2017–2019 · Supersport · Buyer's Guide
Full Feedback, Full Lean
The SP2 is Honda's most focused reading of the liter class, and it makes its point with weight rather than volume. At 430 lb (195 kg) wet it stays genuinely light for a 1000 cc inline-four, and the 192 hp peak at 13,000 rpm sits on a chassis that never feels like it is carrying it. Öhlins semi-active suspension reads the surface as you ride, and the rider-aid package covers cornering ABS, traction control, wheelie control and ride modes. Quickshifter up and down, a slipper clutch and a steering damper are all standard. A homologation special that behaves like a finished motorcycle.
Peak torque of 86 lb-ft lands at 11,000 rpm, so the drive builds through the range instead of arriving in one lump, and the semi-active suspension keeps ride quality civil at real speeds rather than punishing you for riding on public roads. Build quality is the usual Honda story: tight, consistent, and it ages without drama. This is for riders who spend weekends on canyon roads or at trackdays and want a machine with depth they can keep dialing into over years. The honest caveat is that it gives you almost nothing for touring, and the 32.8 in (834 mm) seat rules out some riders on contact alone.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 192 hp (141 kW) @ 13,000 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 86 lb-ft (116 Nm) @ 11,000 rpm |
| Displacement | 1000 cc |
| Engine | Inline-four |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front brake | 320 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 190/50-17 |
| Wheelbase | 55.3 in (1404 mm) |
| Seat height | 32.8 in (834 mm) |
| Wet weight | 430 lb (195 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.2 gal (16 L) |
| Top speed | 186 mph (299 km/h) |
| Fuel economy | 43 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Lighting
Safety
Swing a leg over and the first thing you notice is how small it feels for a liter bike. The tank is narrow where your knees land, the 32.8 in (834 mm) seat tips your weight onto your wrists, and the claimed 430 lb (195 kg) stops mattering the moment the bike is upright and moving. Then comes the information. Bars and pegs keep telling you what the front tire is doing at speeds where most machines in this class still feel numb, and the semi-active damping filters surface noise instead of hammering it into your palms. The inline-four is smooth and hard-edged at the same time, with the note sharpening as revs climb. Shifts happen under your boot with no clutch and no fuss. At real road pace you plan fuel stops around a 4.2 gal (16 L) tank before your body asks for one.
I have collected SP2 impressions the slow way: standing around with owners at trackdays, listening at meetups, and reading what riders send me after a season on the bike. This is their read, not mine. Praise concentrates in two or three places, and the criticism is narrow and specific.
Direction changes come up first. Owners describe steering that asks almost nothing of them and a machine that feels smaller than its class. The electronic Öhlins damping sits right beside it: civil on poor surfaces, accurate as the pace climbs, and dialed in without pulling over. The engine earns its own approval for clean fuelling, hard drive once the revs stack up, and a top end owners describe with a grin. Rider aids come up as confidence, not as a feature list.
The cornering ABS is the one riders raise unprompted, and it is the track crowd raising it. The intervention lands sooner than a quick rider wants, and the rear stays under its supervision whatever you switch off. Space is the other, brought up less often. Taller owners, roughly six foot and up, find the peg height and the short screen wearing on longer rides.
Fuel tank cap seal leak
A gap between the fuel cap seal and filler neck can allow water entry, potentially causing engine stall. Honda issued recall KH7 in 2017 for all 2017 CBR1000RR/SP models.
Where this Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP-2 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Top speed
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP-2 is actually built for.
This is the bike you grow into. The electronics protect you while you learn the circuit, and the suspension range gives you somewhere to go once your lap times stop dropping on their own.
Made for Barber Motorsports Park · WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca · Circuit of the Americas
On Angeles Crest it is fast, precise and honest about grip. The trade is the ride out through LA traffic and a tank that has you watching for gas stations on a long loop.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
On tight, repeating corners the light chassis and the feedback do the work for you. It rewards technique over speed, which is exactly what the Dragon and Cherohala ask of you.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP-2. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
Competitor · 2019–2020
The Homologation Track Weapon
Roughly $3,100 cheaper used than this bike at 7 yr
Competitor · 2019
Technology You Can Actually Use
Roughly $4,600 cheaper used than this bike at 7 yr
Same Platform · 2008–2016
Mid-Range Monster, Track-Ready Stability