Honda buffed up its CBR1000RR-R SP ahead of MY2022 with a number of improvements under a milestone motley meant to mark its 30th anniversary. Power output saw a boost right along with measures meant to wring even more speed with electronics tweaks to improve rider control and overall throttle response. This latest Fireblade variation brings even more race-tastic yummygoodness to the table for the bona fide pegdraggers and would-be racers among us, and comes with features that elevate it significantly beyond the non-SP version, all the way to the track.

2022 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Design

While the Fireblade's family tree has its own deep roots to draw upon, the factory still borrowed from its own racing division for some of the forward bodywork features on the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. The bubblescreen and beefy mullions flow down right into the ram-air port, just like its MotoGP counterpart, but the sides of the front fairing are a bit broader to accommodate the dual LED headlights. There's no way around the front turn signals and mirrors on the “SP,” but at least the factory combined them to keep the front end clean, lower drag, and simplify removal ahead of race days.

At the upper edge of the cowl, a trio of foils ride under a vanity cover to produce downforce on the front end at speed. Unfortunately for you street riders, the effect doesn't really kick in until somewhere in the neighborhood of the 100 mph mark, so it won't be useful at street-legal speeds but it still makes for a cool conversation piece. Racers, this feature is all you.

There's more goodies behind the glass in the high-resolution, five-inch color TFT display that bundles the instrumentation and ride-control electronics into one location, plus it's larger than the previous generation to boot.

Low-drag penetration is the name of the game here, as evidenced by the bodywork, and even the 4.3-gallon fuel tank has a little fairing all its own to eliminate another source of speed-sapping turbulence to end up with a class-leading, 0.27 drag coefficient.

Seat height is reasonable at 32.7 inches off the deck, and there's quite a bit of rise to the tail, so the pilot is drawn down into the machine where a narrow waist leaves him with plenty of room for body English and easy reach to the ground.

Like the mirror-blinker combo up front, the gear in the rear comes mounted to the rear mudguard for easy removal ahead of track days with only the taillight in a permanent perch at the tip of the tail. A belly pan fairs off the exhaust headers and the bottom of the engine to complete the race-tastic bodywork.

Even the paint is something special with its white, red, and blue palette and brush-style Hiroaki Tsukui design. Longtime fans of the Fireblade will recognize that name as the same that painted the first Fireblade all the way back in '92.

2022 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Chassis

Thin-wall, lightweight aluminum members make up the twin-spar frame on the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, and as is the norm anymore, the engine is a stressed member that completes the main structure with thin-wall aluminum tubing for the subframe. Flexion is carefully tuned on this set of bones, right along with the stretched, 24.5-inch long swingarm, both with racetrack performance and traction in mind.

The steering head sets a 24-degree rake angle, and once the 17-inch cast wheels are factored in you're left with four inches of trail over a 57.5-inch wheelbase, making this one very agile machine. Honda's Electronic Steering Damper comes stock with three levels of intervention to soak up the nastiest kickbacks.

Naturally, as a race-capable bike, the wheels come clad with Z-rated rubber that can tolerate everything the SP can dish out in a 120/70 and 200/55 on the front and rear, respectively. Brembo supplies the anchors with ginormous 330 mm discs and four-pot Stylema calipers taking care of business up front. The SP borrows from its racing kin yet again with the same 220 mm disc and caliper as the RC213V-S. ABS is standard, and comes with race-friendly intervention profiles though I imagine most experienced pilots would probably prefer vanilla brakes on the track with no electronic interference.

There's a Rear Lift Control that keeps your rear tire planted with two levels of intervention – one for the track, and one for the streets. Suspension equipment was also boosted on the Fireblade SP – namely the 43 mm Öhlins forks that lead the way with full electronic control through the Öhlins Smart Electronic Control over the full trifecta of tweaks; compression- and rebound-damping along with spring preload. Gotta' love push-button adjusters, whether you ever race the thing or not. A six-axis inertial measurement unit feeds the various electronic subsystems with data to add a lean-sensitive component to the equation across the board.

2022 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Drivetrain

Even though the last update to the Fireblade's powerplant is only a few years old, the factory went back to the drawing board to reduce the overall drivetrain length to free up some wiggle room in the placement. This contributes heavily toward the 53-percent/47-percent weight split on the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP between the front and rear, respectively.

