2025 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Review

In the pursuit of podiums

Superbike: a word that instantly stirs the imagination, conjuring visions of streaking horizons, screaming engines, and tachometers buried deep in the red. These are machines born of obsession, built not for compromise but for the pursuit of speed itself — mechanical expressions of purpose that seize a rider’s mind with outrageous power figures and razor-edged intent. Draped in shimmering bodywork and racing colors, they look fast standing still, daring even the most risk-averse among us to tuck behind the bubble. They’re impractical, unreasonable, and a monument to excess, but you know what else they are? Damn cool and the 2025 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP fits the bill.

2025 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP

The Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, colloquially dubbed the "Triple R," marked a tectonic shift in the Japanese firm's superbike ethos when it landed in 2021. Gone are the days of a softer street-first and track-second approach, which garnered Honda's CBRs much praise as road, trackday, or club racing machines. In the face of increasingly race-focused homologation specials, the current 'Blade takes a comparatively cutthroat stance and was developed in association with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) directly, eyeing down the World Superbike Championship.

Success doesn't come to those who wait, especially in racing. The current CBR platform has secured only a handful of WSBK podium finishes since its debut, highlighting that the mighty HRC still has work to do. Although it was released in other markets last year, North America is playing a bit of catch-up. For 2025, the Fireblade retains its dashing appearance, boasting a few minor aerodynamic tweaks. What lies beneath the bodywork matters most as Honda designs its climb back to the top by introducing race-bred tech such as twin-motor "split" throttle bodies, accompanied by numerous engine updates, Öhlins Smart EC3 semi-active suspension, and chassis enhancements. Even with the 'Blade's hardcore posture, Honda does give a nod to road riders, offering a less taxing riding position and lower gearing to more easily grab onto its powerband.

Those claims deserve a thorough examination on the track and on the street. To address the former, we partnered with the NorCal-based Volant Vivere at none other than the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Volant Vivere is a trackday provider operating throughout the West Coast, offering low-volume "VIP" events with extended 30-minute sessions and two rider groups per hour (A/B). The outfit's goal is to maximize track time for its participants, providing an environment where riders can comfortably develop their skills, test setups, or work with coaches in a casual atmosphere. Entry fees come at a premium, but they provide a premium riding experience. Photography, as well as a catered lunch, is provided, too. As for the latter, we explored everything from congested highways to canyon roads while confirming our thoughts.

Honda's signature 999cc Inline-four-cylinder powerplant returns, though it has gone under the knife, shedding weight in a variety of ways. We can point to a redesigned crankshaft, new titanium con rods, and updated intake valves that shave over a pound of rotating mass off, helping the Fireblade slash through the revs with even more ruthless efficiency than before. Dieting extends to the crankcase itself, reportedly saving another pound. Compression is bumped up from 13.4:1 to 13.6:1 thanks to a fresh set of reshaped pistons boasting a material. Those pots whir in harmony with revised intake port shapes, new valve springs, and updated valve timing because of new cam profiles. Together, all those lightened internals and refinements allow the bona fide screamer to reach its hair-raising crescendo a touch earlier on the tachometer, whether you're on the street or track.

The goal this time around wasn't nudging claimed peak figures ever upward alone; in fact, claimed figures are the same as before. It was about reshaping the powerband and strengthening its midrange. For our North American-tuned variant, the CBR's mill finds its stride smack in the middle of the rev range once it clears the dreaded EPA noise compliance slump. Once cleared, it becomes a maniacal hard-charger, shrieking down Laguna Seca's 150+ mph front straightaway and spitting a downright violent note out of the new titanium Akrapovic silencer. By the way, the exhaust is more voluminous and is said to be quieter, which left no worry of being black-flagged due to Laguna's draconian sound requirements.

Strapped on the MO dyno, the Triple R produces 169.3 horsepower at 11,700 rpm and 79.2 lb-ft of torque at 10,500 rpm at the rear wheel. We can also see the second-gear slump shown in the graph as clearly as day (blue lines), which means that slow-speed corners like Laguna Seca's final Turn 11 or what's commonplace in the Santa Monica Mountains require using first gear — a rowdy strategy, indeed. Otherwise, you'll be losing drive in the lull until it wakes up and with a hit reminiscent of peaky two-strokes, which is a surefire way to perk you up on a Sunday morning. As American Honda doesn't typically cite performance figures, we'll look to our friends across the pond at Honda UK, who claim their European-spec machine makes 215 horsepower at 14,000 rpm and 83.3 lb-ft of torque at 12,000 rpm at the crank.

