CBR1000RR-R SP

[Brian P]

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It's hard to believe that Honda would bother leaving the current Fireblade in production if they came up with a full redesign like that, including a complete redesign of the structure. Sales numbers in that class are low enough without doing something that splits them even further, and the current Fireblade has not set the racing world on fire. Yamaha and Kawasaki are both beating them (and with forward-spinning inline-four engines). For 2022, both current Honda WorldSBK factory riders (Haslam and Bautista) are out, and new riders are in, but we know the 2022 bike is the same. Maybe the full-redesign is for 2023.

Beating Jonathan Rae on the factory Kawasaki, even though the bike has been hamstrung (lowest rev limit in the paddock) is a tall order.

Beating Toprak Razgatlioglu on the factory Yamaha could be an even taller one ...

... and there have been a few Ducatis right there in the mix, too, although not with enough consistency to be championship contenders.

 

[basmn]

I spoke to the Honda rep at a bike show when the sp first came out...hp ratings depend on what part of the continent you play in....canada gets the **** one...as usual...typical I'd say...nice looking bike though.

 

[afici0nad0]

Ya i read that article earlier. Very interesting

 

[killvino]

To me Honda is pretty much the Ford of the MC world. Their lineup is mostly boring and underpowered -- never first, but usually second or third in every shootout.Every few years they bring out a killer product that gee-whizzes the brand. Sadly those killer products are always too niche to be anything more than eye candy to their loyal customers.

Maybe I'm biased, but you might be thinking of Toyota more than Ford.
Fords been leading the way at least in the truck market, trying new things and pushing new tech.
Raptor, GT350s and focus RS are anything but boring.

 

[bigpoppa]

I find this much more interesting:

Is Honda mulling a radical Ducati-style rethink for its Superbike project?

Is Honda already working on the eighth-generation Honda Fireblade or a new racing-focused flagship sportsbike? Either way, it will be radical...

www.visordown.com

same inline 4 engine though

 

[Mad Mike]

Maybe I'm biased, but you might be thinking of Toyota more than Ford.
Fords been leading the way at least in the truck market, trying new things and pushing new tech.
Raptor, GT350s and focus RS are anything but boring.

Those are Ford's Gee Whizz products - not the stuff you see rolling down the street every day.

Ford F series monthly shipments fell behind GM late 2020 and have remained that way till now. First time in since 2008 - 13 model years. RAM might catch them for the first time ever in the next 12 months.

Personally, I think using the v6 ECOboost will hurt in the long term. Sure it helped by allowing more trucks into the EPA pool, but checking prices on 5 year old F150's is telling - they are now cheaper than 5 year old RAMs.

 

[Priller]

same inline 4 engine though

i4's have won the last two MotoGP rider championships, and every WSBK championship since 2015 (including this year, though which i4 wins isn't quite clinched yet). There's nothing inherently wrong with the layout, particularly for race bikes...

 

[Brian P]

same inline 4 engine though

Works for Kawasaki and Yamaha ... although the Yamaha uses their trademark crossplane-crankshaft that gives the same firing pattern as a 90-degree V4 with a normal (180 or 360 degree) crankshaft. The crankshaft (and firing pattern) in the Panigale V4 ... aren't normal. The Kawasaki (and Honda and BMW) WorldSBK engines use a conventional even-firing crankshaft, although there's other trickery involved to get some of the benefits of an irregular firing order out of an even-firing crankshaft. (Hint: not all four cylinders are necessarily seeing the same load all the time ...)

The Suzuki MotoGP bike also uses an irregular firing pattern, although trade secrets abound. You can hear that it isn't a conventional even-firing inline four.

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