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Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Priced at $28,500 for the USA

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If you were an American hoping to buy the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, you better hold onto your butt because we just got pricing on this incredible new superbike, and it will cost $28,500 in the United States.

The US pricing is a considerable break from Honda’s normal pricing scheme (and our own predictions here at A&R), and is more in line with the currency costs found in other markets.

For example, the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP will retail for £23,499 in the UK and €27,000 on mainland Europe – both of those prices equaling roughly $30,000 in US dollars.

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Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Priced at €27,000 in Europe

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We continue to wait to see what pricing will be on the 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP (whew! say that three times fast!), when it comes to the USA later this summer. 

Our Bothan spy tipsters have pointed to the new Fireblade as being a pricey superbike (we have been expecting a roughly $25,000 price tag), and American Honda’s decision to import only the up-spec SP model adds further fuel to the fire that some price-point trickery is afoot.

With pricing already shown for the UK market, and seemingly confirming out suspicion, now we have another data point, as pricing on mainland Europe is finally out, and it seems to confirm the trend.

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Further Proof that the Honda CBR1000RR-R Will Not Be Cheap

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Even before we saw the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade in all its glory at EICMA, we knew that the newest superbike from Japan would not be cheap, with our Bothan spies tipping that a major price hike was in the works.

Though there have been some hints that this rumor was true – most notably that American Honda was not bringing in the base model CBR1000RR-R, opting to keep the CBR1000RR base model instead – the smoking gun regarding Honda’s pricing strategy hadn’t revealed its…until now.

This is because we have just received the first official price tag for the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, with the United Kingdom pricing the base model at £19,999 and the SP model at £23,499.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP

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One of the most anticipated superbikes of the 2020 model year, the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade (say that three times fast) is a true all-new motorcycle from the Japanese brand.

With 215hp on tap from its 999cc inline-four engine, the new Fireblade is posting big numbers, from a small (443 lbs) package.

Though we won’t see the base model in the United States (the current generation CBR1000RR will remain for the price-sensitive), we will see the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in June 2020, as a 2021 model year machine.

That is a long time to wait, for what promises to be a class-leading machine in the liter-bike space.

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A&R Pro

A Quick Analysis of the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade

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The new Honda CBR1000RR-R is finally out in the wild, and while Honda was able to keep this machine under wraps for the bulk of its development, there was a lot about the new Fireblade that we knew going into EICMA.

We knew that it would have winglets. We knew that it would make 215hp and weigh around 440 lbs at the curb...and from that we knew it would have the best power-to-weight ratio in class.

We also had a rough idea on what the bike would look like, thanks to an automotive photographer that was at the Suzuka circuit.

We even knew what the new name for this superbike would be. But yet, the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade was very much a suprise when it was unveiled at EICMA on Monday night.

Certain to be the talk of the EICMA show throughout the week, here are some quick thoughts and bullet points, now that we have had time to process this new superbike.

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The All New Honda CBR1000RR-R Superbike Finally Debuts

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It has been a long time coming since we have seen a properly new superbike from Honda, but that day has finally come. The all-new 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R has been talked about a great deal before this year’s EICMA show, and now it is here.

As we predicted, the new Honda CBR1000RR-R earns that extra “R” with a 215hp (160 kW) four-cylinder engine, that makes 83 lbs•ft of peak torque.

Unlike the outgoing model, this is a truly new machine. The twin-spar aluminum “diamond frame” chassis is a fresh design with increased vertical and torsional rigidity, and the total wet weight of the bike tips the scales at 443 lbs (201 kg) .

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Rumors

The All-New 2020 Honda CBR1000RR Will Debut in October

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There has been plenty said about the next generation of the Honda CBR1000RR, and lately the rumors have been heating up.

Solid news of an all-new machine for next first started in the WorldSBK paddock, where it was tipped that HRC would come back into the paddock with a factory team for the 2020 season – and on a new motorcycle.

Since then, we have seen some patents hinting at possible features of the new Fireblade, the most impressive of which is the idea that the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR could have active aerodynamics.

Now, we get word from our German colleagues at Speedweek that the new Honda Fireblade will debut sooner than we thought, making its arrival in October at the Tokyo Motor Show.

This means that we could see the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR as soon as October 23rd, instead of having to wait  several weeks longer to see the bike debut at the EICMA show in Milan.

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Patent Application Hints at Honda Bringing Back the VTEC

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A patent application spotted by Ben Purvis at Cycle World hints at Honda expanding its variable valve timing technology on its two-wheeled offerings, with designs of a sophisticated VVT system could come to a new CBR model.

Filed in June 2018, the patent application (not yet an actual US patent, mind you) is a restatement of a Japanese patent that dates back to 2017, and in it Honda describes a mechanism where “an internal combustion engine is provided with a variable valve operating apparatus.”

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Rumors

This Week’s Honda CBR1000RR Rumor

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We are knee-deep in new bike season right now, and it seems no motorcycle is safe from the internet’s two-wheeled rumor mill. This week, we see a number of rumors concerning the Honda CBR1000RR, and what the 2019 model year will bring for Big Red’s superbike offering.

Credible rumors suggest that the Honda CBR1000RR will see another update for next year, with promises of 212hp as Honda follows the rest of the pack with two variations of its venerable superbike.

Less credible rumors involve the CBR1000RR getting a name change for the US market, as the word “Fireblade” has been registered with the US Patents and Trademarks Office by the Japanese brand.

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Watch Nicky Hayden Flog the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP Around the Valencia Circuit

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Honda is putting its best foot forward, when it comes to its superbike offering for the 2017 model year. As such, the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP shows a number of strong updates to the aged liter bike.

A 10hp increase, a 33 lbs weight reduction, and features like traction control, semi-active suspension, and cornering ABS all do well to make the Honda CBR1000RR relevant again in superbike discussions. For the race track, the Honda CBR1000RR SP2 should aid race teams under the tightening homologation rules.

One such rider to benefit from Honda’s hard work is Nicky Hayden – the American rider signing a two-year agreement with Honda on the promise of an updated Fireblade at his disposal for the 2017 model year.

In the video after the jump, we get out first preview of Hayden flogging the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP around the Valencia circuit. We think you’ll enjoy it.

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2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP – Proving Patience is a Virtue

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The wait is over. The most anticipated motorcycle of the INTERMOT show is here, the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP.

We have seen the spy photos of this new superbike, we have seen leaked details on this superbike, and we’ve mused endlessly about this new superbike. And now, we can finally replace that conjecture with fact.

First off, the rumors were true. The 2017 Honda CBR1000RR SP sheds a massive 15 kilograms off its bulk, which translates into a 441 lbs mass at the curb. Power has also been increased by almost 11hp, for a total of 190hp at the crank.

Honda says that these two figures combined mean a 14% increase in the Honda CBR1000RR’s power-to-weight ratio. That’s pretty astounding, when you consider that under the new fairings is still mostly last year’s bike.

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