Oh, the Triple R is an exquisitely smooth thriller, spitting the right kind of superbike sound and fury from its exhaust. It spools up with that unmistakable I-4 zing, harkening back to a time when four-pot engines ruled the roost. Even in a state of tune that's clearly knee-capping top-end output, it manages to scratch quite a few high-performance itches. Sadly, sacrificing performance in some capacity is almost what we've come to expect in the United States and is corrected with ECU flashing. Luckily, there is torque yet when the engine is on song; it'll punch out corners and deliver its searing, rev-happy thrust in a controllable manner. Perhaps not as tractable as the V4 powerplants from Aprilia and Ducati, if only because we're dealing with a much freer-revving mill, making its high-revving nature seem a bit more savage by contrast.

Big Red is addressing the Fireblade's aggression head-on by introducing its new two-motor split throttle body, a first for the brand in a production machine. Don't overthink it because it works exactly as it sounds: one motor manages cylinders one and two, while the other manages cylinders three and four, refining both initial roll-on throttle response as well as engine braking with greater precision. Roll it on at the apex and you're treated to a burbling, twin-like soundtrack seemingly ripped directly from a WSBK broadcast. The first two cylinders take the reins during initial acceleration, seamlessly blending power as the other four cylinders step in to deliver linear power. You'll get on the gas earlier and harder, as it simply becomes easier to ride, removing any suggestions of snatch, like what we still see lingering in competitors such as the Yamaha YZF-R1.

Doubling down on the approachability theme are shorter ratios in its slick 6-speed gearbox, letting riders sink their teeth into its powerband in real-world settings without revving to the heavens. Still, it's a wide-spaced transmission, as is tradition in the superbike class. Aiding things is one of the sweetest bi-directional quickshifters in the class, allowing rapid-fire downshifts, which is crucial when barreling into Laguna's Turn 2. Heck, they even offer three shift sensitivity settings (hard, medium, and soft). Although unrelated to the gearbox, the electronic steering damper also has the same setting range. Fun stuff.

Honda's engineers have left few stones unturned as they hunt for every tenth at the racetrack. The latest frame is 2.1 pounds lighter, following a similar path to its competition by softening things to enhance feedback and grip. Thinner walls here, a different relief there, all stack up to lateral and torsional stiffness dropping by a whopping 17 and 15 percent, respectively. The front end is worthy of your faith while aimed at high-speed turns like Rainey Curve, and it'll cut an impressively stable line all the way through, too. Then there are its deft direction changes, flattering the 443-pound wet weight we measured on the scales. Fast, confident, and graceful, few machines are as rewarding as they are forgiving. Luckily, that all plays out on the road, too.

Credit where credit is due, folks, because the Öhlins Smart EC3 semi-active suspension is sublime. Honda debuted the latest-gen suspenders with the bike's launch in 2024, first to utilize the Swedish firm's new spool valve damping technology, said to react faster than before and offer a broader range of adjustments. Feature-wise, the 43mm NPX fork and TTX36 shock utilize the familiar OBTi (Objective Based Tuning interface) with three semi-active modes (A1–A3) and three fixed-rate damping modes (M1–M3), each with a damping algorithm tuned for specific use cases. The "event-based" interface is helpful for those less versed in suspension arts, asking users to adjust based on feel: Want more front-end support? Dial it up in the menu. Need less weight transfer on the brakes? Take that out with the click of a button, and so on. What's new to the Honda is a guide for the manually adjustable preload. Enter your weight, and the bike will recommend how much you'll want to wrench the springs down. Nifty.

The gold-gilded suspenders are worth the price of admission, lending a hand in the handling department. Using the semi-active A1 (Track) mode at Laguna, the 'Blade is ready for battle, providing excellent hold-up in hard braking zones or wickedly fast g-outs. Once things are dialed in further, the mechanical grip is nothing short of inspiring, and any doubts those had with prior-gen systems feeling inconsistent while "hunting" for damping settings are a thing of the past.

