Part One - The First Thousand Miles

First published 9th June 2017 - Author Steve Rose

If Honda made Carlsberg, it’d be tasty, classy, understated and the can would be ergonomically perfect. Thankfully, Honda makes motorbikes, not lager and the new Fireblade SP is back to being a pint of fizz in a half-pint pot. Steve Rose is still tiddly.

Honda’s 2017 Fireblade has had an interesting start to the year. Rave reviews at the press launch followed by a mixed reception and some strong opinions in the months that followed. Plus, some high-profile difficulties in developing the race bike. Of course, Superbike race machinery and road bikes are very different things – there’s not a lot of shared parts - so challenges with a racer have little relation to what we as road riders experience.

BikeSocial sent out its most experienced, straight-talking road tester out for a long ride on the SP version to get his take on it. Here’s what he found.

Single minded, £19,000 track-focused, limited edition sports bikes shouldn’t be this simple to live with. That kind of money usually guarantees a harsh ride from race suspension, peaky power delivery, rough low-speed running and overheating in town, chronic discomfort and all the civilised niceties of a well-developed road bike (mirrors, indicators, switchgear, light clutch action) discarded in favour of anything lying around the race shop that’ll get it through homologation. SP? Surely that means ‘Sans-Practicality’

Honda’s new SP Fireblade is not like that. Filtering through rush hour traffic, it fuels smoothly, glides in and out of gaps with the engine temperature still reading normal and a clear view in the ‘not-too-bad-for-a-sports-bike’ mirrors. Not only that, but the tiny dimensions (feels like an old RVF400) make it easier to squeeze through gaps than almost anything else out there. It takes a few goes to get the balance of throttle and clutch rich right when setting off from rest – feeling like it’s about to stall unless you give it an extra tweak of throttle – but you soon get used to it.

Into the countryside and the thing that grabs you first is the ride quality and poise. Discussing the speed would be vulgar and unnecessary – let’s just say we are doing 35mpg in a 45mpg zone. The Honda rolls into corners like it’s attached to your central nervous system, flicks more aggressively when the turns become tighter and is stable at speed, even on the pockmarked, acne-macadam my local council prefers. On Mode 2 (road settings), the electrically controlled Öhlins suspension is a demonstration of just how effective some oil, springs and a few holey discs can be in keeping your squashy round man-bits round. Not quite floating on air but there’s a big difference between feedback and ‘feelin-for-where-my-man-eggs-used-to-be’. The ride quality and road holding are just stunning as we annihilate some of Cambridgeshire’s nastiest, bumpiest B-roads.

Oh… Did I mention it was raining? 

Which just makes the performance all the more spectacular. What’s really helping is the thing I’m most keen to test. The Blade SP’s fuelling – this Blade SP’s fuelling – is perfect. Accurate to a fraction of a degree of throttle, precise and dependable…always.

I mention this because much of the mumbling about the 2017 Fireblade has been about the inconsistent fuelling. Not this one, it’s just perfect.

Normally I don’t care how much faster a 1000cc motorbike goes than everything else because, aside from the initial acceleration and some extra overtaking grunt, it’s my riding, my bravery, my perspective on how quickly I want double-vision, watering eyes and that mental moment when you just can’t process any more info in this timescale, that determines how fast I go. 

But part of the reason I’m riding the Blade today is to really get to the bottom of the fuelling thing, so, in the interests of science, I find a quiet stretch of straight road and repeatedly accelerate as hard as I can in second and third gears, trying to swap closed for full throttle as quickly as possible.

It’s interesting, but inconclusive. Firstly, I’m blown away by the force of the acceleration. Can’t remember the last time I did this on the road and hung onto full throttle – it’s terrifying. Secondly, there’s something going on here. The Blade feels like it’s stuttering and stammering at the back wheel. Is this the fuelling lurching and hunting, or the back-wheel bumping and damping? I find a smoother, less back-road-ey stretch of tarmac – you might know it as the A1 - and try the same thing. The stuttering goes away, suggesting it’s a suspension thing, not fuelling. Sorry chaps, I’m putting health, hormones and licence on the line here and I can’t make this bike be anything other than brilliant.

