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.
An American Problem
When it comes to the CBR1000RR-R, Honda isn’t really talking about price and availability, for any of its markets, which is sort of strange.
The only information we do have comes from American Honda, which says that the “2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP” will arrive in dealers in June 2020. There is a lot to unpack there, and I am not talking about the name.
While we don’t have a European date, I have a strong inclination that Europe will see the Honda CBR1000RR-R lineup in spring, while the USA will get the bike in the summer (as a 2021 model year machine).
Part of my reasoning is that Europe will be the larger market for the new Honda CBR1000RR-R, and thus it would have been the driving subsidiary on the design, positioning, and marketing for the new Fireblade. It only makes sense for them to get first dibs.
What is more interesting than the timing of the CBR1000RR-R’s arrival though, is that American Honda was very specific on which machine, not machines, it would be importing, and I think this tells us a lot.
For next year, there will still be two CBR superbikes available in the American market, but they will come from different generations of the CBR1000RR family. I know there has been a lot of confusion on this.
So, we will see the 2019 Honda CBR1000RR (circa 2017) that is currently on the market continue into the 2020 model year, likely with a $16,500 MSRP price point.
And, it will be sold alongside the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, which I suspect will be $25,000 or more. American Honda will not be importing the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, however.
But It’s Really All About Price
I am sure that it has happened before, but I am having a hard time remembering the last time we saw a manufacturer bifurcate its lineup like this with different generations of the same motorcycle model. It is weird, but it is really all about pricing.
Stop and think a minute. Honda just produced a beast of a motorcycle, with 215hp, top-shelf parts, advanced electronics, and a pretty clever winglet setup. The $16,000 price-point is just not in the cards for this motorcycle.
I suspect when European pricing comes out for the Honda CBR1000RR-R, we will see a €20,000 price tag attached to it – and American Honda knew that a $20,000 price point on a “base” model machine wasn’t going to fly in the USA.
Their solution? Continue to offer the current CBR1000RR, with an aggressive pricing strategy, and let the homologation special that is the Honda CBR1000RR-R do the heavy lifting on the pricing game.
Remember, Honda doesn’t need to sell a lot of units on the CBR1000RR-R…but the Japanese brand does need the bike to win the WorldSBK Championship and the Suzuka 8-Hours…and hopefully not lose money on each motorcycle sold.
With bikes like the Ducati Panigale V4 S hitting a $28,400 price point (holy crap, I had forgotten how expensive that bike was!), then the Americans can easily squeak the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in around the $25,000 mark.
I would love to be wrong on this analysis, because superbikes are getting silly expensive, but I have a high confidence interval on the odds of this happening.
Understand too, this is all part of the superbike segment moving into a more premium space, analogous to hypercars and halo products. The price tag was always going to be an increasing factor in that equation. This will be further proof of that.
What’s in a Name?
Let’s be clear, the name “Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade” is horrendous, and it only gets worse when you add in the model year and trim designation.
Someone in the marketing department should be dragged out into the street and shot for this naming scheme, and since that is probably going a little too far with the punishment, then they should at least be forced to read all the pirate puns that the extra “R” is inducing. Shiver, me f’king timbers.
The name to me is a sign of a compromise though, and it signals that eventually the US market will begin to call the CBR1000RR by its name known around the rest of the world. Fireblade.
If you think about it, the name Fireblade is the best name for a motorcycle – ever – especially a superbike. As such, I long for the day that we drop the CBR nomenclature.
The name CBR1000RR is very Japanese, and very engineering focused though, and for those who know their Honda history, it can be quite easy to tell what sort of motorcycle you are getting from Honda by looking at their alphabet soup names.
The CBR1000RR was never going to be a V4 superbike, because the “CBR” in the name assures us that only inline-engines will be used, just as the VFR or RVF name assures us of only a “V” engine configuration.
This is why I find the push to make the CBR1000RR the “Fireblade” all the more intriguing.
Right now, Honda is shoehorned this name into meaning only inline-four motorcycles, but there is the possibility to transition that name to simply be interchangeable with superbike.
A Fireblade can be any type of motorcycle, but a CBR1000RR? Well, that can only be a CBR1000RR.
The point I am making here is that looking down the product road map, Honda is only going to make more links to its superbike program and its MotoGP program, and eventually that will mean a V4 engine (assuming GP rules remain the same).
Rather than losing the cache that they have built up for the decades of CBR1000RR superbikes when that day comes, Honda could pivot to the Fireblade name now, and keep that designation when they start exploring other engine options (even electric superbikes).
That is what a smart marketer would do, and that’s even what I would do. It will be interesting to see if Honda is thinking the same way, and that is why suddenly we in the USA are seeing the Fireblade name.
A Typical Honda Move
At the end of the day, I think Honda finally sees the errors of its way, letting the superbike market get so far ahead of it, and that is why we are seeing the Honda CBR1000RR-R now.
The CBR1000RR-R is a very “Honda response” to a problem too – lag behind the competition for far too long, and then arrive again, and blow everyone out of the water.
It shows in their investment in the WorldSBK series, with a full-factory HRC-run team, with Alvaro Bautista getting quite the paycheck to come race for them. Honda wants to win, and they aren’t really sparing expenses.
Of course, the proof is still in the pudding, and we are a long way away from riding the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP at the track.
We also still have a lot to unpack in terms of technology and design for the new Fireblade, which is the next A&R Pro story you will see on this subject.
Until then, I’ve attached some fancy graphics to this post, along with a few glamour shots of the new Blade. Enjoy!
Photos: Honda Motor Europe
Be sure to follow all of our 2019 EICMA show coverage this over the coming days, for the latest news and releases for the 2020 motorcycle model year.
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