Tadao Baba. The originator and designer of the FireBlade.

One man with a vision for the future, first started his quest in 1989, being disillusioned with the then, current crop of 'sports bikes' he set out to design a new breed of sports bike, one which was light in weight, had the power to thrill, and yet which was easy to control by the rider.

Although Honda chief's had originally wanted the bike to be a sport's 750 the bike only became the bike we all now know and love because of Baba's insistence in a big bore sports bike, which would put the new CBR900RR in an all new category of sports bike and luckily for us Babasan won out and the term 'TOTAL CONTROL' was born.

Somewhere in the bikes early development the name FIREBLADE came alone, some say through a misinterpreted translation from French to English for the Japanese word for lightening, but what ever the reason the bike got the FireBlade name this was history in the making.

1992 The first 893cc Blade, sold like hot cakes, even at the list price of £7390, and demand soon out stripped supply, with a class breaking 185kg riders could not believe just how fast, light weight, and easy to ride this new bike was, but in the hands of rider's more used to the heavy weight bikes of the time; like the Kawasaki ZX10, Suzuki GSX-R1100, and Honda's own CBR 1000F, This new FireBlade soon found it's self with a fearsome reputation.

Over the next few years, the FireBlade saw some minor updates as the bike received some new cloths in the shape of a redesign to the bodywork, as the now legendary Foxeye/ Urban Tiger came along in December 1993, the bike soon sold out as it had the year before, even at the list price of £8195.

1995 November saw a big revamp unusually for Honda, as the RRT model was released with an all new dedicated 918cc engine, not the previous model's Japan only stroked seven-fifty engine, the bike also received a revised suspension package and other updates to the riding position giving the rider a little more civility.
List price was a massive £9265.

1997 The RRV was released but little had changed from the '96 bike, except a new set of colour schemes and a slight weight loss now 183kg, due to a new aluminum silencer.

1998 Honda resisted the temptation to build a radical Blade in defense to the then released Yamaha R1, instead further refining the look, with a redesigned fairing and headlamp and a wider seat/ tail light unit. The biking press were unkind, giving the '98 Blade a sports tourer tag.

1998 Honda also launched two "specials" available through Honda dealers the 50th Anniversary Fireblade, celebrating Honda's 50 years making motorcycles which had a special red & white paint scheme, Akrapovic end can and numbered limited edition 50th anniversary plaque on the top yoke, and the 'Evo Blade' special developed by RS Performance.

1998 Honda Fireblade Evolution an official "special" built to celebrate Honda's 100th victory in the Isle of Man TT Races, the bike was introduced at the NEC motorcycle show in 1998, with a price starting from £22,325 depending on version.

The Evo CBR900 was a collaboration between ex Honda racer Mick Grant and Russell Savory of RS Performance, and sold through official Honda dealers by special order only, the Evo Blade design was by John Keogh and had a much more purposeful look with an exposed single-sided swing arm and two ram air scoops from fairing to a larger 22.5 litre capacity fuel tank a single seat unit was also fitted, while Keoghs design was different it still retained the unmistakable Blade profile.

Engine wise the crankcases were modified, pistons con rods and crankshaft were all balanced the cylinder head was ported and gas flowed, RS Performance high lift cams and springs were also fitted but kept the standard valves, also the standard 11.1:1 compression ratio was retained, the gearbox was changed to an HRC based close ratio unit, with speed shifter, the ignition system was changed to help the bike rev to a higher 12,200 rpm, along with Keihin 41mm FCR flat-slide carb's, exhaust was a custom designed titanium 4-1 with a choice of either road legal or race silencer producing a rear wheel figure of 150+bhp.

Ohlins 43mm USD forks and an Ohlins rear damper were added with the single sided (RAM) swinging-arm, stopping power was supplied by Brembo 4 piston calipers and 320mm discs at the front, these were fitted to lightweight Dymag alloy wheels and a Stack electronic dash unit was also added to give the bike further exclusivity.

There was also the £25,000 all black "stealth" version, which gained unpainted carbon fibre Dymags, carbon fibre bodywork, and a magnesium single sided swing arm, over the alloy one, with fuel injection replacing the Keihin flat-slide carb's.

Was it time for a rethink for Tadaosan.....

2003 Only the colours get a make over for the 954cc RR-3 Blade, mechanically the
bike stays pretty much as 2002.

Also with the announcement of the retirement of the FireBlade creator Tadao Baba, the future of the FireBlade name looks in doubt.