The Fireblade is blowing my mind making riding this fast feel this confident. The quickshifter’s auto-blipper makes downshifts smooth enough to keep things settled going into damp corners. The riding position allows easy weighting of the outside footrest while leant over for some extra confidence and the linear power delivery lets me wind on the oomph while lifting the bike upright and then nailing it. Up till now, I’ve never been a fan of electronic control, but this ride is changing my mind.

Apart from the water running down my back and, er, crack (my fault for wearing non-zip-together leathers in the rain) I’m not uncomfortable. I have no idea what setting the engine electronics are on – the same ones as I picked it up with – but I trust the throttle, trust the suspension and trust the ABS enough to be braking as hard in the wet as I would be doing in the dry without even considering the consequences. The only niggle is a tendency for the bike to lurch slightly on a ‘just-open’ throttle as if the ride-by-wire system can’t decide whether the throttle is open or closed.

The Honda has everything a state-of-the-art superbike needs. It’s lighter than the opposition, packed with electronics, manages to be both tiny and roomy in that way that only Hondas ever are and, it goes like bejeezus when you open the throttle. The quicker you twist more bees jees and zees you get – obvious, but it never stops being entertaining. More importantly, it feels like a Fireblade should. The best Blades of the last 25 years were faster than their figures suggested, light enough to surprise you and noticeably smaller than the competition. They also had that certain ‘special’ something that left you thinking ‘never mind if-Carlsberg-made-sportsbikes…What about if-Honda-made-lager?’ I’m rambling now, time to stop for some nuts. 

I started this ride glibly talking about how the Blade really isn’t any quicker from here to there. I was wrong. Later today my 53-mile commute home will take a full five minutes less to complete than any other bike I’ve ridden. That’s a saving of 50 minutes a week both ways or almost two extra days a year to hug my wife if I buy a Fireblade.

£19k is a whole lot of money for a motorbike, but somehow, this one feels worth it. 

Honda Fireblade Superbike vs Sports 600?

Yamaha’s stunning new R6 meets Honda’s 2017 Fireblade SP. One costs almost twice as much as the other, so it must be twice as good…right?

Comparing the Blade SP to the R6 is like putting a Porsche next to a Subaru. On the road, they go as fast as each other, but one of them is smooth, sophisticated and almost smugly over-competent where the other is noisy, aggressive and a much more involving experience.

The R6 does the same as the Honda, it just needs a few more revs to start with and somehow (bear with me here) the power feels lighter, flightier and sharper where the Honda’s feels denser, weightier and somehow more serious... more, er, brown? Does that make sense to anyone but me? It’s difficult to explain just how good both of these bikes are in lousy weather as well as summer sunshine. The Yamaha feels a little more remote on its single-minded suspension, but it still steers confidently and puts down a lot of power to go very quickly, with no drama. I do occasionally swap the riding mode back to ‘std’ on the Yamaha, but never need the softer ‘B’ mode.

The R6 is the ‘how much £££?’ posh-boy of the 2017 middleweight class but still the underdog in the fast group and there are plenty of keyboard warriors out there who will tell you that it’s revvy, gutless and too slow. They’re wrong and the money saved over buying the Blade buys an awful lot of tyres, fuel, evenings in a Scottish/French/Spanish B&B and track days. If performance-per-pound is the consideration here the Yamaha wins hands down.

But let’s not forget, these days there are more than enough middle-youth riders out there for whom £19k is affordable compared to the price of a classic car, fancy kitchen, caravan, boat or motorhome and, if you’re ‘buying’ on PCP a Fireblade SP is £4399 down and £169 per month for three years. £169 a month is £42 a week and I know plenty of people who spend more than that on coffee and cigarettes.

The final word (and I apologise for this in advance) goes to an old mate who’d been there, done the whole superbike thing and bought a Honda VFR400 NC30 a few years back. His take on it was this. ‘The best thing about having an enormous penis is that I can buy the bike I actually want and not the one I think I need to be credible.’ I can’t vouch for the first bit, but he rarely got left behind on that little NC30. Motorcycle performance became far too much for the road and most UK racetracks a long time ago. What you ride these days has very little impact on how fast you go. What matters is how involved you want to be and how easily you want to go fast.

My take on this after 35 summers on mostly sports bikes is that it changes all the time. When I ride a 600 for a year, I love it, but next year I might fancy something bigger with a different challenge. The year after that, it could be something different again. Which is probably why I’ve owned so many flipping bikes.