As helpful as that is at the track, the benefit of semi-active suspension, in this scribe's opinion, is what you experience out on the road. The Fireblade can transform from a steel-edged, canyon-carving machine to a soft bokken in a few button taps. On smoother roads, I'd often opt for A2 (Sport), but when the going gets rough, it was time to bump down to the plush A3 (Rain) setting. Even with that in play, the chassis is kept on an even keel and doesn't become a messy affair in the truly battered but picturesque roads above Malibu, California.

Speaking of confidence, we opted for a tire upgrade on our Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, opting for Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC3 V4 tires. Formerly known as the "TD" or Track Day tire, the rubber is the brand's DOT-approved trackday tire, boasting rapid warm-up times that mean you can leave your tire warmers and paddock stands at home. Mileage isn't their forte; instead, you'll be getting the most grip that Pirelli can offer out of a road-legal set of kicks. They withstood a full trackday's worth of abuse and still had life left in them for some spirited street riding.

Following that up, the CBR's suite of rider aids is honed to a finer point. A Bosch 6-axis IMU governs adjustable traction control, wheelie control, cornering ABS, engine braking, rear-wheel lift mitigation, and launch control. Cornering ABS receives programming attention, offering the same Standard and Track settings as before, along with a new Race mode. In Race mode, the rear ABS, rear-wheel lift, and cornering ABS functions are disabled, allowing for deep-as-you-dare braking without interference from nannies.

Traction control and wheelie control are also recalibrated to work with the recently refined powerplant. They work with aplomb, while lower settings allow you to experience the 'Blade in its most authentic way. Honda has made strides in this arena, though, curiously, it still hasn't uncoupled WC from TC — you can't disable them independently. To disable WC, you'll have to do without TC, too. We'd like to see Honda take the next step and isolate the two functions, but overall, the aids are light-years ahead of what was offered on the 2017–2020 Honda CBRs.

Braking is formidable with 4-piston Brembo Stylema R calipers and oversized 330mm discs in the front. Dropping the anchor is as effective as we've come to expect from premium hardware, and while they’re a generation behind the latest Hypure calipers, we can't kick sand at Stylemas quite yet. There is something we can take issue with on a nearly $30K machine: rubber brake lines, as this is the only bike in its class to use performance-sapping brake lines. While Laguna's temperate weather didn't cause much concern for brake fade, Southern California circuits are synonymous with triple-digit days, and steel-braided hoses would stop those symptoms in their tracks before they have a chance to start.

Visually, the current-spec Triple R is distinctive, not just from its competitors, but also past CBRs. The aerodynamic features stand as a testament to its modern lineage, and on that note, those are some of the few aspects updated. The winglets are reshaped and nudged further forward, which Honda says improved stability under acceleration while also reducing drag. The brand says that yaw is also reduced by 10 percent, enhancing direction changes. Additionally, the under-cowl now utilizes a stepped design to redirect air around the rear wheel, while the rear hugger opts for cutouts to prevent trapped air, ultimately reducing lift. We'll take Honda's word for it on the aero stuff, as that's a tall order to quantify in isolation. Aside from all that, its build quality is nothing short of phenomenal, justifying the $30K price tag.

From the saddle, things are much more tangible. Superbikes are never easy on the wrists, and let's face it, they're not supposed to be. Do your stretches and don't let dust collect on your ab roller, but we'll take any help we can get. This year, engineers raised the clip-on handlebars 0.32 inches, moving them closer to the rider by nearly a full inch. Meanwhile, the rearsets are nudged down about a half inch. The most meaningful change is the fuel tank shape, which offers more real estate for your knees during braking phases or when leaned over.

Good motorcycles inspire imagination. Great ones make us want to live out the fantasy for ourselves, and superbikes have a certain magic, leaping from the bedroom walls of our youth into the garages as adults. The Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP has the lust-worthy elements to put it on lofty pedestals, despite the North American tune leaving much to be desired and we’ll throw some shade at the rubber brake hoses, too. Yet, the combined chassis improvements and Öhlins Smart EC3 suspension go a long way to create an impressive ride on- and off the racetrack. The superbike class is one defined by extremes, and even within that scope, Honda has produced a motorcycle that considers real-world riders, balancing race-bred performance against the needs of weekend warriors. Above all, a superbike should make you want to ride and that’s what this machine does.

Nic’s In Gear

Troy's In Gear

Scorecard

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