Honda To Soon Slay Litre-class Superbikes With RR-Razor-sharp 2020 Fireblade

After the Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin, the Japanese brand has followed up its BS6 big bike onslaught with the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade which is now open for bookings. While Honda has not officially revealed the booking amount, we’ve learnt that you can reserve the litre-class supersport by paying Rs 3 lakh. It will enter our shores via the CBU route and is expected to be priced at around Rs 18 lakh to Rs 22 lakh (ex-showroom). The bike will be sold only through Honda’s premium BigWing dealerships and deliveries will commence from August-end.

Also Read: Here’s Your Detailed Look At Honda’s 200-plus PS Monster, The 2020 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade

It is the first litre-class production supersport from Honda to smash the 200PS barrier, with a peak power of 217.5PS coming in at a dizzying 14,500rpm. Using the same bore and stroke as the RC213V MotoGP bike and a 5 percent lighter MotoGP-spec forged aluminium pistons, it produces 113Nm at 12,500rpm.

This powerhouse of a motor is reined in via three riding modes linked to engine brake control, wheelie control, and a 9-level traction control system. It even gets an IMU-enhanced three-level electronic steering damper. Combine these aspects with the featherlight weight (by litre-class supersport standards) of 201kg kerb and you’ve got yourself a lean, mean machine that can carve through corners like a hot knife on butter.

Oh, and in order to do this effectively, it also gets an aluminium composite twin-spar chassis inspired by the RC213V-S (the street legal MotoGP bike). The chassis is wrapped in aerodynamic bodywork with MotoGP-style winglets. Suspension setup comprises a 43mm Showa Big Piston Front fork and a Showa Balance Free Rear monoshock, both with rebound, preload and compression adjustment. The SP variant gets semi-active electronic suspension: fully adjustable Ohlins NPX Smart-EC inverted fork up front and an Ohlins TTX36 rear monoshock.

While the standard Fireblade version ‘manages’ with 330mm dual discs with Nissin 4-pot radial calipers up front, the SP variant gets a more premium, top-spec Brembo Stylema 4-pot calipers. The rear uses a Brembo 2-piston caliper with 220mm disc on both the variants.

Other notable features include a full-colour TFT instrument cluster, smart key system, and a titanium muffler co-developed with Akrapovic.

The standard variant will be available in two colours: Grand Prix Red and Matte Pearl Morion Black whereas the Fireblade SP will be available only in Grand Prix Red. It will go up head-to-head against the BMW S 1000 RR, Yamaha YZF-R1, Ducati Panigale V4, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and the Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory, of which the S 1000 RR will soon be upgraded to comply with BS6 emission norms.