Hello and welcome to PowerDrift, this is the Motorshow update.
We are obviously talking about EICMA 2021, the best greatest motorcycle show there is.
Unfortunately this year we are in Mulshi, Maharashtra, not in Milan, Italy, but the
coverage remains the same and today in this video we're going to talk about the brand
new 2022 Fireblade.
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So the reason why the Fireblade has a big year ahead of it is because in 1992 Tadao
Baba created the first of what we know as the current Fireblade back in 1992.
That motorcycle was the size of a 600 at that point of time, it was the power of a litre-class
motorcycle at that point of time, and it created a fundamental change in how we think about
litre-class performance motorcycles.
From then till now the Fireblade has always been one of the most cherished brands there is
it completes 20 years now and for that Honda's not only made small updates to the
entire series of motorcycles, there's also a very special anniversary edition, which
we'll talk about last.
So when Honda digged the recent generation of Fireblades, they made a complete change
to the Fireblade with a brand new model, much lighter than before, 214PS to match whatever
else was going on and yet it was still 100% a Honda to ride, in the sense that it was
a lot of performance, but it was delivered in the most calm, neutral manner possible
and the biggest thing people have held against this generation of Fireblades is that the
gearing was just way too tall and it was really difficult to ride.
Well, fixed, Honda's taken out the 40 tooth rear sprocket, added three teeth to the back,
so it's a 43 tooth sprocket now and that should make the Honda a lot easier to ride in everyday
conditions as well as at the racetrack.
The other changes are all also oriented towards the same thing, which is a little bit of a
boost at the bottom and the mid-range, because 214PS at the top-end honestly, I think you're doing fine.
So to that end, the two intake funnels at the middle, number two and three, they've
been shortened by 15mm, the intake ports have been reshaped, the exhaust has been reshaped,
the exhaust is a four into two into one, the two unit, the one in the middle has been reshaped
for better gas flow and all of this is designed to allow the Fireblade to breathe better in
the mid-range and produce more power.
The Fireblades continue to retain all of the other real goodies which is, for example,
the semi-active Ohlins suspension, all of that, that all remains, the RR, the RR-R is still there.
Fortunately, this year, they've not a RR-RR which really would have been too much, but
they've not done that.
What they've also done is taken the spring on the ride-by-wire throttle down a little
bit so the throttle will be lighter, and that should feel better and they've also tuned
the software on Honda's traction control system which they call HSTC, selectable torque, the
HSTC system now runs faster, which means the time between the motorcycle starting to slide
and the intervention coming in is reduced, which means traction control interventions
will feel more natural, you will feel less interrupted by them and therefore you will
be able to use them better in your riding, especially at the racetrack.
But what did they do to celebrate the 20 years of the Fireblade apart from these updates,
well, you have all singing, all dancing SP Anniversary Edition and the beautiful thing
about this is Honda's gone back to a lot of stuff that they used to do in 1992.
So the chap who designed the graphics back in the day, Hiroaki Tsukui, he was called
back to do the graphics for this blade as well, so the Anniversary Edition features
brushstrokes just like the first one used to and I think it looks rather cool for that.
There aren't any other mechanical changes to speak of, but it is a limited edition,
which means once the anniversary blades have disappeared, all of them will disappear.
So the question is, I know that a few of you are asking, would you be able to buy an anniversary
edition SP Fireblade or not in India?
Well the answer to that is it depends on Honda Japan, allocating these motorcycle units to
India and usually in a market in the size of ours, one or two units will definitely
arrive and there will be a fair amount of contesting for those motorcycles to arrive
in someone's garage because think about it, whether you take them to the racetrack or
not, it will be a collector's edition.
So the prices, they will be outrageous but then you will be buying Honda's absolute top
motorcycle in the world right now if you can get your hands on it and of course the 2022
Fireblades, the rest of them, the R, the RR, the RR-R and the you know, the RR-RR, of course,
does not exist, all of these motorcycles will come to India, expect a small price increment
when they do.
This is a motorshow update coming from Honda and we're not done with Honda just yet, the
other thing that they showed at the show is the X-ADV 350 which is a smaller version
of the X-ADV.
The powertrain, it uses the same as the Forza 350 which was also at the motorshow but that
receives a small update, the X-ADV is relatively new scooter.
It features design that sort of takes inspiration from the Africa Twin and the larger X-ADV
but, underneath is a 29bhp, 330cc engine which it shares with the Forza 350.
This is of course a slightly off-roady design for a scooter which looks kind of cool, but
it is in essence a maxi scooter which means lots of storage under the seat and some amount
of sporting ability.
I have ridden the larger X-ADV a couple of times, and honestly, despite what it looks
like, it more or less feels like a really long maxi scooter, there is no nothing spectacular
about it in that sense.
There was some discussion about the X-ADV 150 being readied to come to India, I hope that
happens soon, because I think Honda's scooter line in India is very successful, but I think
it can definitely stand to evolve a lot.
So, the Fireblade and the X-ADV 350 are the two big events for Honda at the EICMA show.
This is a motorshow on PowerDrift, if you haven't, there's a subscribe button, it's
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Please do like the video with a thumbs up and do show it to your friends especially
the guys who are aiming to get themselves the Honda Fireblade, I don't know how many
R's there are but the SP 20th Anniversary Edition.
Wow this motorshow really has motorcycles with long names.
If you haven't, there are other videos from the motorshow in which is a motorcycle with
an even longer name.
Thank you so much for watching, this is PowerDrift.