The Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade is one of the most anticipated motorcycles for the 2020 model year, and once Big Red finishes up its con-rod recall on this brand new superbike, eager speed-fiends will be able to test their mettle on the race track.
But what about those who prefer to stay on the streets? Sure, you can ride the Honda CBR1000RR-R as a street bike. But, for the first time in its superbike-making history, Honda has focused on making a race bike first, and a street bike second.
Riding the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade as a dedicated street bike is certainly possible – it has all the lights, mirrors, and plate holders for such a job – but there has to be a better bike for the task.
As such, we would be very disappointed to learn that Big Red doesn’t have plans for a streetfightered version of the CBR1000RR-R in its product roadmap.
And after today’s concepts from Kardesign, we would be very, very disappointed if that were the case.
We should make it clear, there have been zero indications from Honda that a streetfighter version of the Fireblade is in the pipe.
By all accounts, Honda seems content to leave the CB1000R as its offering in this space, even if the retro-modern street bike is a bit more “roadster” than “streetfighter” in its approach.
Looking at the landscape though, we can see that there is hot competition for high-end streetfighters in the marketplace, and what would be hotter than a CBR1000RR-R stripped down from its fairings?
While Kardesign is using the outgoing Honda CBR1000RR superbike as the basis for its design, we think that the RR-R model is the better pick.
For starters, it helps distinguish a CB1000RR-R model better from the existing CB1000R in Honda’s range. Second, the state-of-the-art superbike platform is the perfect launching point for a modern sport-focused streetfighter.
With Honda already pushing the CBR1000RR-R at the top of the price range for the liter-bike segment, we assume that a street-focused CB1000RR-R would follow that path, and leave the bike as the more feature-rich and premium naked bike in Honda’s sport lineup.
For bonus points, a second model based off the RR-R engine and chassis platform would help the Japanese brand recoup some of the R&D costs associated with the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade model, and that always makes the accountants happy.
Are the ears at Honda listening? It’s hard to say. Regardless, we will have to tide ourselves over with the Kardesign’s concepts in the meantime.
Photos: Kardesign Koncepts
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