Once again the term 'TOTAL CONTROL' has new meaning.

2004 CBR1000RR

RCV-211 Race bike

2006 The CBR1000RR had more than just a new set of clothes, the chassis had received some tweaks to alter the steering head angle from the previous models 23.75 to 23.5 trying to dispel the biking press criticism of slow and dull steering feel, due in part to the electronic steering damper.

The engine also had some changes to gearing and lighter internals giving a little more power claimed to be 175bhp, also with a higher rev limit lifted from 11,600rpm to 12,200rpm, giving the 2006 Blade some teeth to bite the opposition.

Once again giving the Fireblade critical acclaim among the biking press, and the tag "Fastest Blade Ever"

Once again the Fireblade was ahead of the game.......

2007 A new set of clothes including a stunning Tricolor HRC theme paint job gives the CBR1000RR a new look, underneath the new paint, mechanically essentially it's the same bike as 2006.

2008 The CBR1000RR Fireblade gets a complete makeover, from the sleeker narrower bodywork to the all new much more compact engine design with a 999.8 capacity with slipper clutch, a smaller wheel base at 1,405mm and a kerb weight of 199kg, fitted with 43mm Usd forks and the next generation of Honda's electronic steering damper.

With the Moto-GP theme having a greater influence on the styling and with the mass centralization philosophy at the core of the bikes design with an all new twin side exit exhaust system, with the majority of the catalyst and associated pipework under the engine centrally in the belly pan, all this made the 2008 Fireblade a much more potent and easier to handle package.

2009 The CBR1000RR gets only a choice of 3 colour ways with the new colour schemes and a stunning HRC Replica paint job, a Repsol Replica and a Blue and Silver scheme for the UK, in the USA the Repsol is back and a black and plain Silver scheme, mechanically the 2009 bike is much the same as 2008.

2010 The UK gets a choice of 4 colours for the 2010 CBR1000RR while the USA gets a choice of three.

Also new for 2010 and a first for the CBR1000RR is the new C-ABS system which combines an electronic and part hydralic ABS braking system, where the majority of the braking is done by fly-by-wire, while any movment under 7-10mph is done by normal haydralic's and for any back up should the electronics fail for any reason.

Also in 2010 Honda Release two special editions the 'Hutchy' and McGuinness Fireblades in special colour schemes to celebrate Ian Huchinson's unprecedented five out of five solo wins in the Superbike, Superstock, Senior and two Supersport races. at the 2010 Isle of Man TT each bike ame with Ian's unique 'Hutchy' graphic on the tank, along with his signature.

The John McGuinness special-edition celebrates the fastest man around the TT course, featuring a two tone paint-scheme, the bike is adorned on the fairings and seat cowl with a gold map of the TT course and John's lap record of 131.578mph. Specialist painting techniques were used to achieve the look of dew-drops of condensation and a creamy white head, and as a result no two bikes are exactly the same, each special edition bike is also autographed by John further enhancing their exclusivity.

2011
The CBR1000RR gets only minor changes, with the new colour scheme for the HRC Replica, and the dropped Repsol Replica is back to back upo the MotoGP theme, mechanically the 2011 bike is much the same as 2010

2012
The 2012 Fireblade is as different this year as it was back in 2008 and with the Fireblade now celebrating 20 years in production, Honda are celebrating this newly designed machine with Hirofumi Fukunaga, as the ‘Project Leader’ the new 2012 'Blade' has a redesigned muti-layer fairing and headlamp arrangment, plus a restyled tail unit, looking much more aggressive than last years bike especially from the front, also now the bike has Showa big piston forks and new fuel injection settings for the 999cc inline-4 engine will make throttle response even smoother and easier to use, particularly at smaller throttle openings, while the stylish 12-spoke cast aluminium wheels provide more consistent rigidity around the whole wheel to work with the new forks to deliver improved handling.

Final revisions to the Fireblade focus on its multi-function LCD instrument panel which now incorporates a lap timer, gear position indicator and tachometer with 4 modes of display, whilst the world first electronically controlled C-ABS braking system remains an optional extra.

The colour schemes for the 2012 Fireblade include Pearl Sunbeam White (tri-colour), Victory Red and Graphite Black and will be priced at £11,300 OTR for the standard version and £12,000 OTR for the ABS-equipped model.

Read the full history of the Honda Fireblade first published by MCN in the UK in 2003

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