After the massive success of the 893, 918, 929 and 954cc Fireblades over the years, the first of the 1,000cc Fireblades arrived in 2004. OK, it was actually 998cc, but it was a completely new take on the Fireblade — a major revamp that shared many aesthetic and mechanical similarities with its smaller stablemate, the CBR600RR that was launched to great acclaim a year earlier. Arguably one of the most practical Fireblades, the first CBR1000RR makes for an excellent road bike with plenty of smooth power and torque, with no real dips or lumps in the delivery.
The 2006 update looked to be minor at first glance, but beneath the slightly tweaked fairing panels there were myriad changes that added up to far more nimble bike, this was the only version of the Fireblade to win a World Superbike title, with James Toseland in 2007, and dominated British Superbikes in 2006 and 2007 with Ryuichi Kiyonari and the HM Plant Honda team. Fancy your chance to win an icon? Enter Now!