And that’s part of the attraction. Before last week I thought I was done with sports bikes for good. Right now, I’m flicking through the small ads looking at second-hand NC30s and R6s. Not that I’m bragging, of course. 

Part 2 - Traction, Controlled.

Updated 23 November 2017 - Author Steve Rose

Ok, here’s the thing about traction control. If your road rides are punctuated by continual slides, highsides and at least one crash per mile, then you need a bike with the most adjustable, programmable, sophisticated traction control available. Or, if you fancy ditching everything you’ve learned in the last 20 years and swap smooth, safe, controlled riding with ham-fisted, cack-throttled half-wittery, then ditto.

Otherwise, on the road, it’s a talking point and no more. The early systems a few years back did give a chance for riders to watch a light flash on the clocks if you were clumsy enough, but the latest software and controls are so subtle that if you can notice it working on the road, you’re a danger to yourself and should probably buy a nice little car instead.

I knew this already, but this morning an opportunity to test it came my way. Cold, damp, muddy roads are my entire journey to work right now. Make that really muddy and really wet. And the BikeSocial Fireblade SP has just been fitted with a brand new set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3s that needed scrubbing-in. Chuck in a very healthy, loosened-up 190bhp motor, recently fitted with a full Akrapovic exhaust system and there’s a proper opportunity to then to test the Honda’s TC (they call it torque control, not traction) at every corner exit.

Except it doesn’t happen because the package of engine management, supple Ohlins semi-active suspension and sublime handling make the Fireblade so easy to ride fast that lack of traction is simply not an issue. Part of this, of course, is the Blade’s ability to hold high corner speeds consistently, even in these conditions meaning instead of point-and-squirt, it’s more like rock-and-roll.

Not so long ago a sportsbike with 190bhp on these roads would have ended with a trip to the moon

Which brings an interesting question. Multi-mode electronics have become a huge part of motorcycle marketing. The more bells and whistles, the more zeros on the price tag. Which is ok if you like that sort of thing – a bit like those old 1980s Amstrad stereos with a zillion knobs and sliders to control what used to be called ‘tone’. But think about this for a while. TC is good if you’re a racer because they (if they’re any good) spend their entire time on either zero or full throttle. Traction control allows race-bloke to just go on or off with the throttle and let the volts take care of the detail.

But you and me don’t ride like that. We’ve spent years learning to tickle and tweak a throttle while we scan the road for diesel, potholes, small mammals and Eddie Stobart crossing the white line while texting the depot. So we don’t need it because, actually, in reality, TC is just an automatic, electronic bhp restrictor – and I’d like to meet the marketing department who can charge us extra for that.

The biggest thing holding me back on a Blade in late November isn’t a lack of traction because the power delivery is so predictable and easy and the super-sticky sporting Pirellis also turn out to be good enough in cold mud to let me focus on something else. No, it’s the bulkiness of my riding kit turning those subtle, microscopic inputs into dumpy, baggy kicks and shoves that’s causing the problem. I’d forgotten how frustrating sports bikes are when you’re dressed like a spacehopper. So I give up on the twisties and head for a bigger, faster A-road where I can play tunes on the new exhaust and see how far I can get my eyeballs back in my head.

The answer is far enough back to make my brain hurt and see two of everything. Double vision is bad on a bike this fast, I guess that why bluebottles all ride Harleys. I’m pretty sure also the Akrapovic-equipped Blade is no faster than a standard one, but it’s an even more emotional experience than the already-noisy standard pipe, and, if that’s your thing, you’ll be very happy indeed.

My thing is simply motorbikes; I really couldn’t care less how noisy they are or how many gadgets they have on them Especially when they make getting from here to there as entertaining and efficient as this one does. As soon as I stop trying to climb all over it and accept that my role today is to simply operate the controls and not hit anything, the ride gets smoother and much more enjoyable.

BikeSocial’s time with this brilliant motorcycle is coming to an end. Honda did say we could run it through the winter, but I really don’t see the point; it’s not what I’d do to my own £19,000 sports bike, so why should I do it to someone else’s?

