Brake dance

Honda did such an outstanding job revamping its flagship CBR1000RR Fireblade last year that it went straight back to the top of the superbike class. The agile 600cc-style handling, 177PS of pure adrenaline, high-tech parts including slipper clutch and electronic steering damper and sharp looks all contributed to its staggering new-found success, with journalists and owners heaping praise on the new machine. Even Overdrive’s very own Shumi had nothing but awe for the Fireblade after he travelled all the way to France to try it out for our December 2008 issue. It’s not just the sheer outrageous power and handling that makes this bike special. It’s the Fireblade’s manageability; It’s so easy to ride it’ll let you use as much of the bike’s performance as you dare. The only limit is how much courage you have.

As we all know by now, there’s an established pattern with production sports bikes from Japan. They tend to get a revamp once every two years and any change in between is restricted to a new paint scheme. So everyone expected things to be quiet on the Fireblade front this year. But not so. Although the bike itself stays almost identical apart from the obligatory new paint schemes (including loud and racy Repsol colours) and oval rear indicators, it gets a very interesting optional extra that’s well worth a test in its own right. An optional extra that Honda says cost almost as much to develop as building a whole new motorcycle. An electronically-controlled, combined-ABS braking system.

Okay, so the words ‘Combined Braking System’ and ‘ABS’ hardly conjure sexy images of racetracks and speed. But this is no ordinary system. It’s the first brake-by-wire system ever fitted to a production motorcycle and comes hot on the heels of ride-by-wire throttle systems that have become all the rage in recent years. It’s even being developed for use in MotoGP with the added development of lean angle sensors, which should one day make ‘losing the front’ a thing of the past. Is there anything a motorcycle’s on-board computer doesn’t control these days?