Smooth torque at Honda

There is no power gain, only a 3kg weight loss, but the major changes all make the bike smoother at handling, accelerating and steering.

Allerton should know. The 24-year-old, of Camden, NSW, is a leading contender in the national Superbike (1000cc) and Supersport (600cc) championships this year, hoping to replicate Honda's winning double in the categories in the previous two years.

At the national launch at Phillip Island last week, Allerton took a stock standard Blade with factory suspension settings and street legal rubber around the scenic 4.4km track in 1:42.1.

This compares well with Jamie Stauffer's Kawasaki ZXR 1000 best lap of 1:34.7 in the last race of the 2005 season and Craig Lowndes's fastest race lap in a Holden Commodore of 1:33.4 set in 1999.

In a classic "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" sales strategy, two successive Superbike titles have rocketed the Fireblade to top road bike in Australia (excluding the humble postie bike).

Phillip Reynolds national sales manager says: "If you think Superbike racing is competitive, Superbike sales are just as competitive."

Last year, the Fireblade sold 958, an increase of 21 per cent, and Reynolds believes he can crack 1000 this year.

The new Fireblade bucks the annual model trend of incremental increases in power of the Japanese litre racers

Weight has been saved by "shaving a whole bunch of components a little bit", says Reynolds.

The cam shaft is 450g lighter which improves engine response as it spins up faster.

The exhaust is 380g lighter thanks to a plastic heat-resistant shield.

The radiator is shorter and smaller for a 0.5kg saving.

The ECU is more compact and moved to the top of the airbox to save 110g on "heavy" copper wiring.

And 390g has been shaved off the seat rail, which makes you wonder how strong it will be for pillions, although a solo seat cowl accessory is available.

With easy removal of the bolted-on rear pegs and brackets it can be registered as a solo machine in Queensland for half the rego price.

In the performance stakes, acceleration has been improved by larger intake and exhaust ports, the rev limit has been increased from 11,650 to 12,200rpm and engine compression is up from 11.9 to 12.2.

Honda claims a minimal gain in the 0-400m sprint of three-hundredths of a second to 10.05.

In your right hand, the feel is definitely smoother with no peaks or troughs all the way to the rev limiter.

And despite my inadequate entry speed on to Gardner Straight after wobbling around through turns 11 and 12, the Blade still wound out to 245km/h by the walk bridge.

Allerton and teammates Adam Fergusson and Bryan Starling scorched by at 280km/h.

To match increased go, there is a claimed 5 per cent increased stopping power with 10mm bigger front discs (now 320mm).

However, the discs are slimmer to keep weight under control.

Despite the increase in engine compression and lack of a slipper clutch, the back wheel takes a lot to lock up and when it does, it's smooth rather than chattery.

The clutch has been made more rigid for smoother starting with undercut gears for more positive engagement.

Handling is made slightly nimbler by a quarter of a degree reduced caster angle down to 23 degrees and the swingarm is 10mm shorter for a 1400mm wheelbase (another small weight saving).

Consequently, turn-in is now just a shade crisper, which makes attack on Honda and MG corners easy.

Race credentials are all well and good, but on the road, the Fireblade is still the one to beat.

How Honda makes such as race-ready machine that also feels comfortable through potholes is a stroke of genius. Blade owners can continue to tour and commute their machines thanks to a riding position that doesn't feel too cramped (although the pegs are a little high and far back), weight on your wrists that lifts you with wind pressure above 80km/h, little heat blowing on to your legs and a flat seat that is fairly comfortable.

Design-wise, there is slightly less fairing that doesn't change drag coefficient, decals are new, and the headlights have been redesigned.

For 2006, the Blade comes in silver and grey and red and black and costs $200 more than last year's model at $18,990.