But I’m glad I had one last thrash before the weather gets too bad and the road salt goes down.  I’m done with sports bikes and I’ve known it for years, but when something this engaging comes along, it’s easy to get all giddy again. If you’re not done with sports bikes yet, you really could do a lot worse than getting a test ride on a Fireblade SP. Don’t get hung up on the numbers, don’t listen to the people still talking about gearboxes and Guy Martin, ride one for yourself and make up your own mind.   

Part 3 - A Selection of Protection

Updated 23rd November 2017. Author - Michael Mann

Before - After - Work in Progress

To drill or not to drill? That is the question. Or should that be, ‘well, I don’t intend to crash so why would I need to protect the fairings?’

When the rather polite people at R&G, the motorcycle crash protection specialists, ask if they can send a selection of protection for our long-term loan Honda Fireblade, we offered no objection. It gave us the perfect opportunity to see if a spanner-dodger like me can fit a few bobbins, some bar ends and a tail tidy as well as emphasising what is on offer for the new CBR1000RR.

So, when a box of gear arrived at BikeSocial HQ soon after and I was left to face the music with a natural avoidance of getting my hands mucky. Off to a colleague’s fully-equipped garage I fled without thinking about the possibilities of requiring a drill…I mean, what was I going to drill a hole in just so it could be protected?

For when the box was opened, inside lurked a host of hard plastic-wrapped protection including a set of fairing-protecting bobbins that required, guess what, a drill. They also felt quite heavy, 618g to be precise, and given that the Honda’s MO had been to make the 2017 Fireblade as light as possible, plus it’s a loan bike and Honda might not be too chuffed when they receive the bike back with additional and non-standard fairing holes.

Incidentally, R&G have since unveiled a non-drill kit where the black infill panels are but having put the quandary of to drill or not to drill to our social media followers there was a definite divide of opinion.

I decided to run the risk by leaving the crash bungs in their packaging and instead concentrate on this:

Bar End Sliders

PRICE: £22.49 + VAT
FITTING TIME: 5 minutes

Easy to fit as you’d expect and slightly lighter than the originals but I did need to wear a rubber-gripped glove to remove the OE parts given how tightly they’d been fitted. The only tool here is a Phillips screwdriver.

Swingarm Protectors

PRICE: £33.33 + VAT
FITTING TIME: 10 minutes

Very easy to fit by removing one end and passing the bar straight through the hollow spindle before aligning the nut and tightening. OK, so it adds an extra bolt to undo when removing the rear wheel but that’s a small price to pay

M8 Cotton reels

PRICE: £7.49 + VAT
FITTING TIME: 2 minutes

Standard anodised aluminium bobbins that screw into the relevant slot in the swing arm and allow the rear of the bike to be supported by a paddock stand.

Tail Tidy

PRICE: £99.99 + VAT
FITTING TIME: 1 hour

The photographs in the instructions provided are very dark making it quite a chore to fit. Little things like having to apply the supplied heat-shrink tubing, and supergluing the number plate light shroud are a little frustrating – making it feel a little unfinished.

The number plate light has to have the OE connection cut off to fit the R&G one. It’s not the end of the world, and it is tucked away once complete but would have preferred an OE connection.

The stainless steel with matte black power coat makes the rear of the bike look slicker and sleeker by tucking the registration plate and indicator lights under the seat unit and rear light. An improvement over the euro-conforming OE set-up but up close it’s not the most beautiful.

Fork Protectors

PRICE: £29.16 + VAT
FITTING TIME: 10 minutes

Comes with a replacement spindle bolt which means undoing the fork pinch bolts and replacing the original. The torque settings of the pinch bolts are printed on the bottom of the fork leg but as it’s not there for the main bolt and R&G doesn’t tell you in the instructions so we had to call Honda to check. It would have been good to have the torque settings in instructions. Of course, not everyone has a torque wrench or cares and a dealer would know the settings anyway.

NB: you need a 13mm socket for each end, so make sure you have two.

Tank Grips and Boot Guards

PRICE: £25.83 + VAT & £29.99 +VAT
FITTING TIME: 5 minutes each set

Each set has two pieces for either side for side of fuel tank and knee grip (tank grips) then to protect the frame from the toes of your boots as well as the swing arm.

Because of the ferociously sticky adhesive, each take a little lining up in a bid to stick them down accurately. The coarse rubberised material on the outside is designed to prevent wear from the boot when chaffing against the frame or swing arm.

