Fire Storm

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”
Oscar Wilde

So a “Honda from Bologna” the Firestorm definitely is not. It’s just that in the late ‘nineties, there certainly existed a market for a well-engineered, sporty v-twin, as Suzuki had found with the TL1000S, and Honda was especially keen to get a slice of the action.

Honda’s simple yet highly effective V-twin celebrates its 25th birthday next year, so that makes it a modern classic in our books. The FireStorm, as it was known everywhere except in the USA – where it went under the name of Super Hawk – was in production from 1997 to 2005. While not revolutionary in concept, the FireStorm had plenty of solid thinking packed into it. Mindful of one of the major criticisms directed at Ducati, the Honda delivered a riding position that was far less taxing on the rider’s back, shoulder and wrists. Rather than the traditional clip-on handlebars, the bars sat above the steering crown and the seat was far less raked than on the European bikes, and even Honda’s own Fireblade. The other point in the triangle, the footrests, were set well to the rear, with the pillion footrests located on the