How Honda made the Greatest Sportbike Ever

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Had a 99' 900RR, rode it across North America two and a half times until she blew up on me in Illinois one night while I was trying to get my iron butt certification (all documented on my Instagram with same handle as I have here)... Saved the frame as a souvenir and I'm looking at it right now. I named that bike Marceline, best bike I've ever had.

The pinnacle of Tadao Baba's work was the CBR954RR. To this day still the lightest Fireblade produced. Some say the best even. :finger-red-number-one:

The fairing of the original Fireblade and it's smaller sibling MC22 is by far my favorite looking motorcycle fairing. So clean and elegant.

As a current Blackbird CBR1100XX rider - (based off the Fireblade 900 motor) - the incredible quality/DNA and Honda rideability is one of my favourite things about it. Honda builds/built amazing machines.

I bought one of the first Fireblade '93 models secondhand in 1997 cost me just under 5 Grand (Stirling). I had previously owned going back 10 years a GPZ600R 'Ninja' and the original 'Jellymould' CBR 600R with a Vance And Hines pipe (Oh yes! ), so was used to riding hooligan machines 😊! (I was a London and Countrywide Bike Courier back then and 'despatched' on both bikes.....happy days!). But nothing prepares you for the sheer mentalness of wringing the neck of one of those first Fireblade models. Having owned the GPZ ten years earlier, I was used to the 'twitchy' quick cornering that comes with a 16 inch front wheel, which always concentrated your mind😅 but the brutal torque and top end power was something else. It was useable power though and by then I had been riding bikes for pleasure and work for 20 odd years. I can imagine how unstuck a less experienced rider would become if they jumped on one as their first big bike though. As you said in your excellent (as always) video, the Blade was a revelation in large capacity sportsbikes at the time in much the same way as Kawasaki invented the middle-weight sportsbike 600 class with the GPZ 600R..... please make a video on that. I still get dewy-eyed when I see a photo of one of those in the classic red, black and silver paint scheme 😢. I've turned 60 recently ( how the f*ck did that happen!) but glad to say still riding and soon to buy a 2015 MV Agusta 920 Brutale......some people never learn do they? Grow old disgracefully peeps 😊😊.

The 16inch front wheel with the 130/70 tyre was the only way to get the 900cc engine jammed into a 750 frame motorcycle to actually corner well enough to be signed off for release to the public. Honda's marketing said "Less weight"

My friend had a Fireblade when I passed my bike test and fortunately for me another friend was selling his CBR400RR which I bought in 1994, you want to talk light and agile now this is it, I have had it for 30 years now and it still impresses me on the twisty's. Wouldn't pass on a ride on the 2024 Fireblade which has taken a leap forwards with the tech.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the Fireblade did win the 2007 WSBK with James Toseland

My personal favorite is the 954rr, the lightest model they’ve ever made to date, perfect amount of power, and looks great, and the last model baba had complete control over. However I wish it had undertail exhausts though 😭 Tied with that is the 2004-6 purely because of its looks, a lot like the rc211v

As much as I loved the firebird, it still can't beat my love the 2 strokes like the NSR250R and RG500 Gamma. They're such a beast

Still riding a 2011 Fireblade. Love it. Great fun on the track.

the red+white 929 was my second bike, ever. Graduated to a 1000RR in '08, and I still have it.

Hold on Bart , I love your content it’s always brilliant BUT you said that the fire blade never won a title in world superbike ???? Are you forgetting James Toseland in last race of the 2007 season he beat Haga and Biaggi on the Honda !!!! An amazing championship win in one of the best seasons ever in WSB History 🤦‍♂️

I feel like there are so many things that have "Honda" and "Greatest Ever" in the same sentence. 100% respect to them.

as colin chapman at lotus said 'add lightness'

As a Honda CBR600F4i owner, this makes me proud 😀

I'm on my 2nd 99 RRX, such a simple bike compared to modern stuff but still puts a smile on my face everytime... Less is more sometimes... Great vid👍

Had my 1992 BabyBlade CBR250RR Tri-Colour for about 19 years now. Most reliable motorcycle I have owned. Dont think I could ever sell it now

I still ride my 1999 Honda CBR 919 RR Fireblade . It the most fun bike I own . Leaves a smile on my face every time I ride it. It's the last bike I'd sell in my collection of 7 motorcycles. One bike I regret selling was a Yamaha RD 400 2 stroke Daytona Special. A bike I wished I owned is a Honda NS 400 2 stroke. I like old school fully carberated motorcycles. Not into all the new electronic gismo motorcycles these days , to me they are junk & brake down way faster , not to mention the cost to fix them. Old school motorcycles last for ever, providing one changes the engine oil on a regular basis. Most are built like tanks to last .