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Honda CBR 1000RR Fireblade 2004



 This is the 2004 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

 The Black version is Col's and the Tri-colour (Red one) is Mine (Phill's)

  Col bought his in 2013 with 11000 miles on the clock from a local bike shop after spotting it on Ebay. We called into the shop one Sunday morning in January and as soon as we saw it Col decided it was the one.
 The snow fell and stopped him from collecting it for 2 long weeks, but eventually it arrived and he turned up on it the next fine Sunday morning. 

 A cold Sunday morning in late January 2014 myself and Col visited Streetbike for a look around the latest bikes and a coffee. A Honda Fireblade had just arrived as a part ex against a newer bike, so I gave it a look over and booked a test ride. Streetbike refitted the standard rear shock as it had a lower one fitted and fixed a few little problems and I collected it the first weekend in March with 16000 miles on the clock.
 I have enjoyed every ride on the Fireblade, the performance, rider comfort and handling suits me fine. 

 The 2004 Honda Fireblade was the first of the totally new design Fireblades and the 1st that was not designed by Tadao Baba the designer of the fireblade from the original 1992 model. It was designed by the team responsible for the 2003 Motogp bike RC211V and shares some lines and technology from the swing arm and rear shock. The model stayed similar until 2007 only with a few cosmetic changes to the front around the headlight, slight geometry changes to the frame and improvements to the engine and a larger rear sprocket.
 Personally we like the smoother lines on the 2004-5 version to look at. 


The Honda 2003 Motogp winning team was Nicky Haden and Valentino Rossi.

  
Controls
  The Instrument display has a rev counter and a digital read out of the current speed. The select button scrolls through 2 trip counters,the Odometer and displays the time. The brake lever has an adjustable postion, The bike has twin headlights of which only the one side illuminates when the engine is running and cannot be turned off, the other side comes on when man beam is selected. The rear section of the seat lifts off to reveal a compartment big enough for the tool kit, a rag and a bottle of visor cleaner, but don't think of putting any thing to eat in there as it will get very warm having the exhaust silencer right below it.





  Riding it
  
  The seat is nicely positioned, but is firm, and  the reach to the bars is comfortable. The foot pegs are quite high and back giving it an agressive feel. On longer journeys or sitting in traffic can cause wrist and shoulder/neck ache. Out on the road the bike has a lot of punch when you open the throttle, turns quickly, yet feels stable at the same time. When I have ridden it, i thought it felt as though 70mph was its happy speed, where the engine picked up instantly.  The default suspension setting are a little soft so we adjusted them to a few clicks stiffer.
 Since owning my Fireblade we have noticed that Col's bike uses more petrol than mine roughly working out at an extra £1.50 per tank. A service may help.



  Stats


  • Engine size  -  998 cc
  • Top Speed  -  178mph
  • Power  -  172 bhp
  • Weight  -  176kg
  • Fuel tank capacity  -  18ltrs
  • Av MPG  -  35mpg
  • Tank Ramge  -  135 miles
  • Ins group -  17
  • Tyres  -  F 120/70/17   R 190/50/17
  • Suspension  -  Fully adjustable

The Original Exhaust
The New Exhaust

  Modifications.


  Both bikes have got Scorpion exhaust silencer's fitted, these take about 2 hours to fit as most of the rear of the bike needs to be removed. We opted for them as we liked the look better that the other brands available at the time. They have the option of removing the baffle which makes it sound racier but not so loud to give you a headache. They also look better and weigh a lot less than the standard type.

 Common Problems.

Check the Fireblade owners forum for information that may help solve any issues you may have.



 Problems this bikes has Encountered

 When Col bought his, the breather pipe to the fuel tank had come off, so it leaked petrol when the tank was full.
The stator packed in on Col's, Honda have now released a fixed version that stops them from burning out.


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