2006 Honda CBR1000RR

These are the first officially released pictures of the 2006 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

It clearly borrows heavily from Honda’s RCV MotoGP bike and is said to make around 170bhp – with up to 160bhp at the rear wheel.

The fairing is narrower, there’s a new exhaust system and spring rates and damping on the suspension has been improved.

It weighs in at 176kg dry and will be on sale early in 2006 at around £9000.

On the styling front the nose has been changed with new headlights and a more prominent indent at the tip, while the side vents in the fairing have been changed to move more of the engine heat away from the rider. The rear gets a redesigned cowl and number plate hanger around the exhaust.

The engine has been put on a diet and sent down the gym to try and increase the power-to-weight ratio. It gets new intake and exhaust ports, a higher compression ration (now 12.2:1), dual concentric valve springs on the intake valves, a 12,200rpm redline and new crankshaft and camshafts. The result is a 3.4 per cent increase in power and a dry weight reduced to 176kg.

The chassis has had no major changes but there are lots of minor details. The rake has been changed by a quarter degree to sharpen the steering and the swingarm has been shortened by 5mm. The two combine to reduce the wheelbase by 10mm.

The front disks are 10mm bigger while the rear is smaller and lighter, and amazingly Honda has managed to cut almost 1.5kg from the underseat exhaust system.

Click here to see Honda’s 14 page document detailing all the changes to the 2006 Blade.

Click here to see the full specs of the bike.

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