2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
Fresh details have emerged about next
year’s Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade and it would appear the bike is getting a
bigger revamp and will be even more advanced than first thought. The list of
changes are significant and include more power, a completely new rider aids
package, electronic semi-active Öhlins suspension, and all combined with a
hefty weight-loss over the outgoing model.
Honda have been lagging behind superbike
rivals for years and, while the current bike still finds favour with many who
like its road manners, racing success is still important to Honda and the
company knows it’s going to have to make a big impact with the new bike.
MCN has unearthed fresh details about
the 2017 model from a variety of sources close to the project both in road and
racing spheres, and all of the new information paints a picture of a bike
that’s vastly different to the outgoing model.
Other sources say Honda have tried to
make the bike more visceral than the outgoing model while still trying to keep
those civilised road manners that have always appealed strongly to Fireblade
owners. With Honda ditching the development of the CBR600RR as a result of
plummeting sales, the company has been able to focus on getting the new
Fireblade production-ready.
Honda have been losing at the power war
for the past 10 years as their rivals have relentlessly boosted the bhp outputs
from their bikes. While we still don’t expect the new Fireblade will be gifted
with class-leading power, we do expect around 180 bhp at the back wheel. While
this power figure isn’t going to trouble class leaders like the 195 bhp BMW
S1000RR and the 200 bhp Kawasaki ZX-10R, it’s still going to be a tangible step
forward over the 175 bhp of the current bike, and with a rumoured weight loss of
around 8 kg the new bike will feel a lot lighter and livelier than ever before.
A huge ram-air system featuring a new
headstock air intake, a redesigned airbox, a revised fuel-injection system and
a lot of work to reduce engine internal friction will also help to boost power.
The airbox modifications are substantial and have been done with both road and
track performance improvements in mind.
Another key change to the new Fireblade
will be the introduction of the full suite of Bosch electronic control systems
to replace the weighty Honda C-ABS system. The Honda C-ABS contributes more
than 10 kg to the Fireblade’s overall mass, whereas the latest Bosch 9.1 MP ABS
weighs 3.5 kg and offers more finely controlled ABS, traction control,
anti-wheelie and the revolutionary cornering ABS, too.
Changes to the exhaust system, vital
because of new Euro4 regulations, may add a little bit of weight thanks to a
denser catalyst, but this will be completely offset by the losses elsewhere. At
the heart of the changes to the new Fireblade is the Bosch electronics package
which comes with the Inertial
Measurement Unit (IMU). This unit electronically measures six axes of movement
and then works out the best way of keeping the bike under control. The IMU
works to control the traction control, ABS, cornering ABS, anti-wheelie and
also works with the Öhlins semi-active suspension that will be fitted to the
Fireblade.
Öhlins have been working with Honda
throughout the development of the new bike and will be providing the latest specification
of the Smart EC semi-active suspension which was first seen on the Ducati 1299
Panigale S but is understood to be an even more advanced version on the
Fireblade.
The Öhlins semi-active suspension works
to try and keep the bike as stable as possible under braking and acceleration,
and works with the IMU to link the front and rear damping, while the electronic
steering damper also reacts to the road surface and rider inputs, too.