The kits are supplied pre-cut to fit the areas they are designed for. However, within a week I’d removed the one below the front of the seat, it was harder to fit and the rainwater had affected the adhesive.

Exhaust Protector

PRICE: £38.33 + VAT
FITTING TIME: 2 minutes

I’m sure it would serve as much of a purpose as the rest of the crash protection fitted to the Fireblade but for me, a fan of the aesthetics, this is the most garish piece. A simple jubilee clip tighten by a flat-head screwdriver around the inside of the exhaust is all that is required to fit it but do make sure the rubber protection is in place between the clip and the end can too.

Thankfully, I didn’t get the chance to test their protective nature but shame on me for providing only half a review…

Part 4 - Your verdict!

Updated 12th September 2017 - Author Simon Hargreaves

It’s fair to say Honda’s 2017 Fireblade hasn’t had the easiest start in life. Even the press can’t decide if it’s the new best litre sportsbike or disconnected ride-by-wire confusion.

The chief concern for some riders is the unpredictability of picking up the throttle mid-corner and finding the desired drive off a turn. Both the throttle position of the engine pick-up and the amount of throttle response seem to vary – giving the bike a feeling it’s the ECU’s programming that’s deciding when, where and how much acceleration to let the rider have.

Meanwhile the road racing performance at the NW200 and TT has left the race bike with reputation to rebuild.

But even if, as McGuinness suggests, the race bikes’ problems are distinct from the road bike’s reported issues what’s undeniable is the Blade has become contaminated by association, particularly courtesy via the often poisonous realms of social media.

But what really matters is what you, the riding public, think.

To find out what normal humans make of the troubled Honda, BikeSocial takes four prospective Fireblade customers for a test tide, found via a shout-out on our social media channels, under controlled conditions at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire. You lucky things, you.

The plan for the test is pretty simple. Four chaps of varying degrees of sportsbike background will take BikeSocial’s 2017 Fireblade SP for a spin around Bruntingthorpe’s combined 2-mile runway and 2-mile perimeter road, which includes a couple of twisty infield sections.

The riders know why they’re here, but we’re asking them to try and focus on the relative ease of controlling the 189bhp motor, because that’s the bit about the new Blade with which people seem to have the biggest problem. We’ll assume the ride quality delivered by the semi-active Öhlins suspension is top drawer because a) it is and b) no-one is complaining about that. We’ll also try and steer the riders away from thinking too much about the bike’s handling, braking, steering too. We’re not even that interested in what they think of the outright engine performance. It’s nearly 190bhp; everyone already knows that’s never not quite much too fast enough. So we taped up the speedo.

What we really want to find out is if so-called regular riders can detect the same issues with throttle control and connection between the rider’s right hand and the rear tyre that some testers have experienced or will they be on the ‘what problem?’ side of the playground.

Without further ado, over to the experts:

Rider 1: Alex Paulukiewicz (Above), 26, currently riding a 2011 Suzuki GSX-R750

Alex Paulukiewicz (26)

Before riding the Blade: “I’ve ridden a GSX-R1000 K8, and recently had a demo ride on a 2017 GSX-R1000 – and I loved it; incredible. It’s so quick, couldn’t keep the front end down, quickshifter was brilliant.

“My preconception of the new Blade; I’ve heard about all the issues – the box is full of neutrals, the throttle sticks open... but these are just on race bikes with different gearboxes and different electronics to the road bike... so at the end of the day I’m not Guy Martin or John McGuinness, and I’m not going to be riding the bike at 150%. So I’m coming at this with a completely open mind.”

After the first ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “I loved it! It’s fantastic! I’ve come here with a completely open mind, but you hear rumours of what people have said about it – but nine times out of ten they probably haven’t even ridden the bike. So they’re making up snap accusations about it, that get passed along from person to person without having actually experienced it.

“So that bike has just been absolutely flawless. The only thing I noticed was when I closed the throttle, it’s slightly spongy. But there’s no issues with it revving on, no issues with the gearbox; and as for the autoblipper and quickshifter, I loved it. Loved it. No problems at all.

“And in terms of controlling the throttle – there’s no problem. It feels nice. It feels conventional. There feels like there’s no throttle play at all – it’s great. I was in a comfort zone straightaway. Based on this ride, everything that’s been said is a load of nothing.”

