Has the new 2020 Honda Fireblade just been pictured track testing?
A Japanese Twitter account has just shared some images that looks like the 2020 Honda Fireblade undergoing track testing prior to its launch
THE 2020 Honda Fireblade may have just been caught on camera testing in the run-up to the bike's official launch.
テストマシンと共に走行しているJSB1000 No.13のマシンと比べても、CBRっぽいけどカウルもフロントサスもリアのスイングアームも別物っぽい。
あまり詳しく無いのですが。 pic.twitter.com/f2bG3JCF9H— NOBU㌠ @JO3VHC (@n_mode_log) October 23, 2019
The images were shared by NOBU㌠ @JO3VHC on Twitter and they clearly show a sportsbike been hammered around Suzuka. The text accompanying the tweet reads:
“What is this test machine brought to Suzuka Circuit? The label “Performance car [Japanese term for bike] 1” can be confirmed at the tank.”
A second tweet posted by the same account compares the mystery motorcycle to one of HRC’s Japanese Superbike machines that have also been captured. That tweet reads:
“Compared to the JSB1000 No.13 machine running with the test machine, it looks like a CBR, but the cowl, front suspension, and rear swingarm are different. I don't know much about it.”
VIDEO: Is this the 2020 Honda Fireblade in action?
今日HRCが鈴鹿サーキットで走らせていたマシンですが、動画も撮っていたのでUPしておきます。
#MFJGP #SuperBike #JSB1000 pic.twitter.com/cPaj3v4gTl— NOBU㌠ @JO3VHC (@n_mode_log) 23 October 2019
So, is this dazzle camouflaged machine really the new Fireblade? More than likely yes, although it isn’t clear if this is the road-going version undergoing testing or one of the 2020 HRC race bikes – like the one Alvaro Bautista will ride next year – been given a run out on the track. We’re hedging our bets that this is the race bike undergoing testing – and here’s why.
Firstly the front end set up looks to be very high-spec, with the calipers especially looking like the kind of Brembo units they reserve for MotoGP and WSBK teams. Next up the rear-sets too are out and out race items, machine out of a single piece of aluminium and left unfinished and raw. The bike is also sporting an under-seat fuel tank, which – while it has been used on bikes like the Panigale V4 – is not something we’ve seen on a Honda Fireblade, yet.
The pictures confirm some of the suspicions we had already about the machine – if indeed it is the new ‘Blade – as the aerodynamic sections of the fairing can be clearly seen in some of the pictures. The bike also appears to be a conventional across the frame four-cylinder unit, so no V4 superbike for now.
We expect to hear and see more updates about the bike over the course of EICMA and maybe the Tokyo Moto Show – we’ll bring you any updates as we have them.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
