Every year at EICMA, we can look forward to some intriguing concepts from Honda’s design team in Europe.
Now in its fifth year of showcasing work, there are two things that we can say about Honda’s Rome R&D work: the concepts will likely be dead sexy, and they will likely be based off the venerable Honda CBR650 platform.
Today is no different, as we can see from the striking lines of this light blue crossover, which is complete with the iconic sweeping four-pipe CB header.
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.
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) .
With this year’s EICMA show just a few days away, we probably don’t have to wait too much longer to find out all the details about the much-talked-about 2020 Honda CBR1000RR, but we just got a tip from a Bothan spy and thought we would share it with you.
The reason for our excitement, is what this reliable tipster tells us. Namely, that the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR will be a fire-breathing monster, with 215hp on tap.
The title sort of says it all, doesn’t it? American Honda is recalling 4,348 units of its Honda CRF450L dual-sport because the horn may detach itself from the motorcycle.
The issue for the recall stems from the fact that the mounting structure for the horn was insufficiently designed to withstand the vibrations from the single-cylinder engine on the CRF450L.
That there will be a new Honda CBR1000RR superbike for the 2020 model year is perhaps the worst-kept secret in the industry right now.
The news of this machine is so out in the open, that even the WorldSBK.com website is talking about it in terms of next year’s racing news.
Much has been said about this bike, and long has it been rumored, but now we are closing in on the new CBR1000RR’s actual unveiling deadline.
To help whet our appetite, our Bothan spies have sent us a handful of spy photos of the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR, along with a video of it on track. Booyah!
While the MotoGP paddock is away, the test teams will play. In the middle of the Asia-Pacific flyaways, back in Europe the test teams are preparing for the start of 2020.
In the coming days, test teams for Aprilia, KTM, and Ducati will all take to the track, while Honda will be testing directly after Sepang.
The first race of the flyaway triple header is arguably the most important. It is, after all, the home Grand Prix for half of the manufacturers on the grid. It is the one race where the top echelons of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha management gather, the people behind the companies which put 10 of the 22 MotoGP bikes on the grid.
If, for some sick and twisted reason, you wanted to destroy the Japanese motorcycle industry by removing its senior management, then the Motegi MotoGP race would be your second-best chance of success. Only the Suzuka 8-Hour race is a bigger deal for the Japanese manufacturers, and a more important race in Japan.
Motegi matters most to Honda. The Japanese motorcycling giant owns the circuit (as it does Suzuka) and it houses the Honda Collection Hall, a magnificent display of motorcycling history. As it is Honda’s 60th anniversary in Grand Prix racing, this year’s race is even more important.
What was impressive about Marc Márquez wrapping up his sixth MotoGP title in seven years was not so much that he took the title with a win (as outstanding as it was), but how he got there in the first place.
Márquez’s record after Thailand is almost unparalleled in the MotoGP era: 9 wins, 5 second places, and a single DNF. Márquez’s sole DNF came when he crashed out of the lead in Austin, a result of the engine braking problems the 2019 Honda RC213V suffered early in the season.
The only rider to have done anything like this before was Valentino Rossi in 2002. Then, in the first year of the 990cc four strokes, Rossi won 11 of the 16 races, and took 4 second places, with one DNF, caused by a problem with his rear tire.
It was Rossi’s third season in the premier class, a year after winning his first title aboard the 500cc two stroke Honda NSR500.
Doing the math ahead of the Thai GP, it would be hard to see how Marc Marquez would come out of Buriram not the 2019 MotoGP World Champion, as the Spaniard only needed to finish two points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso to clinch the title.
The problem though is that Marc Marquez is not known for taking the easy points, and instead we witnessed a masterful race from the Repsol Honda rider, as he battled his way to the front of the race.
The result was Marc Marquez taking the MotoGP World Championship title in dominating form – a fitting end to his 2019 season.
With five races to go, Marc Marquez leads Andrea Dovizioso in the MotoGP championship by 300 points to 202, a difference of 98 points.
He is within a couple of points of wrapping up the title, and looks nearly certain to do so at either Buriram in Thailand or Motegi in Japan.
What does Marquez need to do to wrap up the title in Thailand? The Repsol Honda rider will become champion if he leads Andrea Dovizioso by 100 points after the Thai Grand Prix in Buriram.