After the second ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “I enjoyed that. I was using the quickshifter a lot more – up and down – but again there was no snatchiness, hesitancy, or not knowing what it was doing. Nothing like that. Based on this ride, if I had the money I’d be happy to buy one. I’ve no idea what people are talking about. It’s a rumour that’s gone round and just put people off. I can’t fault it.”

Rider 2: Alan Crowder (Above), 60, currently riding a 2011 Kawasaki 1400GTR

Alan Crowder (60)

Before the first ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “I’ve had four Fireblades in the past; a 2003 954, then a 2004 and 2005 CBR1000RR, and then a 2008 Blade which I won in a competition. I did 275 miles on it and sold it – not because I hated it, but because I won it for nothing and got nine grand for it! But what a lovely bike it was. I’ve also owned a VTR SP1, but lately I’ve had a VFR800 and a Triumph Sprint ST. I mostly do touring these days.

“I don’t have any particular preconceptions of the Blade, but if it’s as good as Honda say it is, it’ll be excellent. But I’ve heard about the race problems – I know McGuinness fell off it and Guy Martin crashed with that false neutral. And I’ve read about the road bikes too – but, let’s face it, Honda aren’t stupid, are they?”

After the first ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “Goodness me! I;ve never used a quickshifter before, up or down, and it’s brilliant. What a bit of kit that is. Every bike should have that. It’s something else. God yes. The fact you can knock it down into fourth, open the throttle, and the front just lifts. It’s as easy as it can be. I dunno what mode it’s in, but acceleration-wise it’s a wonderful bit of kit.

“As I came into the tight section of corners, I stayed in second gear and gently rolled the throttle on and off – and it did exactly what I wanted it to. I think the control is every good – wonderful, in fact. I have no idea, based on this ride, what any of the fuss is about with this bike. It’s as near perfect as can be for me. If I could afford one, I’d have to have one; simple as that.”

After the second ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “I think I need to do my helmet up slightly tighter. But now I know where I’m going a bit more, I had no issues with the throttle control at all. It’s a smooth ride, does exactly what I want it to do. Being a big lad, I’d like a bit more wind protection! But I’d have no qualms buying one – none whatsoever. And the more I rode it, the happier I’d be!”

Rider 3: Ian Cowling (Above), 47, currently riding a 2015 Honda Fireblade ABS

Before the first ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “I’ve had the Blade for a year; had a VFR1200 before that. I bought the VFR to go touring on, but the missus wasn’t so keen – so I always wanted a Blade, so I bought one. And I’m over the moon with it – although I’m taking to Misano so we’ll see how it gets on! I’ve got no issues with it at all. I’ll never ride to its full ability, but for the way I ride it’s perfect.

“I’m aware of the fuss about the new bike; Guy Martin off it with a false neutral and it didn’t run at the Senior TT. I’ve heard a few things about the bike on the internet too. But I think it’s an awesome-looking bike. We’ll see what it’s like.”

After the first ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “My Blade is so slow! It’s very different – you can really tell. You come out of a corner and it wants to lift, then it doesn’t. My 2015 bike would be all over the shop. It’s mental.

“It feels lighter and smaller than my bike – and a lot of the time it’s hard to keep your brain in with it because it’s that quick. It’ll run away with you – but I didn’t feel any problems – completely in control. It did precisely what I wanted it do. I can’t say I felt any lag or problems with the throttle at all. Compared to my bike it’s miles quicker and miles more stable. I can’t ride mine at that pace!”

After the second ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “That was a bit unnerving. It jumped out of gear nailing it from third, fourth, trying to get fifth... and I literally had to stop to get it into gear. Then it happened again round the back of the circuit, and then I had another problem going down the gearbox when it wouldn’t go into gear. So three times altogether, in the space of a couple of laps. I ended up on the grass at one point. The first two times, going up the box, shifting without the clutch, between fourth and fifth. Coming down the box, it was between fourth and third. I pulled the clutch in right away, but it was a problem.

“I’m confident it wasn’t me – I tried being more positive with the shifts, but it’s not given me great deal of confidence with it.

“I had no problems with throttle control though – apart from that it was perfect.”

