2021 HONDA CBR1000RR-R FIREBLADE SP
R I D E R E V I E W
P78
MOTOR
What's new in the motor? In a word—everything.
The CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP has been de-
signed as a race bike first, road bike second, in
much the same guise as the Ducati Panigale V4
R and the Yamaha YZF-R1M. But it's not simply
a matter of shrinking the chassis, or upping the
engine specs, or throwing a bunch of electronics
at the bike. It's a combination of all three.
The genes of Honda RC213 V-S of 2015 can
be found littered throughout the Fireblade, in-
cluding the bore and stroke of 81 x 48.5mm. The
81mm bore is now the MotoGP-class standard,
something those with long memories will re-
member Ducati was very vocal about when they
introduced the Panigale V4 S back in 2018.
The new over-square motor is a dramatic de-
viation from the previous generation CBR, which
ran with 76 x 55mm bore and stroke figures. As
such, the new Fireblade has the largest bore
size in the inline 1000cc superbike class (Kawa-
(Above) The center of
gravity has been raised
with the crankshaft
33mm further back from
the front axle and 16mm
higher up in the engine
block. Everything
about the new bike
screams "race!" It's
about time Honda
started taking
Superbike racing
seriously.
saki and Suzuki use 76mm, BMW has 80mm and
Yamaha's got 79mm). Only the 998cc Panigale V4
R, and the over-1000cc bikes V4 S and Aprilia RSV4
1100 Factory use an 81mm bore.
On the other side, the dramatically shorter
48.5mm stroke hints at what's to come when you
crack the throttle. With rods and pistons that don't
have to travel as far as before, you'll get a much
faster revving motor and in theory it should translate
to better top-end performance.
