Australian Road Rider — August 2017

persistent layer of mist, along with a variety of

shades of duck shit that bordered perilously

close to the racing line. I personally almost

copped a masked lapwing (Google it) in the

face exiting Turn 1 at a clip; the birdlife was

so prevalent around the circuit that at one

stage we had to stop riding while some rather

fat and recalcitrant trackside grazers were

ushered away from the start fi nish straight

at a section where most riders were seeing an

indicated 280km/h on the Fireblade’s TFT dash.

Incidentally, this large and MotoGP-derived

full-colour unit comes straight off Honda’s

$244K street-legal race replica, the RC213V-S,

along with the thro le-by-wire (TBW)

technology and Acceleration Position Sensor

(APS) that have facilitated the CBR1000RR’s

new swag of electronic rider aids. The TBW

replaces the outgoing cable-operated system

and opens up a whole realm of possibilities to

meet emissions regulations and manage the

traction control (Honda calls it torque control),

engine braking, power delivery, rider modes,

and the cornering ABS system which now

come standard.

Essentially, this electrical conduit allows the

ECU to modulate thro le body opening and

engine RPM with reference to data acquired

from front- and rear-wheel acceleration

sensors to mitigate wheelies, stoppies or skids.

It’s running the numbers every 10 milliseconds,

which is about 30–40 times faster than you can

blink and, unlike more antiquated mechanical

systems which only react to losses in traction,

this system can also predict when conditions

are likely to overshoot pre-programmed

parameters so it can intervene before things go

tits up. Of course, that really depends on where

you’ve set the TC at because there are nine

levels (one being the least intrusive) as well as

“off ” to select from. There are also fi ve “power”

THE OTHERS

LET’S LOOK AT HOW THE BLADE MEASURES UP AGAINST ITS OPPOSITION

M odel Price Capacity / Engine confi g Claimed

peak power

Claimed

peak torque

Claimed wet weight

(ABS models)

Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade $22,499 (+ORC) 999cc in-line four 141.0kW 114Nm 196kg

Suzuki GSX-R1000 $21,990 (+ORC) 999.8cc in-line four 148.6kW 117.6Nm 202kg

BMW S1000RR $21,990 (+ORC) 999cc in-line four 146.0kW 113.0Nm 204kg

Aprilia RSV4RR $24, 490 (+ORC) 999.6cc V-four 148.0kW 115.0Nm 204kg

Ducati 1299 Panigale $27,990 (+ORC) 1285cc V-Twin 150.8kW 144.6Nm 190.5kg

Yamaha YZF-R1 $23,999 (+ORC)

998cc crossplane

in-line four

147.1kW 112.4Nm 200kg

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R $23,700 (+ORC) 998cc in-line four 154.4kW 113.5Nm 206kg

r Both LED headlights stay on now and the OEM titanium muffl er delivers a 2.8kg weight saving.

r The 2017 CBR1000RR Fireblade stays true to its rocketship roots as one of the most lithe and precise in the litre class.

34 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

LAUNCH REPORT: HONDA CBR1000RR FIREBLADE

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