Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

Bike #9: 2008 Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade

34760 km - August 15, 2015
All new: New (well, used actually) bike, new page on the site, new language :-) If all goes well, the bike will be collected by Ruud in a few days.
Options fitted: Bos exhaust with Power Commander III USB (setup by Ten Kate), LSL clip-ons (Tour Match Kit 150H125), Ohlins shocks front and rear (setup by Rooske Tynaarlo), Lightech rearsets, (LSL?) steel brake lines, rear hugger, Michelin Pilot Power.
34760 km - August 21, 2015
All went well, Ruud picked it up. Tires were swapped with the 2CT's from the ZX-12 (not taking any chances), oil was changed, and the Tirewatch unit (still lying around from the ZX-12) was fitted.
First impressions: it fits! :-) and as expected it is a relaxed and exhilarating ride - no strange behaviour, just smooth and reliable performance. Quite a change from the 999. So I'm guessing this one will stay a while.
One thing really has to be changed though: the exhaust. I mean, a bit of noise is fine, but this is ridiculous.
34910 km - August 22, 2015
I tried to lower the angle of the clutch lever a bit, but because of the LSL clip-ons there is no room. Another one for the to-do list (see below).
Ordered some luggage options: SW-Motech Quick-lock EVO Tankring and Daypack. The Bagster solutions have worked fine over the years, but I've always found it a bit annoying that the tankcover hampers your knees (on the ZX-12 anyway, less so on the 999). And the SW-Motech tankring and bag together were cheaper than just a new Bagster tankcover, so it seemed worth a try.
35080 km - August 23, 2015
Beautiful day, took it out for a spin. Great ride, I can get used to this - in fact I think I already am used to it :-) Smooth and effortless, and bloody fast if you want. What more can you ask for?
Fuel consumption of this (mostly easy going) ride: 15 km/liter.
September 1, 2015
Fairly good weather, first time driving through rushhour traffic. No problems there, just a bit frustrating now and then :-)
For the To Do list: lower the footpegs a bit, slightly thicker grips (heated?), gear indicator (strangely enough this is the first bike where I miss that), new clutch/brake levers (ordered from China), get the clutch lever to operate a bit smoother. And see if there is a solution to make the seat less slippery; up till now I wore leather which was fine, but today wearing textile I slid all over the place under acceleration.
Also, fueling is pretty good - better than the ZX-12 anyway - but it has sort of the same problem: a bit of an on/off effect when trying to maintain an even (slow) speed. Not very irritating but maybe this can be ironed out with some Power Commander setup work.
December 18, 2015
A warm and dry winter day, so I took it for a little ride.
April 3, 2016
First really nice day of spring. Front tire was almost flat, but other than that: no problems at all after 4 months sitting in the garage.
36030 km - April 11, 2016
The front tire keeps loosing pressure, so I'll go and see Ruud this afternoon for a new set of 2CTs. Too bad because both tires still had some thread-life in them, but what can you do.
Turned out the tire itself was fine, but the valve had worked itself loose; so that's now glued into place.
Also checked the oil level (it was fine), lowered the right footrest (the bolts on the left one were too tight, it was getting late so we'll tackle that one next time), and Ruud will order a gear indicator, a new clutch cable, and he'll look into new (thicker) grips.
May 24, 2016
Looks like the battery died on me. As soon as I hit the starter button, the dashboard switched off. And after the second try it didn't even turn on again. Luckily I was at home so I could take the car to work... I'll pick up a new one this afternoon, hopefully that'll solve it.
Tip of the month: my bike takes a YTZ7S battery, not a YTZ10S (which the guys at the local store said I needed...). The 10 is for most older models AND for ABS models, but not for the one I happen to have. So back to the store tomorrow. I have compiled a list of batteries per model, see the table near the bottom on this page.
38100 km - June 9, 2016
Spent the day with Ruud getting some accesories fitted: new front brakepads (more aggressive, the original ones are a bit spongy), new clutch cable, adjusted the footpegs (set them a bit lower), new foam grips, and a new GIpro DS gear indicator.
43560 km - December 7, 2017
Just noticed I didn't add an entry here for over a year... Well, the bike runs perfectly, so no news there. And the weather has not been great this year, so I didn't do a lot of riding either. Fingers crossed for 2018 :-)
For next spring I've got some things planned. New tires are needed, and probably an oil (and filter) changes and all that. And Ruud has his eyes on some nice heated grips. And maybe some new levers as well - the ones I have now are not 100% smooth. And while we're at it, it would be nice if the fuelling was a bit smoother at low rpm's - so maybe some Dynojet work is in order.
43700 km - May 4, 2018
First outing of the year, finally some good weather. The bike is just fine - put some air in the tires, lube the chain and off you go.
I did manage to put it into neutral instead of first gear once, which was a bit strange; I didn't feel it happening, so that came as quite a surprise in the middle of the slow corner I was in... Let's call that one human error for now, until proven otherwise.
45040 km - June 22, 2018
New tires, oil, oilfilter, airfilter and sparkplugs were fitted today; which all in all takes an entire day. The heated grips will have to wait a while, Ruud and I didn't have the time. Ruud will order some new Titax brake- and clutchlevers as well, to replace the (fairly nice but not quite smooth enough) Chinese ones. And the Tirewatch control unit is playing up; it works, but I can't switch it on or off anymore myself - I have to wait for it to switch itself on spontaneously... Probably a soldering issue, Ruud wil have it looked at.
46515 km - February 23, 2019
A beautiful winter day, about 12 C, so time for a ride on the bike. Or bikes actually, I took both the Fireblade and the Bandit out for the same 100 km ride, one after the other. Very interesting to feel the differences between the bikes. No real surprises: the Fireblade is a lot lighter, cuts through corners like a razorblade and has an insane engine, while the Bandit has a more comfortable seating position (which makes cornering feel a bit less "in control"), is a lot heavier, a bit wobbly (but lots of fun) in the corners, and has a more civil engine which is plenty powerful for normal use. The extra weight of the Bandit does provide more grip, so that sort of compensates for the lack of precision while cornering. Both bikes got about 15 km out of 1 liter of fuel, so so much for the Bandit being cheaper to run... :-)
48605 km - June 14, 2021
No entry in over two years - what can I say, the bike runs perfectly every time. And the Bandit has done most of the long distance (work) trips, before Covid-19 anyway, so no need for tyres or other maintenance.
But now it is time for something new: a Suzuki GSX-S 1000 F.
Why change? Well, the Fireblade is (and always has been) a bit too small for me. That's my fault, I'm 196 cm (6'5") tall, so after about an hour things start to get a bit uncomfortable. And the Bandit is of course more relaxed to sit on, but a bit too relaxed for my taste. And it is a naked, which also gets uncomfortable on long trips. So I hope the GSX-S will be nice compromise :-)
The Fireblade will be traded in and the Bandit is up for sale. I suppose I'll miss the Fireblade sometimes - it was absolutely brilliant to ride - and easily the best I have ever had.