Rider 4: Darren Banks (Above), 56, currently riding a 2001 Honda Blackbird

Darren Banks (56)

Before the first ride on the 2017 Blade: “Before the Honda I had a Suzuki Hayabusa; two of them. And a VTR SP-1, couple of Kawasaki Ninjas... but I’m getting on a bit now and I need something a bit easier! But I wish I had a Blade years ago.

“I’ve had a little read about the Blade – apparently you can bang it in first gear and after that the electronics will take over and do everything? I don’t know; never ridden a bike with traction control, autoblipper and quickshifter, ride-by-wire and all that. It’ll be interesting with all the electronics on it. I know McGuinness had crashed and Guy Martin, but that’s basically a different bike.”

After the first ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “Exhilarating. The throttle is perfect; so responsive. Getting on the throttle, back off again, on again – all without any trouble. There’s no comparison with my Blackbird. It’s tame compared to that. But there’s no problem controlling all that performance, even just jumping on the bike for the first time.

“The engine braking is really good too – as soon as you come off the throttle, the things slows down so much. And the autoblipper and quickshifter help you out too – the electronics are amazing. Just fantastic.

“Knowing some of fuss around the bike, I’d say the people on the internet who’ve been commenting about the bike must’ve been pissed-up or something. I think the grip and acceleration and control are so impressive.”

After the second ride on the 2017 Blade SP: “Still the same; no problems controlling the bike at all. Going through the box, acceleration; all perfect. If I was of a mind to buy the bike, the only issue I’d have is the mirrors – they’re rubbish! And I’m not sure I could ride it much more than 100 miles before getting off for a rest. I’d love one, but it’s out of my price bracket.”

Verdict

So there it is: on the basis of a short test ride, the average Joe Bloggs is so blown away by the new Blade’s outright performance, control and range of features (and especially the quickshifter and autoblipper) it’s a struggle to form a coherent sentence afterwards – and so now you know how it feels!

But although, obviously, this test is about as far from the last word in scientific rigour as it gets what it shows is, apart from a niggle about the gear-shifting (which could be a result of rider error; certainly the autoblipper and transmission get muddled if you go anywhere near the clutch when you’re backshifting – you need to leave it alone or else the ignition won’t cut and the gear won’t engage) the 2017 Blade SP’s reputation as a wayward, out-of-control, mind-of-its-own beast is, according to four ordinary blokes, entirely undeserved.

Part 5 - Can we improve Honda's fuelling

Updated 3rd July 2018. Author - Michael Mann

It’s fair to say that the 2017 Honda Fireblade SP endured a baptism of fire during its inaugural few months. While adored by many at the press launch it wasn’t without fault then accidents on the full SP2 race bikes by John McGuinness and Guy Martin meant the road bike came under serious scrutiny just by association which affected sales.

However, with a change of tyres onto a set of Michelin Power RS and a definitive rider setting courtesy of Ron Haslam, we’d ironed out the Fireblade’s issues. We even invited half-a-dozen readers and social media know-it-alls to Bruntingthorpe to try out the Honda where armchair opinions were remedied and no false neutrals were found.

After that dust had settled it was time to call our chums at Performance Parts who had lined up a full stainless steel Akrapovič race exhaust system developed by the Honda Racing BSB team for us to test, as well as a Rapid Bike Evo module designed to simply plug in and self-learn. After 100-miles or so the bike was due to take on an alter-ego – the module was to flatten out the power curve and offer a much smoother delivery by making small and continuous adjustments to the fuelling.

The full exhaust system is carries a weight-saving of 1.5kg yet a price tag of £1684 plus a required carbon hanger at £114 while the Rapid Bike Evo module price is £438. So, while an outlay of £2236 does include VAT it doesn’t include fitting. That may result in some teeth sucking but a brand new ‘blade is now available at £2,500 under its original RRP… and some dealers are offering 0% finance.

I rode with the system and module fitted for only three months and I speak the absolute truth when I say that I miss it every day since it was returned. The improvements made a significant difference to an already highly enjoyable riding experience. For those who’ve ridden the Honda CBR1000RR SP you’ll know what I mean – it’s doesn’t need to offer 195bhp+ at peak power like so many others do, because it’s all about how the remaining 189bhp combined with its lightweight 195kg (wet) acts on the road. The Rapid Bike and Akrapovič additions help to increase the power by 6.7bhp @ 7550rpm, torque by 6.8Nm @ 3100rpm and noise level by 6.6dB, which took it to 101.6dB static @ 4,500rpm.

