The Fireblade gets new electronics, and the world seems better again!
Having unveiled the tricked up SP and SP2 models at the Intermot show in October, November’s Eicma jamboree saw Honda get round to pulling the sheet off the ‘standard’ Fireblade upon which the specials are based. Given the unveiling of the SP machines, we knew the basic principles and engineering architecture of the bike beforehand, but the specifics were scant as to what the base model would wear.
The key figures of a 15kg weight loss and 11bhp power boost are kept by the base bike, as is the claim by Honda that 90 per cent of the Fireblade’s parts are new. Electronics also factor in the new bike, with the new RC213V-S derived ride-by-wire system offering nine levels of traction control (called Honda Selectable Torque Control with anti-wheelie) and a new ABS system with a rear lift control system also featured (to abide by Euro4 rules – the C-ABS is gone).