan Linfoot, Jason O’Halloran, Steve Plater, James Haydon, John McGuinness and Freddie Spencer. FormerMSL deputy editor and endurance race champion Bruce Wilson was there too. I was out of my depth. Yet realistically, I’d expect a large proportion of these bikes to be sold to road riders like you and me, so I wanted to cut through the race hyperbole, and find out what a machine like this, bristling with the very latest electronic aids, is really like for an average road rider.
There are three models available – the CBR1000RR, the CBR1000RR SP and the CBR1000RR SP2.The top bike wasn’t at the launch, so we started the day with the RR, most easily distinguished by its black frame, before trying the SP. Both of them share the same engine and electronic rider aids that have long been awaited on the Fireblade, with the SP’s main selling point being its electronic suspension.
RUN ONE: CBR1000RR, S21 ROADTYRES
Scrawled across the page of my note pad in all caps after my first run was “F**K ME. IT’S AMAZING. IT’S LIKE MY CBR6 BUT LIGHTER AND FASTER. IT’S INCREDIBLE.” I’d never felt so excited after riding something as when I first stepped off the new Fireblade.
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