Honda has announced plans to offer a limited edition version of the CBR1000RR Fireblade. The only catch is that the bikes, which are limited to just 50 units, will be sold exclusively in the UK.

I know, I know. It sucks. You would’ve thought that if Honda decided to release a special edition bike of the CBR1000RR, the US market would at least have some kind of dibs on some of them.

But that’s not the case because this special lot will pay tribute to the team’s bikes competing in the British Superbike Championship (BSB). According to Honda, the special edition CBR1000RR bikes will adorn the red and white livery of the factory bikes racing in the series while also receiving aftermarket Akrapovic exhausts.

That’s as far as the changes go. In a way, it’s kind of similar to the approach other manufacturers have taken with some of their own recent special edition models. Remember Yamaha Indonesia’s offer to dress up its small displacement bikes with the liveries from its MotoGP squad? Suzuki’s also doing the same thing with its GSX-R1000, dressing them up in the same colors as the race bikes being used by Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.

Apparently, the livery special edition is a thing these days in the motorcycle industry. Something tells me that Ducati’s got something similar planned in the near future.

In any case, reports indicate that Honda’s going to sell these 50 units for £13,499, or roughly around $21,500 based on current exchange rates. That would put it about $2,100 more expensive that the stock unit. It’s not too big of an amount to add to a limited-run of bikes that will be sporting the team’s BSB colors.

I think all 50 bikes will sell out pretty quickly once Honda releases them. It doesn’t take much to convince people to opt for models with that “limited edition” tag, especially when the price points aren’t that far apart from each other.

Continue reading to read more about the Honda’s decision to offer the CBR1000R Limited Edition in the UK.

Why it matters

I admit to feeling a little left out when I first heard about Honda’s announcement. A limited edition CBR1000RR doesn’t happen all too often so when I heard that Honda was actually dropping 50 of them in the UK, I got a little peeved about it.

Then I found out what made the limited edition CBR1000RR limited and, you know, I wasn’t that mad anymore.

I’m sure Honda has its reasons for using the “limited edition” tag on this bike. There are only 50 units anyway. But I don’t think a special livery inspired by the company’s factory racing team in the British Superbike Championship qualifies as one. Neither does the Akrapovic exhaust because that’s just one aftermarket product. You can’t say it’s a limited edition if you’re only offering a new livery and a new exhaust, even if only 50 bikes will get them.

That’s just me. I’m sure others will disagree with my position. That’s ok. I don’t mind healthy debates and/or arguments. Just so you know, though, there’s a small part of me that’s wondering whether or not Honda’s milking this for what it’s worth. I’m not sure the CBR1000RR needs it, but if Honda thinks that the bike will get publicity because of this limited edition offer, then it succeeded on that end.

I’m just not sure if it’s good publicity or bad publicity. Either way, I think Honda’s going to take whatever it can get out of it. And if all 50 “limited edition” bikes are sold? no one can can argue against that.