The Honda CB1000RR, as Secondhand Motorcycle

A Honda CBR1000RR '04 to '06 as secondhand motorcycle. The first 1000cc Honda Fireblade – which dropped the capital B in its name as a mark of respect when original project leader Tadao Baba left after 12-years. The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is sharp, small, makes huge speed very easy and looks so like the MotoGP-winning Honda RC211V we all love. Everything about the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade echoes the RC211V MotoGP race bike, from the underseat exhaust to the tiny fairing.

The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade may be harder and faster than ever before, but the Fireblade is still user-friendly, being by far the most forgiving of the liter sportsbikes. The HESD electronic steering damper is superb – there's n damping at low speed but it firms up as you go faster, warding off slapper's. The HESD steering damper was a revolution on the '04 Honda CBR1000RR and has now spread to more of the liter bikes.

There's no underseat storage and the tank is plastic, so no magnetic tankbags. It can burn a lot of oil with hard riding, so don't leave it until the next service appointment to check the engine oil and to top it up.

A number of 2004 machines had malfunctioning speedometers that made the motorcycle over-read. A recall saw new speedo units fitted to the affected Fireblade's. If you're considering a 2004 CBR100RR, check if the speedometer is replaced, not that it matters much in Thailand – but still, it's always good to know when your speedo reads 100km/h and you're actually going 10km/h faster.