Maintenance and parts
km	tires	oil	oil filter	brakepads	airfilter	sparkplugs	battery	chain	other
34760	used	new
36110	new	ok
37140							new
38100		ok		new					new clutch cable, foam grips, GIpro DS gear indicator
40280		+0.25 l
43560		+0.5 l
45040	new	new	new		new	new

Batteries
Model	Years	Type	Battery	Part nr.
CBR900RR (SC28)	1992–1995		YTX9-BS 12V/8Ah	31500-MN4-604
CBR900RR (SC33)	1996–1999		YTX9-BS 12V/8Ah	31500-MN4-678
CBR900RR / CBR929RR (SC44)	2000–2001		YTZ 10S 12V/9Ah	31500-MCJ-642
CBR900RR / CBR954RR (SC50)	2002–2003		YTZ 10S 12V/9Ah	31500-MCJ-642
CBR1000RR (SC57)	2004-2007		YTZ 10S 12V/9Ah	31500-MCJ-642
CBR1000RR (SC59)	2008-2016		YTZ 7S 12V/6Ah	31500-KGB-901
CBR1000RA (SC59)	2009-2016	ABS	YTZ 10S 12V/9Ah	31500-MCJ-642
Sources: http://www.cbr1000rr.de/ https://www.motorcyclespareparts.eu/honda-parts/motorcycles.aspx http://www.yuasabatteries.com/vehicle_search.php http://www.bikebandit.com/

Done

Clutch/brake levers: exchange for new ones ordered from China.
Clutch lever: lower the angle in spite of the LSL clip-ons.
Clutch cable: new.
Footpegs: lower them a bit.
Grips: foam (thicker).
Gear indicator: GIpro DS.

To do

Apply (more) glue to the left grip - in the dry it doesn't move, but in the wet it sure does. Or better yet: change back to rubber ones (as long as they are a bit thicker than stock).
Have another look at the clutch lever - it's better now that the cable has been replaced, but still not 100% smooth all the time.
Exhaust: less noise would be nice, maybe try an original one to start with. Although I am getting used to it...
Seat: more grip with my textile suit would be nice. Grip with leather is perfect.
Fuelling: the on/off effect (around 3200 rpm) seems to be getting worse - or it just irritates me more and more as time goes by, which amounts to the same thing really...

Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade

Done

To do

Manuals