Watch This Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade Hit Max Speed

Honda's latest update to the CBR1000RR, the Fireblade, is designed for one thing only: speed. We've seen what Marc Marquez can do with one, but what if the track was a simple high-speed oval that simply allowed the bike to stretch its legs as fast as it could? Young Machine found out.

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The test took place at the Japan Automobile Research Institute. The track looks exactly like the "High Speed Ring" of the early Gran Turismo games, just a huge oval with banked turns to help you maintain speed. The bike itself was a Fireblade SP, the absolute top of the line version with improved suspension and giant Brembo brakes on both wheels.

Off the line, the bike zooms to 160 km/h (about 100 mph) in no time. Yes, this bike can hit any speed legal on US roads in first gear. It doesn't take long before the speedometer maxes out at 299 km/h (186 mph). It's clear, however, from the tachometer and continuing gear changes that the bike continues to accelerate well past its officially rated top speed. At a guess, I'd say this is a 200 mph motorcycle, easily.

Of course, with 214 horsepower and weighing just 443 pounds, the Fireblade should be an absolute rocket. It's also amazing to watch how quickly it drops speed before the long banked turns. In no time at all, while flashing the flashers to indicate extremely hard braking, it comes down from over 299 km/h to a far more reasonable 200 km/h for the turn (about 124 mph, the absolute top speed of my old Saturn SC2). I actually feel a bit better knowing that the Fireblade has some serious "whoa" to compliment its "go."

Source: Young Machine