1997
H O N DA
F I R E B L A D E
Ph oto: T i m M u n ro
the R1 and all of a sudden the FireBlade seemed
to have lost its edge in comparison.
F I R S T I M PR E S S I O N S
So, what were my first impressions of the bike?
The 96/97 model wasn’t as edgy as the earlier
‘Blades, some of the twitchy handling had been
tuned out and the riding position was marginally
more roomy which is no bad thing for me and my
6’ 3” frame. For what was at the time the cutting
edge of superbikes, it was surprisingly easy and
comfortable to ride with no immediately obvious
vices. The light weight was a revelation after
years of increasingly bloaty sportsbikes and the
handling was epic by the standards of the day. For
a comparison, the wet weight is around the same
as the first generation S1000RR.
W H AT ’ S IT LI K E M R?
So, how does it compare to modern bikes? Well
in terms of performance, it’s a bit like a slightly
overweight 600 (it’s about 15kg heavier than an
R6 or ZX-6R and puts out a touch more power)
but that’s no bad thing. 120hp that you can have
fun with is sometimes more entertaining than
200hp of rider-aid limited power that you really
can’t use unless you’re on track.
The tank of the ‘Blade seems huge by today’s
standards. It’s very wide, which can make it a little
unwieldy for smaller riders but I like it as it makes
gripping the tank with my legs easy. In the braking
department, you don’t get the instant bite that
you get with the premium radially-mounted
stoppers these days, so you do need to plan ahead
a little. But that’s kinda to be expected, this is a
22-year-old bike and tech has come on a long way
since then. The gearbox is sweet as. Up-shifting
clutchless is smooth and precise, downshifts
have to be executed well or the back can lock up,
especially at track.
The only thing I wasn’t real keen on straight away
was the front suspension. Despite my lamented ZX-
9R having its own foibles, the front end wasn’t one
of them, I found it to be impeccable, even late under
the brakes. In comparison, I found the FireBlade front
end to be a little soft and lacking in feedback.
KIWI RIDER 35