It's lighter, more powerful and packed with technology but is Honda's new Fireblade back in the fight for litre-bike supremacy?

The last time I was heading out on a new Fireblade launch, America was about to vote for a very new, very different president. Back in 2008, Barack Obama was heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as the first black POTUS and I was heading to Losail circuit in Qatar to have a spin on the heavily-updated CBR1000RR.

Two presidential terms later, Obama's been replaced by a new model. It's loud, brash, powerful – but the handling seems like it might be a wee bit suspect… Donald Trump was taking his oath of office as we arrived at Portimao circuit for the launch of the 2017 Honda Fireblade. And while this new bike also looks to be very different from the previous incumbent, it all looks very good, on paper at least.

For 2017, Honda has given the legendary Fireblade its first proper update since 2008 – it’s dropped a load of mass, added a stack of grunt, and baked in a full-beans ride-by-wire engine management system with IMU oversight of ABS and electronic suspension too (on the flash SP version). Phew. Would it be enough to put the big H back into the serious litre bike fight it's been missing from lately?

Full specs and review: http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/first-ride-honda-cbr1000rr-firebladesp-review

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