CUTTING IT
No one warned me I’d need a PhD in mechanical engineering to attend the launch of Honda’s 2020 Fireblade SP, but as I nestled down to the hour-long overview, halfway up a Qatari skyscraper, my intellectual shortcomings soon hit home. Here it was, the Blade we’ve all being waiting for! Heard that before? Probably, but this time it’s true. It had to be true. Off the back of more facelifts and tweaks than you’ll find on a seasoned Page 3 model, the time had finally arisen for Honda to deliver to the masses with an unequivocally brilliant motorcycle. A Blade that wouldn’t just topple its rivals, but set new standards, embrace new technologies and reincarnate that wow factor the model’s been missing almost as long as Lord Lucan. It’s human to be cynical, especially after someone’s cried wolf a few times, but the realisation of the flagship SP’s magnitude didn’t take long to sink in. There are certain figures we all like to know: power; torque; weight. While the latter factor had unfortunately gone up a few notches, so too had the other redeeming elements with the suggestion being the Honda was now 13% more potent than its processor. And despite piling on those few necessary pounds, the power-to-weight ratio was actually improved by 9.7%.
“WITH A CLAIMED 215BHP ON TAP, THIS WAS TO BE LIKE NO BLADE WE’D EVER KNOWN BEFORE”
With a claimed 215bhp on tap, this was to be like no Blade we’d ever known before, waving goodbye to the restrictive virtues of a good, torquey road bike in favour of being a head-warping, top-end assassin. To achieve gains of this scale meant a complete revolution of the Blade’s motor was necessary, with the fundamental DNA being influenced by the same manufacturer’s exotic RC213V-S. Just like that V4-powered sibling, the CBR has incorporated an over-square piston (up from 76mm to 81mm, making it the largest bore in-line-four on the market), encouraging a shorter-stroke, buzzier inclination and plonking peak power so high up you’d need a stepladder to reach it (14,500rpm). To help the engine spin freer a specialist, friction-reducing coating, Diamond-Like-Carbon, was also brought into the mix, alongside saucy titanium con-rods, finger-follower rocker arms and more innovations than you can shake a stick at. Even the oil lubrication system has benefited from multi-point injection tech that sees additional cooling jets of lube sprayed when revs are increased and temperatures rise. This isn’t just the smallest and most powerful Blade engine ever, it’s a work of art, and it’s backed up by bigger throttle bodies, a larger airbox and a wholly new Throttle-By-Wire system that headlines an evolved plethora of electronically governed rider aids, including rider modes, nine traction levels, three engine braking options and two
