A PERFECT BALANCING ACT
Having blown all away in 1992 when the original Blade was launched, by the time the new millennium arrived Honda’s flagship sportsbike was looking rather long in the tooth. Gradually maturing over the decade, the Blade was now sporting a bit of a pot belly, its legs weren’t quite as responsive as before and its dress sense was in need of a serious makeover. The Blade required a reinvention as with the Yamaha YZF-R1 now setting the standards, Honda’s mighty CBR900RR was lagging behind. So, as the Y2K bug was about to strike and life on earth stop, Honda launched a fresh generation of FireBlade…
As well as a brand new chassis boasting greater agility, the 2000/01 Blade came with a more powerful fuel-injected engine, uprated brakes, inverted forks and even a 17-inch front wheel for the first time! But while the 929 hit all the