How does the module work?

I asked Performance Parts’ Product Manager, Marshall Fanthorpe, to explain:

“Euro 4 regulations state that a bike has to have an air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1 – which basically means they’re trying to get it run on fresh air. However, a target of 13.2:1 is the most efficient burn or where you get the most bang for your buck and it’s the way the manufacturers would set it if there weren’t any EU laws.

So, the Rapid Bike Evo module fools the standard ECU into feeding more fuel by giving it a different target ratio for the AFR (air:fuel ratio). And it does it straight from the bottom. The regulations have changed so instead of a static noise test you now have to ride into a coned-off area at a certain speed and then exit at a higher speed so you’re demonstrating noise under acceleration.

What a lot of the new bikes do is offer very little fuel (at the bottom of the rev range) then they come in at 7,500rpm which is the end of the testing range. So, manufacturers know the testing area and they found a way to defeat, it which is recognisable in the power curve’s step.

But this Rapid Bike Evo module eliminates that dip and offers a linear power curve straight the way through. The Akrapovic is about gas flow; the faster you can get gases to run through a motor then the quicker it’ll rev and the more power and response it’ll give you. It’s also a lot lighter than the standard system (this is the racing stainless system from the headers to the muffler, which is solid titanium) and was developed by the Honda Racing Team designed and made especially for this road-going Fireblade. It does away with the catalytic converter and noise valve because it’s a racing system. It does have a baffle insert which should keep it under 105dB.

The module is self-learning. If you look at RPM down one side of the injection map graph and throttle position sensor down the other and the more time you spend in each cell the more it’ll learn about how it’ll apply more fuel or not. Obviously on track you’ll use more of the rev range while on the road you’d be using less throttle action and therefore the system will be monitoring every combination, theoretically.

The figures show the percentage of time that the injector is open above and beyond what the standard fuelling map in the standard ECU is showing and therefore how much more fuel it’s giving on each firing sequence. You then have an additional map that works in conjunction and the really clever thing about this is the standard map can make adjustments for atmospheric pressure, what type of fuel is in the bike and the riding style.

For example, while at 4,100rpm with 10% throttle open, the injectors are open for 12% longer for a more effective power delivery. If we’d have put an air filter on as well as the exhaust system and Rapid Bike Evo module there’s be an improvement in air and gas quality.

So, if you put a high flow air filter and a race exhaust system without remapping the fuelling or modifying the fuelling it’ll run extremely lean and, if you spend a lot of time at high revs such as a race track, there’s a chance of destroying the engine.

It’s self-learning system and once you’ve got a good base setting it’ll learn and make the adaptions to maximise the performance of the other parts that have been added on. It’ll continue to learn all the time and builds a map that will continue to fine tune. In order for it to build a second map in the auto-adaptive function, it has to have spent time within the cell with a certain amount of revs and a certain amount of throttle opening – so long as the two have met, the module will learn and of course the more time you spend in each cell the more refined the learning will be.

It’s designed to find the perfect 13.2:1 but the only constriction is the LAMBDA sensor which has a narrow band for gas analysis maybe ideal for Euro4 but not for performance motorcycling. We’re trying to get the air:fuel ratio as close the magic 13.7:1 as possible.”

All clear? Well, if I owned a new Fireblade I’d be scraping together every penny to enhance my bike with these two additions.

While having a baffle in the exhaust will make the bike compliant to the noise police circulating at your nearby race track, as we found out it will also restrict the maximum power output by up more than 6.5 bhp and peak torque by nearly 4 Nm. The power and torque differential is only noticeable on the dyno graphs above 8,000rpm.

Before you splurge ask yourself what you want to gain from an exhaust upgrade or fuel module combo. Is it looks and noise? Performance maybe – but where? Top end or where it matters in the sweet spot in between 6-8,000rpm? Or is it make that throttle response crisper and power delivery smoother because in my experience this tidy little combo does it all. It’s worth a conversation with your local experts so they can establish and even recommend what product(s) will make all the difference.

2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP Fireblade - Technical Specification