Jan 16, 2016 05:05 PM
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Honda's 1000 RR Fireblade has often defied convention, never more than with this first ever SP model. In the tradition of Sport Production bikes it’s a higher specification version of the standard Fireblade, created primarily for improved racetrack performance.
An SP model typically features a tuned engine plus uprated suspension, brakes and tyres. The Fireblade SP’s modified four-cylinder powerplant and components from Brembo and Pirelli tick those boxes. Honda’s new super-sports flagship might also be expected to feature an array of electronic rider aids, given that many less exotic class rivals already include such features.
That’s where the SP swims against the flow, because it has just one riding mode, no traction control and no electronic suspension adjustment. In this determination to keep things simple Honda is continuing a tradition of doing things its own way, dating back to 1992 and the revolutionary first Fireblade, whose capacity of 893cc split the established 750cc and litre-plus classes before being increased to 999cc.
