As far as sportsbikes go the FireBlade is an iconic brand. And as far as FireBlades go, the 954 is an iconic model. In fact, some would say the 954 ‘Blade was the best Blade yet. And when Giles Harwood clapped his eyes on the 2003 CBR, he simply had to have one. But despite being ever so fond of his Honda, it wasn’t long before he was pulling bits off it and replacing them with some of the nicest aftermarket parts available. He has gone to town in an effort not only to improve the bike’s performance, but also to improve its comfort, practicality, safety and security. In fact, there’s a list as long as my longest arm of all the mods that Giles has made to his bike, so we couldn’t wait to take it for a spin to see which ones were worth the money and which ones, if any, weren’t.
During your very first glance of the bike, you’ll notice the Akrapovic exhaust system. It was certainly the first thing I noticed, so I was keen to get the thing fired up to feast my ears on its sound. But I wasn’t able to. Disappointingly, my patience was needed as when I sat astride the bike, the thing started angrily beeping at me as the Datatool alarm hadn’t been disarmed properly. I had been been given a tutorial on its operation by owner, Giles, but unfortunately ‘this button turns it on and this button turns it off’ must have been far too complicated for me to follow. I eventually managed to shut the thing up and turn the key. But the next noise wasn’t the Akra singing the Blade’s sweet inline four song, it was a buzzing from the front of the bike – Giles had fitted a neon headlight, which likes to be warmed up before you draw power away from it by pressing the starter button. So you don’t steal any power from it whilst it is doing its thing, it emits a buzzing sound for about 10 seconds. Once the buzzing stops, the fun starts and the ‘Blade is ready to rock.
The Honda fired up and purred into life. Running on its relatively early fuel injection system, you might expect less than smooth tick over, but this wasn’t the case. It was delightful. In fact, everything was pretty nice on the ‘Blade up to this point. The Sargent Cycle comfort touring seat cosseted my derriere deliciously and the Gilles adjustable rearsets held the foorpegs in just the right place to support a sporty, but still reasonably comfortable riding position.