Here is an icon, a 1st gen CBR900RR, known as the Fireblade outside the USA. For younger readers of RSBFS or for anyone who has forgotten, when the CBR900RR appeared in 1993 it was a hammer blow to both the 750 and 1000cc market segments.
In typical Honda fashion it wasn’t an overpowering powerplant that made the CBR900RR such a revelation. Instead, led by design chief Tadao Baba the CBR900RR combined a new ultralight 899cc inline 4 with a sharp focus on weight savings everywhere else. This focus on lightness produced a 900cc bike that was 75 pounds lighter than the Yamaha FZR1000, 114 pounds lighter than the Suzuki GSX-R1100 and an astonishing 144 pounds lighter than the Kawasaki ZX-11. The CBR900RR also caused a serious sales impact the 750cc segment since riders who wanted more grunt than a 600cc had something that didn’t weight much more but left most 750cc bikes in the dust.
As the reviewers at VisorDown.com wrote, “the Honda CBR900RR FireBlade wiped the floor with its competitor motorcycles not by being more powerful but by being lighter and more agile. Rivals were all well over 200kg, the first Honda CBR900RR FireBlade was just 185kg which made it perform superbly.”
Note: For anyone who is interested/unfamiliar with the story behind the genesis of the CBR900RR/Fireblade, there is an excellent write up of the development history of the CBR900RR at sportrider.com
1994 Honda CBR900/Fireblade for sale on ebay
Another advantage to the CBR900RR is that its actually a very reliable bike. When it first appeared there were a lot of people who thought that since it was so sharply focused it would require huge amounts of maintenance since this was the case with most repli-racers at the time. But in typical over-engineered Honda fashion, the cynics were proved wrong and the CBR900RR/Fireblade was nearly faultless from a mechanical standpoint. This particular model seems to have about 60,000 miles which is a fair amount but 1st gen CBR models are often reported as running strongly with well over 100,000 miles so the mileage shouldn’t really be a concern, especially given the care and maintenance this one seems to have had (see below).
Here is what the seller has to say
- 1994 HONDA CBR900RR WAS OWNED BY 2 SENIOR(55+)RIDERS THAT MAINTAINED THIS MOTORCYCLE METICULOUSLY.
- PAINT IS ORIGINAL WHITE, RED AND BLACK IN COLOR THAT IN EXCELLENT COSMETIC CONDITION .
- THROTTLE RESPONSE IS SUPER CRISP, ENGINE PULLS EXTREMELY HARD AND BIKE SHIFT VERY SMOOTH THROUGH ALL GEARS.
- BIKE HAS A GREAT SOUNDING YOSHIMURA CARBON FIBER FULL EXHAUST SYSTEM, 10 POSITION STEERING DAMPER, FOX SHOCK WITH REMOTE, STAINLESS STEEL FRONT AND REAR BRAKE LINES.
- JUST INSTALLED NEW BATTERY AND FULLY SERVICED.
- FRONT & REAR TIRES ARE IN LIKE NEW CONDITION WITH ALMOST 900 MILES ON THEM.
- FRONT & REAR BRAKES ARE IN GREAT CONDITION.
- FRONT & REAR TURN SIGNALS, HEADLIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS & HORN ALL FUNCTION AS THEY SHOULD.
- BIKE HAS ALWAYS BEEN STORED INSIDE A CLIMATE CONTROLLED AREA, AS WELL AS WASHED, WAXED.& ON A BATTERY TENDER.
So whats this one worth? Well the seller lists this as a 1994 which would normally mean its a second gen bike but since it has the white wheels and full round headlights this does seem to be a 1st generation CBR900RR, perhaps one of the last 1st gen bikes. This is important since the first generation of the CBR900/Fireblade seems to be the model most desired by collectors.
The last one of these on RSBFS went for just about 4000 USD. This one has significantly higher mileage so its not surprising that current bidding is only at $2500 USD. Since this is a no-reserve auction, someone is going to take it home. To be honest I thinks this a great deal for a bike that will soon be a classic.
-Marty/Dallaslavowner
Their is one of these in my area. Pretty nice condition. Have you guys seen a recent incline in these bikes? Worth picking up you think?
I think the prices are stable for a higher mileage bike. I have this exact model that I picked up for 2400 bucks with 28000 miles on it 3 years ago. It was all stock except the guy did some ridiculous mods to the fairing and put upright bars on it. I spent another 1000 bucks getting it back to stock. They are worth every penny as it is the best handling bike in my stable, even with the 16 inch wheel which i refuse to change.
Another thing is that mine has the black rims which do not look as nice as the white. I am going to paint mine white this winter. It is certainly a first generation bike, just before the fox eye was introduced.
Thanks Tim! Its a 93 the and in the white, blue, and red scheme.
Prices for the 1st gen do seem to be on the rise but not jumping up. I dont think they will ever get up to unobtanium levels since so many were made. They seem to be appealing to collectors who focus on technology, people who like the 1st gen GSX-R seem to like this bike. Other collectors who crave unobtanium stuff such as supermono will never be into this.
Personally I would love to find a low mileage blue/red/white version with the white wheels somewhere in texas but alas, people here trashed them to bits.
Like Tim, I had this exact bike 2 years ago with 24K miles on it and I bought it for $2500 and sold it for $2800. I wish the seller luck but in my opinion his bike is worth less than $2500.
And out of 60+ bikes I’ve owned in my lifetime, this CBR ranks in the top 3. I was an idiot for selling.
Here’s the problem, this is not rare. I love what you guys are doing with the site, I’m a daily reader, but posting any bike with twin headlights built between 1985 and 1994 just blows prices out of the water on the ones that do get posted.
Give this bike an original exhaust and suspension and brake components and then, sure, you may have something that’s super rare because of the original condition, but as it sits, I can find a million 94 blades with suspension work, braided lines, and a yoshi slip on (tell me I’m wrong, hahaha). The guy looking to buy this bike and turn it into that creampuff will now never buy this (great base to start from) because it will do $4000 for a run of the mill bike with mis-matched parts and that’s way too much considering what else is out there from the same era.
All I ask is low production numbers (early gsxrs can fit this) or super-clean 100% OEM (they’re out there, and they all look fabulous). These are the conditions that you see being met by every high dollar car rolling across R&M or the like.
It has 60,000 miles. This turd shouldn’t even get a second look.
This turd might be the only second chance for some of us to own one of these in fairly decent condition. There are many people like me who love to ride and collect that don’t have the resources others may have. Keep ’em coming guys!
Hey Lou these bikes are known for 100,000+miles. I will admit it’s a little rough around the edges but it would be easy to get it back to stock since I have seen stock mufflers come up from time to time.
Well maybe the site should be re-named “Rare & freaking awesome sportsbikes for sale that everyone should ride in their lifetime at least once so we can truly appreciate what the late 80s and early 90s gave us”
Bit of a mouthful but I think it gets the idea across!
There’s a clean looking Red/White/Blue in central MO on offer here:
Tempting!
lost the URL, go here: kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/4724864596.html
Yeah , just to jump in here and reitterate to Lou that these 900 engines can do a few hundred thousand miles if properly serviced . Plus as many people say & I can attest it has great handling from the get-go even with its 16” front wheel . Finally as christhewelder said it might be that second chance for us to own it if we missed the first time around , even if it needs some TLC , etc……
Not rare. Yeah, this bike sure was amazing when it was introduced, just like the gixxer, just like the f1, just like the 916, yada yada yada, but you’ll still see these things all over the place. If there was a crated Fireblade somewhere I’m sure it could command a bit of dough, but a well worn 900rr can be had for a dime a dozen.
rob… TL;DR