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.
If we were to do a simple currency conversion from pounds sterling to US dollars, this would mean a price tag of $31,332 MSRP in the USA for the Fireblade SP model (remember, the United States is not getting the base model CBR1000RR-R).
But of course, motorcycle pricing isn’t based solely off currency conversions – though many other outlets incorrectly use this analysis all the time.
For a better understanding of what to expect from Honda, we can look at how the updated Africa Twin model is priced in the UK (£13,049), Europe (€14,990), and United States ($14,400).
Looking at things this way, we can see a price tag of nearly €27,000 for the Fireblade SP in Europe, while the US could see pricing closer to $26,000 MSRP. Using that same math, the base model CBR1000RR-R could cost €23,000.
While that pricing isn’t quite the doom and gloom of a direct currency swap, those estimates still put a hefty price on Honda’s newest superbike (and line up with what we have been hearing from our Bothan spy sources).
With this part of the picture now a little clearer, it makes more sense then that American Honda would opt not to import the base model CBR1000RR-R – which would likely been priced close to $22,000 MSRP – and instead chose to keep the previous generation bike (at $16,500 MSRP) as a cheaper entry point into liter-bike ownership.
It is not clear when we will get official pricing from Honda for the American and European markets, but our suggestion is to start saving now, if you plan to buy a CBR1000RR-R model next year.
Source: Honda Motor UK
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