Feast Your Eyes On Honda’s Finest

We were pretty blown away by the Honda CBR1000RR-R when it first broke cover at EICMA last year, and even more excited when Honda announced that it will bring the bike to India. Now that we know it’s going to launch on our shores, we’re going to take a closer look at this menacing machine.

With its sharp design, minimalist headlights and red, white and blue HRC colour scheme, the new Fireblade looks quick even when standing still. We do wish the Akrapovic exhaust end-can was a bit smaller, but that’s the price you have to pay for a Euro 5 machine that manages upwards of 200PS.

It doesn’t just look modern, it’s got the features to back it up too. This fancy colour TFT screen allows you to fiddle around with electronic settings like switchable power modes, engine braking control, an electronic steering damper (HESD), and IMU-assisted traction control, wheelie control and cornering ABS. Phew!

The need for all those fancy electronics is because the Blade now finally packs a punch. The 999.9cc inline-four motor belts out a class-leading 217.5PS and 113Nm of torque, making the CBR1000RR-R the most powerful naturally-aspirated motorcycle in the world!

In addition to electronic wheelie control, the CBR also relies on MotoGP-derived winglets to help keep the front wheel down during hard acceleration. To know more about what winglets are and how they help performance, click here.

The top-spec SP version now gets electronic suspension from Ohlins, which is why you see the connector going into the fork top. At the rear there is an electronically adjustable linked monoshock, also from the Swedish specialist.

No expense has been spared in the braking department either. Seen here is the radial Brembo master cylinder which sends its pressure to flagship Brembo Stylema calipers biting down on twin 330mm discs. For a simple tutorial on the different types of brake calipers and which one is best, head here.

To harness all that firepower and to make the bike usable in the corners, Honda has also designed and built an all-new frame. It features a twin-spar aluminium construction and a bolt-on subframe.

All the various electronic settings can be cycled through using this joystick-like control system on the left switch cluster. This being a flagship Honda, fit and finish seems to be absolutely top-notch.

We hope you enjoyed this closer look at the ferocious new Fireblade. If you’re excited about its upcoming India launch and want to pick one up for yourself, click here to know the prices in India for the CBR1000RR-R.