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Page 1 of 4 FIRST LOOK: 2008 HONDA CBR1000RR FIREBLADE
Sharper looks, stronger performance and astoundingly responsive control. From its compact new proportions to its breathtaking response to every rider input, everything about the new 2008 CBR1000RR Fireblade stakes out a new standard in motorcycle performance and design aesthetics that will stand as a milestone in the history of litre-class Super Sports development, much as the original CBR900RR did when it fired the first shot in the high-performance revolution sixteen years ago. A winner both on the street and on the track, the CBR900RR FireBlade set a blazing standard for big bike performance for an entire generation to come.
The hallmarks of Fireblade development have always been stronger, more manageable performance coupled with lighter weight in the pursuit of Total Control. Each succeeding generation of the popular CBR has seen it dominate its class with an unexcelled combination of race-bred technologies and easy, effortless control that inspires confidence and exhilaration in all who ride it, whether one’s interests lie in strafing curvaceous back roads or dragging knees at the most thrilling levels of road racing competition. With such advanced features as its mass-centralised fuel tank, Unit-Pro-Link rear suspension, radial-mount front disc brakes and revolutionary Honda Electronic Steering Damper handed down from Honda’s famed RC211V MotoGP champion, it should come as no surprise that the CBR1000RR Fireblade has also been a strong contender in World and AMA Superbike racing since its 2004 debut. This year, the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR leads the World Superbike series in the capable young hands of veteran rider James Toseland, with world championship victory clearly visible on the horizon.
Representing the next innovative leap in this proud tradition, the new 2008 CBR1000RR Fireblade features an even more compact, mid-displacement-sized form, phenomenally lighter weight in the design and manufacture of its frame, engine and chassis components, and innovative performance-enhancing developments like a new underslung exhaust system and new ‘assist slipper’ clutch that make it faster than ever, easier and more comfortable to extend one’s riding capabilities on the street, and more of a dominating form on race circuits the world over.
Fireblade History
The 1992 debut of the history-making CBR900RR Fireblade completely rewrote the book of Super Sport motorcycle design with a remarkably compact and lightweight configuration based on a ‘Less Is More’ concept that achieved a breathtaking blast of litre-class performance from a 900cc inline-4 engine shoehorned into a highly advanced 600cc-class chassis. With its compact proportions, lithe, responsive handling and unprecedented power-to-weight ratio, the Fireblade embodied the origin of the Super Sport motorcycle, and sparked the expansion of the current litre-class Super Sports category.
Over the years, the Fireblade received a series of evolutionary improvements that saw sometimes quite radical changes, though always based on its two guiding development themes of ‘Light Makes Right’ and ‘Total Control.’ Engine displacement also saw small, incremental increases, but in the desire to keep the engine’s external profile as slim as possible, there was no pressing need to boost its size up into the litre range.
In racing competition around the world, privateer teams and club racers quickly recognised the ’Blade’s competitive potential, and over the years have won an enviable collection of winner’s trophies ranging from box-stock club racing events to such prestigious venues as the Isle of Man T.T., the Suzuka 8-Hour and Le Mans.
Changes to Superbike racing rules for the 2004 season spurred the desire of expanding the Fireblade’s racing capabilities to the world stage, and a new goal was set for its continuing development: to create a new base machine for litre-class racing that could be used to successfully compete in everything from local box-stock races to the big Superbike circus. That machine debuted as the CBR1000RR Fireblade.
Over the ensuing four years since its debut, the CBR1000RR Fireblade has won praise for providing instantly competitive performance coupled with easy riding manners that boost riding skills and confidence while embodying the racing potential to not only compete at the top levels of World Superbike competition, but win, as it is proudly demonstrating this 2007 racing season together with rider James Toseland and the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team.
As this next generation of the Fireblade reclaims its rightful place at the pinnacle of the litre Super Sports class, the future of CBR-RR performance shines brighter than ever.
Development Concept
True to the spirit of Honda Racing development, the new 2008 CBR1000RR Fireblade achieves its phenomenal leap in performance with a single-minded dedication to the tried and true fundamentals of lighter weight, greater efficiency and minimised resistance in its every facet. Every critical component in its chassis, engine and drivetrain was rethought, redesigned and recreated to achieve not only lighter weight, but along with it important gains in structural strength and operating efficiency as new techniques were developed to make each critical part the best it could be.
For this impressive new generation of the Fireblade, development was carried out not only in Japan, but around the world, with an international team who focused their efforts on lightening, simplifying and reshaping in order to rediscover the true essential qualities of Japanese craftsmanship and redefine the soul of cutting-edge Super Sports motorcycle performance as it applies to both the needs of the racetrack circuit and the deepest desires of a wide range of sportsbike riders on the constant lookout for the fastest, most instinctively responsive riding machine they can own. Once that seems to easily adapt and mould itself to fit each rider’s unique riding style, building skills and confidence along the way.
Remarkably, instead of starting at the most logical points of the race track or the high-tech design studio, this close-knit team first paid a visit to the ancient capital of Kyoto to breath in the traditions of craftsmanship and culture that have defined the essence of Japan and its artisans’ spirit for centuries. Experiencing first-hand the temples and gardens, and the attention to detail revealed in each hand-made object, very often with almost imperceptible subtlety, whether in the curves of a common teacup or the swirling filigree seen in the reflection of a finely honed blade, the design team gained a deeper appreciation for the inherent Japanese sense of detail and spirit that is often overlooked at first glance. The clearest representation of this spirit manifested itself in the Samurai sword, a blade of apparent overall simplicity, shorn of unnecessary ornamentation yet of such singular purpose and refinement that it has become a source of esteemed inspiration for generations.
This spirit of simplicity and excellence is imbued in all the Japanese arts, and in such unique martial arts as kendo (‘The Way of the Sword’), with its compact and fluid economy of movement and its simple staff. So inspired, the Fireblade’s design team envisioned their creation to be a ’Blade for another sort of modern warrior, who strives for a similar economy of movement and draws equal inspiration from the finely crafted tools of his trade. Their years of dedication to the spirit of Japanese craftsmanship and motorcycling excellence now yield a lighter, more compact and more effectively mass-centralised form. One encompassing a new cast aluminium frame; lighter and faster-revving engine internals and a lighter, more neutral feel that quickly and easily translates into more exhilarating blasts along the winding roads that sportsbike riders love best, and faster lap times that racers everywhere strive for. Class-leading new developments include a new underslung exhaust system that better centralises the Fireblade’s overall mass for sharper, more responsive cornering control, and a new advance in slipper clutches called the Honda Assist Slipper Clutch that smoothes aggressive downshifts into corners while lightening clutch action for smoother and easier operation that translates into smoother and quicker cornering control for the most aggressive riders and racers.
As always, the new CBR1000RR Fireblade is packed with the latest race-tested technologies developed and tempered in the heat of MotoGP and World Superbike competition. Its remarkably compact form now even more efficiently concentrates weight and mass nearest its centre of gravity for light, effortless handling that sportsbike riders of all levels of experience can more confidently enjoy. With a bloodline of race-based riding excellence reaching back to the first Fireblade, the RC30 and beyond, the new 2008 CBR1000RR Fireblade embodies all the best in the Super Sport and aggressively reasserts it claim to the throne of the 1000cc Super Sports class.
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