What the press say - Doble Motorcycles

confidence the Honda can generate There’s
not much it can’t do really well. And it doesn’t
matter whether you’re rating the steering,
stability, braking, ability to change direction, or
general feel of the bike overall; for most of us
it’ll be a maximum score.
Saturday Telegraph
Kevin Ash
Secondly, it has to look impressive and go
well, and here the ‘08 Blade does just fine. In
early pictures the snub-nosed front looked
vaguely like some sea-dwelling mammal, but
in the aluminium flesh it’s simply lean and
purposeful. It’s also remarkably small, worrying
for this rider at 6ft 3in, but once on board you
discover the bar-peg-seat relationship is much
the same as the previous Fireblade, which is
just as well as riders are growing rather than
shrinking. More of a surprise is the raw feel
of the motor when you fire it up. The supercompact
four-cylinder engine vibrates through
the machine and almost does a double-take
pick-up in response to the throttle, like a race
engine and very unlike a Honda. This is real
progress for a company so often criticised for
the bland perfection of its bikes, as it gives the
Blade real character.
The chassis is a delight, the speed-variable
electronic steering damper taming corner-exit
waywardness without affecting agility, while
feedback and manageability are as good
as any road rider could want. On standard
suspension settings the bike makes a good fist
of high-speed track riding and, with suitable
adjustments, it’s a sharp circuit weapon that’s
enormously satisfying as well as very forgiving.
This could well be 2008’s best superbike for
the road…
Bike
Mar 2008 Martin Fitz-Gibbons
Its potential far exceeds the needs of anybody
who puts a tax disc on it, but more importantly
there’s nothing intimidating about it either.
If litre sports bikes were TVs, the Fireblade
wouldn’t have the biggest screen or the
loudest speakers, and it wouldn’t necessarily
look the best in the living room. But you could
be certain that it’d have the crispest picture,
and it’d be the fastest and easiest to set up.
It’s refined, sophisticated, and something
everyone can appreciate.
CBR1000RR Fireblade : £9299
Honda Insurance Group : 17
Engine
Displacement 999.8cm 3
Bore x Stroke
Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 16-valve DOHC inline-4
76 x 55.1mm
Compression Ratio 12.3: 1
Max. Power Output
Max. Torque
Carburation
Fuel Tank Capacity
Ignition System
Starter
Transmission Type
Frame
130.7kW/12,000min-1 (95/1/EC)
113.8Nm/8,500min-1 (95/1/EC)
PGM-DSFI electronic fuel injection
17.7 litres (including 4-litre LCD-indicated reserve)
Computer-controlled digital transistorised with electronic advance
Electric
6-speed
Diamond; aluminium composite twin-spar
Dimensions (LxWxH) 2,075 x 685 x 1,130mm
Wheelbase
1,405mm
Caster Angle 23° 18’
Trail
Seat Height
Ground Clearance
Kerb Weight
96.3mm
820mm
130mm
199kg (F: 105kg; R: 94kg)
Suspension Front 43mm inverted HMAS cartridge-type telescopic fork with stepless
preload, compression and rebound adjustment, 120mm axle travel
Rear
Unit Pro-Link with gas-charged HMAS damper featuring 13-step preload and stepless
compression and rebound damping adjustment, 135mm axle travel
Wheels Front Hollow-section triple-spoke cast aluminium
Rear
Hollow-section triple-spoke cast aluminium
Tyre Size Front 120/70-ZR17M/C (58W)
Rear
190/50-ZR17M/C (73W)
Brakes Front 320 x 4.5mm dual hydraulic disc with 4-piston callipers and sintered metal pads
Rear
220 x 5mm hydraulic disc with single-piston calliper and sintered metal pads
Graphite Black (with Candy Glory Red)
Winning Red (with Graphite Black)
Graphite Black
Pearl Sunbeam White (with Graphite Black)