Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade 30th Anniversary (2023 - ) review

‘Design’ when talking about extreme, homologation special, sports motorcycles like the ’blade SP is something of a moot point. In its uncompromising bid to make its CBR1000RR competitive in world superbike racing Honda’s flagship may be a better performance or track machine, but it’s a worse road bike in terms of comfort, flexibility, road-relevant performance, value and more. That said, the latest ’blade is a fabulously accomplished sports bike with more power and performance than ever. This SP version, with semi-active Öhlins suspension and more, handles supremely and wants for nothing. Being a Honda it’s all gloriously integrated, bolted together and finished. This special ‘30th Anniversary’ trim marking the original ’blade launch in 1993 comprises a tribute livery, special start-up display on the dash and limited edition engraved top yoke and is a lovely thing. Somehow, though, even all that at a price approaching £24,000 doesn’t make it feel as special as that sounds…

All Hondas traditionally have great ergonomics and even the Fireblade has long been the most road relevant and comfortable in the superbike class – until now. In a bid to get back on top the World Superbikes podium, this latest generation ’blade is more extreme and less compromising than ever before. That results in an extremely compact, if not cramped riding position that particularly falls foul of taller riders. Small, light, 20-something racers may be happy; road-riding middle-aged heroes may struggle, especially if they’re tall or large. The old ’blade wasn’t exactly roomy but this new one, with footpegs 21mm higher and 43mm further back, a 10mm taller seat and 17mm lower bars which takes the biscuit, your 6’ 3” tester struggling to even get on board and finding it all kinds of uncomfortable to ride. For pillions it’ll be even worse and the screen is so low it does virtually nothing.

Ah, yes, ‘practicality’ is another moot point left by the wayside by modern superbikes in their uncompromising quest for track glory. With little comfort, no weather protection or carrying capacity, performance that only makes sense at nearly twice the legal limit and a price well north of £20K you could easily argue there’s absolutely nothing practical about the CBR1000RR-R SP at all. But even saying that nought out of five feels harsh! At the end of the day the ’blade SP is road legal, can cruise at motorway speeds, can take a pillion, COULD commute into town and more. The reality is, however, it only barely and begrudgingly does any of them, and if anything other than track speed is a priority you’d be better off looking elsewhere.

Forget practicality and comfort, this is what the Fireblade SP was built for – and it’s so good at it makes a mockery of speed limits and road conventions. For this latest generation Honda pushed the boat out and the result is a heady 218 horsepower, now accessed higher up the rev range than before. However, that also makes it more demanding, and almost impossible to ride hard on the road given second gear takes it to over 140mph. Naturally, there’s also an immaculate quickshifter/auto-blipper, a fabulously capable electronics package including modes, nine-stage traction control, three-stage wheelie control and more plus bags of adjustability. No, you can’t get anywhere near using all this performance on the road, but on track it's about as potent, impressive and slick as superbikes get. Braking performance from the latest Brembo Stylema brake calipers and slick cornering ABS, is every bit as impressive.

As with its performance, the latest Fireblade’s chassis and handling is about extreme performance and nothing else, and even more so in this homologation special SP form. However, if you can handle the extreme riding position and either live within the speed constraints of the law or, preferably, ride it to the full on track, there’s plenty to admire and enjoy. It’s so compact, cultured and capable it makes a mockery of cutting through corners. Steering is invisibly light, intuitive and instant while cornering speed is immense, so much so that it’s really hard to get your knee down on it on the road. The ride offered by that semi-active suspension system is at once controlled, cultured and classy. Ride the ’blade SP within road speed limits and you have a sense that you’re not even approaching what it’s capable of. Go faster, even far, far faster, and you’ll feel like it’s mocking you as you still don’t get anywhere near what it can do.

Running a £24K 200+ horsepower superbike is never going to be cheap, although in this case it probably depends on what kind of riding you do. Run it on the road and you’ll never use it to its full and tyres, brakes and engine will all have an easy time, returning respectable mpgs and having a long life. Take it on the track, as Honda intended, and the opposite will be true. Expensive semi-slick tyres will be frazzled, brake pads consumed, fuel consumption will soar and you’ll be out of pocket. But, being a Honda, it’s still probably not as excessive as with a high-end Ducati Panigale or BMW S1000RR…

Although a highly-strung, exotically equipped ultra high-performance machine, the Honda Fireblade SP 30th Anniversary is also a flagship motorcycle from Honda, which, traditionally, has among the best build quality of any of the leading manufacturers, so we have very few concerns about likely reliability. What’s more, apart from one very early recall at the beginning of this generation’s life there have been no reported issues from buyers.

As is the case with most bikes from the leading manufacturers, the Honda Fireblade CBR1000RR-R SP 30th Anniversary comes with a standard, manufacturer-backed, two-year, unlimited mileage warranty covering all parts and labour. Servicing-wise, after the initial 500-mile ‘breaking-in’ service, routine service intervals are due every 8,000 miles.

For a performance track machine the Honda Fireblade CBR10000RR-R SP 30th Anniversary pretty much has it all, including a slick, five-inch colour TFT dash, quickshifter/autoblipper, keyless ignition, that trick Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes and phenomenally-sophisticated electronics governed by a new six-axis IMU with customisable riding modes, multi-adjustable traction and wheelie control and … the list goes on! As a practical road bike, however, it has very little. Which is to say minimal comfort and weather protection, few luggage options and so on. But if you’re thinking of one of these as a viable road bike, you’re very much looking in the wrong place…

Since 2020, Honda has taken its flagship Fireblade sportsbike in a far more extreme, uncompromising direction in a bid to be a winner on track. With this SP’s race suspension, brakes and electronics, it’s as extreme – and fast – as they come. The further cherry on top is this limited edition 30th Anniversary version, which adds exclusivity, style and quality. The result is one of the most focused, fast and alluring superbikes you can buy and is truly exhilarating on track. As a road bike, though, its compact size and uncompromisingly extreme performance makes it unfulfilled and, often, annoying. There are far more affordable, enjoyable road sportsters around if that’s your goal.