The CBR900RR was launched in 1992 and revolutionised the supersport sector. To understand why you have to know that the market was split into two those days. On one side there were the 750 superbike replicas and on the other were the maxi bikes with 1000 cc displacements or even bigger. Performance was the goal in both cases and the maxi bikes had an edge from this point of view. Power and speed increased exponentially season after season and it was irresistible.
But there was a problem. The bikes were becoming heavier and more challenging to ride, especially on the road, and this is where Tadao Baba's “Total Control” project came into play. His idea was to create a sports bike with performance close to that of a maxi but that was easy and fun to ride.
The idea was ingenious but not easy to implement. Combining the agility of a 750 with the performance of a 1000 is not a simple manner and a compromise is needed to achieve this goal. And so the Honda CBR900RR was created, a sports bike with a compact 893 cc straight-4 engine capable of delivering 125 hp, mounted on an agile chassis, very similar to that of the 750.
A stripped-back motorbike
The equipment of the CBR900RR was essential to keep the weight down. Never had such a “not-quite-maxi” been seen before. It was in a completely new category of its own. The Total Control concept set the bike apart from the competition and was the key to its success. The CBR900RR was fun and easy to ride - within the limits of an ultra-high-performance bike - and was born for sporty street riding displaying an attitude that has set it apart almost to this day.
Almost, because the Fireblade, now thirty years old, has changed a lot since then, swinging between Honda's philosophy of continuous, subtle refinements and a few generational leaps. Today, it is an extreme, high-performance superbike.
Sixteen generations
There have been sixteen official generations of the Honda Fireblade, including models that have undergone minor changes, but there were six true generation jumps.
The first was in 2000 and it was immediately recognisable by its new pivotless system in which the swingarm is supported by the engine and the frame is cut at the crankcase. A 17” front wheel (the previous version fitted 16” tyres), and electronic fuel injection are added. Displacement was upped to 929 cc and the engine delivered 150 hp.
There was another major step in 2002 when the version that will be remembered as the 954 was launched. It retained the base of its predecessor but the displacement was increased to 954 cc and the engine developed 152 hp. It is a time-honoured FireBlade, the last made by Tadao Baba, and is considered to be one of the best.
2004: CBR1000RR, the Superbike mission
The pivotal year was 2004 when the CBR broke the mould and went full-size up to 1000 cc. The name was changed to CBR1000RR Fireblade and the bike set itself the goal of winning the World Superbike Championship. It was inspired by the MotoGP RCV211V with an angular fairing, under-seat exhaust. Power was increased to 172 hp and the frame was changed. The World Superbike Championship title would be won by James Toseland in 2007.
2008: Back to basics
A new change came about in 2008. The fairing was more rounded again, the exhaust was low and compact, the new Fireblade was agile and more compact, and it had a combined braking system with ABS. The same base is continuously refined in the following years in the best Honda style. It only changed in 2012, when it became aesthetically sharper, moving closer to today's lines.
2017: A generational leap with the introduction of electronics
The bike turned a new leaf in 2017, after almost 10 years of non-stop updates. The CBR1000RR was even lighter and the power output rose to an impressive 192 hp. A wealth of electronic features were implemented, with advanced functions such as traction and wheelie control. It was a very sporty CBR, but still designed with an eye on road riding, but it was still one step away from becoming a race replica.
2020: No compromises, here comes the CBR1000RR-R
A new bike and a new name – the CBR1000RR-R. This time around, the Fireblade was kitted out with MotoGP RC213V-S technology, even more sophisticated electronics and even more power, making the final step to 217.5 hp.
Honda invited Tadao Baba (who had retired in the meantime) to the ceremony held to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Fireblade at the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi where the new 2022 Fireblade was showcased alongside the 1992 FireBlade. The two bikes are a long way apart and the Total Control concept that made it famous is now just distant a memory but the CBR900R is and will always be a milestone in supersport history and one of the most fascinating bikes in the world.
Engineers:
Tadao Baba, Hirofumi Fukunaga, Yuzuru Ishikawa, Fuyuki Hosokawa