As for the engine, it's still a 999cc inline four-banger with the same 81 mm bore and 48.5 mm stroke as its factory racing comrade, but the compression ratio saw a boost up to 13.4-to-1. Same with the ram-air duct that scoops pressurized air and delivers it directly to the airbox, through the tuned-up slash-cut intake funnels, the 52 mm throttle bodies, and dual 32.5 mm intake ports.

The waste exits via 28.5 mm exhaust valves for a total of four poppets per cylinder, and the rest of the exhaust system, complete with catalyst and titanium Akrapovič silencer, come tuned for low resistance performance. To improve the feel at the throttle grip, the return spring was lightened a skosh to enable more-nuanced control over the mill.

Power output is impressive, to say the least. Horsepower comes in at 214 ponies (160 Kw) at 14,500 rpm, backed up by 82.6 pound-feet (112 nm) at 12,500 turns. This year, the rear sprocket goes up three teeth for a total of 43 and better acceleration throughout the range.

Fret not – the factory didn't skimp on the engine-control electronics to help you keep all that potential under control. New programming makes the Selectable Torque Control (traction control) smoother and it joins the Engine Brake Control, Wheelie Control, and Power modes, all under the blanket control of the three standard Riding Modes for easy and quick personality changes. The improved Quick Shifter finishes out the electronic fandanglery that lets you bang your way through the six-speed range even faster than before.

2022 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Price

They call it “Pearl White,” but its red and blue accents clearly channel the look of the very first generation of Fireblades from three decades ago. The stock version rolls for $28,900 to make this a very affordable platform if you are looking to get into racing without taking out a second mortgage.

2022 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Competitors

Street-legal and nearly race ready, the CBR1000RR-R SP finds itself in fairly rare company, but domestic foe Yamaha steps up to the mark with its YZF-R1M.

Yamaha YZF-R1M

That's right, like sisters from another mister, the Tuning Fork Company's entry rocks windtunnel-tested bodywork, and in lightweight carbon fiber to boot. The ram-air port is duplicated, and credit where it's due, the ram-air port are rather stealthy on the R1M, though there's no way they'll be able to match the effectiveness of the Fireblade SP's dual triplanes.

Headlights are minimal in both weight and drag, and like the SP, the Yammie has the downforce-generating foils, and for the same reason. Same with the outback stuff. The mirrors and front blinkers combined and turn indicators, taglight, and plateholder that all mount on the rear mudguard. Also, both bikes come with can be removed as a unit if you want to share the fun with a very brave friend.

Yamaha also matches Honda in the stems with Öhlins Electronic Racing Suspension NPX forks that sport the full trifecta of adjustments, and a rear-shock version of same with all three tweaks as well.

Both bikes are ride-by-wire with a fullish suite of electronic goodies, though Yamaha arguably pulls ahead a skosh here by meeting all of the Fireblade SP's features, and adding Launch Control and Slide Control features to the mix.

The R1M rocks a 998 cc four-cylinder engine with DOHC and 16 valves total, and turns out 197 ponies and 83 pounds o' grunt against 214/82.6 to slip a little in the brute force category. The MY22 YZF-R1M rolls for $26,299 to leave a bit of money on the table against the Fireblade SP's $28.9k starting sticker, though I expect a few bucks either way will be unable to overcome brand loyalty in either direction.

Read our full review of the Yamaha YZF-R1 / R1M

He Said

“Nothing like a bike anniversary to make one feel old, and so here we are, 30 years after the launch of the Fireblade, though Americans would call it by its CBR designator until recently. I blame the marketing folks. That said, this bike is deep in stupidfast territory in stupidfast territory. Usually, the price acts as a firewall to keep the less-qualified riders off of them, but at this price point, I can see even non-racers buying in for the bragging rights alone.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “This 30th-anniversary model is a very tweaked up version of last year's Fireblade SP in all the right places. It borrows from the race-tastic RC213V for improved engine and braking performance with a focus on improving mid-range acceleration and better drive into and out of the curves. Input from HRC superbike pilots results in an upgraded traction control for smoother and more intuitive control over what was already a quite prestigious nine-way TC system.”

2022 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Specifications

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