Today, Honda’s CBR RR bikes are staples in the brand’s lineup, but this designation wouldn’t appear on large models until 1992 with the CBR900RR, aka the “Fireblade”. This model would play an important role in the evolution of sport bikes, which prior to the 900RR’s release were increasingly focused on top speed. This meant heavy bikes with long wheelbases, something that Honda employee Tadao Baba just wasn’t willing to accept. In addition to just being a badass sport bike, the 900RR helped shift the direction of sport bikes in a very positive direction. Supposedly, the Fireblade name came to be as the result of a translation error – the intended moniker was “Lightning”.
Tadao Baba got a job at Honda in 1962 straight out of high school where he began working in the machinery department, churning out cylinder heads and crank cases for the CB72 and 77. Two years later, Baba would move up to Honda’s legendary R&D department where he would continue working for the next four decades. “In 1989 I was riding with a group of Honda engineers on some of the competitors’ machines. There was a Suzuki GSX-R1100, a Yamaha FZR1000, and our own Honda CBR1000F. I was thinking, ‘How can these be called sportbikes when they are so very big and heavy?’ They didn’t deserve the name,” explained Baba.
This would ultimately become the motivation behind building what eventually became the Fireblade, born out of a project aimed at producing a sport bike with a top end to satisfy early-90’s market demand while still being able to corner competently. In 1989, Baba would develop the CBR750RR prototype; a sport bike deserving of the moniker. Unfortunately Honda already had its VFR in the 750 class and didn’t want to draw sales away from its sporty mid-range machine, while the CBR1000F meant adding another 1,000cc sport bike was out of the question too.
A unique part of the 750RR is that it was built to be a road-going sport bike, not a world super bike replica. Between this and Honda already having a competition 750, Baba was given the freedom to select a displacement over the race-dictated 750cc’s. This would also enable Honda to produce a machine that was on par – or at least a lot closer to being on par – with the flagship super/sportbikes of the time. Baba then set out to find a harmonious balance of speed, handing, stability, weight, and size. He would ultimately land on 893cc’s, after using the 750’s base motor from the 750RR with an increased stroke. The 900 was visually identical to the 750 in many ways, sharing the same mirrors, windscreen, tank, and fairings.
The 900RR was a major gamble for Honda, as the (intentional) introduction of a new class of motorcycle almost always is. Much to Baba’s (and the shareholders’) delight, the 900 was flying off showroom floors, steadily poaching buyers from other similar existing segments. Between the 900RR’s power, wet weight of 454lbs, and wheel-base of just 55 inches, Baba’s project was destined to be an instant classic. Honda would continue developing the 900 until releasing its successor in ’96; the 919RR, followed by the 929RR in 2000, and finally the 954RR in 2002 before Honda would replace them with the first CBR1000RR in 2004 after Yamaha’s R1 had redefined the liter-sized super bike class.
Powering the Fireblade was a liquid-cooled, 893cc, four-stroke, DOHC, inline-four that produced a claimed 122 hp at 10,500 rpm and 64.9 ft-lbs of torque at 10,000 rpm. The traverse four-cylinder power-plant was married to a six-speed transmission, inhaled via quad 38mm Keihin CV carbs, and exhaled through a 4-into-2-into-1 exhaust. Wrapped around the engine was an all-aluminum twin-spar frame with braced aluminum swing-arm, a design taken directly from the 750RR.
The stock suspension on the 900RR consisted of 45mm Showa cartridges with adjustable preload and adjustable rebound and compression damping up front, and an adjustable “Pro-Link” single Showa shock in back. According to one source, in an effort to save weight, Baba opted to use conventional forks instead of upside-down units, but because Honda knew the public wouldn’t like this Baba designed a pair of regular forks that looked like upside-down units.)
Despite the Fireblade being developed as a road-goer, the damn thing could seriously go. Its top speed was a reported 164 mph and it could clock a standing quarter-mile in 10.3 seconds – reaching over 130mph in the process. The 900RR’s factory brakes were made up of dual 296mm disks bit by four-piston calipers in front and a single 220mm disc with a single piston caliper in back. Thanks to said brakes, the FireBlade could come to a complete stop from 60mph in 118- feet and from 37mph to zero in 39.7-feet.
This particular 1993 Honda 900RR that is currently for sale is in remarkably clean condition. It’s on its second owner and reportedly has never been taken to the track or abused in the canyons. The current owner came into possession of it with around 33,000 original miles, and has since added another 5,000 to the odo. Despite its relatively high mileage, it’s said to be in solid mechanical shape even recently underwent some work including a carb rebuild, the installation of an ERION jet kit, valve-adjustment, compression test, and OEM oil (and filter) change. The current owner also recently installed a D.I.D O-Ring chain and wrapped the Fireblade example’s wheels in Bridgestone Battlax rubber. Though I personally prefer the later fuel-injection versions of the 900RR’s, I’ve ridden this bike and it truly is a fantastic machine with more than enough power, and surprisingly good handling.
You can find this 1993 Honda 900RR Fireblade for sale here on Craigslist in Los Angeles, California with a price of $5,500.