Photoshoot of the Week: October 28th – November 3rd 2019 – Amber & Honda CBR1000RR SP

For 21 years Honda has pursued a concept of ‘Total Control’ with the Fireblade, after rewriting the rulebook in 1992 with the original CBR900RR*. Over the last decade the CBR1000RR has developed into perhaps the most balanced Super Sport machine available, combining exceptional performance and handling with a satisfying ability to extract the very best from every rider.
The open-class CBR has built a loyal army of fans around the world over two decades especially – with over 200,000 sold – throughout Europe. And in response to demand from a hard-core of performance enthusiasts Honda – for the very first time – in 2014 is producing the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP.
One of the CBR1000RR’s many outstanding features are the three selectable riding modes so you can program the machine to suit different conditions. It can be tuned to be comfortable and easy-going when you want it to be, yet feed the need for exhilarating action when adrenalin demands it.
Great riders are always pushing their limits. And great superbikes should do the same. That means your bike has to offer more than just a big engine—it also has to have great handling and superior power management. That’s exactly what our 2019 CBR1000RR and CBR1000RR SP deliver. New this year: an even more advanced Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) complete with our new, multi-level selectable wheelie control. Now discerning riders can connect with their bike and the track like never before.
The CBR1000RR is light, powerful and undeniably fast, making it a beast on the street and in the canyons. If the track is more your specialty, then you’ll want the CBR1000RR SP. World championships have been won on bikes that the SP would leave in its dust. We invite you to check them both out. And decide just how far you want to push your limits.
After a full model change in 2017, the Fireblade’s ‘Next Stage Total Control’ is enhanced for 2019, with changes to its electronics package aimed at optimal circuit performance. Thus, HSTC and ABS have been modified, and the top Power setting boosted based on input from the HRC MotoGP programme. Honda Selectable Torque Control and Wheelie Control functions are now separated, with a new ‘W’ indicator on the instrument panel.
The main changes from the 2017 model are in the electronics. The traction control is now separate from the wheelie control, so you can dial in different amounts of intervention for each. The ECU is smart enough to work out the difference between wheelspin and slides, and wheelies, so you can now have quite high traction intervention, with lower wheelie control, and vice versa. The dash now has a three-position ‘W’ setting, alongside the Power, Engine Braking and HSTC traction settings.
Honda’s also tweaked the ABS settings, giving much less intervention above 120kph, and giving 15 per cent more deceleration. So when you hit the anchors at 180mph on the back straight, the world will go into reverse much more aggressively…
Finally, the ride-by-wire throttle motor is faster, so the throttle plates react more quickly to your inputs, both on corner entry and exit. Meaning the engine braking comes on faster, and you get on the power faster too.
The final mods are cosmetic – new paint for all the Fireblades – stock and SP. The stock comes in black with silver and red with white, and the SP tricolour has darker blue accents.