Back To The Blade
July ‘22
Something for the weekend
In 2004 Tadoa Baba, the designer and father of the Honda FireBlade, hung up his spanners having created his final and (according to him) finest version, the 954. A career engineer from the age of 18, Honda gifted him a plinth mounted with pistons from every model created since 1992. He went off to play some golf and smoke a few tabs, happy in the knowledge that he had been instrumental in shaping superbikes for a generation.
For 30 years now, chiefly with non-motorcyclists, Honda’s flagship sports bike has somehow been synonymous with every thing scary and lairy - including becoming known in some quarters as a latter day ‘Widow Maker’. But this is far from the character Tadao-san intended and certainly not the one I first discovered in 2003, snagging my very own beautiful blue brand new 954 ‘Blade. Useable power, supreme balance, integrated chassis, gob stopping brakes, it simply just worked. Every control aspect seemed crafted and refined towards the rider making progress, very, very fast. It took my riding to a different level. Well, until a small misjudgement found it obliterated across a race circuit in southern Spain.
The centralisation of mass that underpinned the performance of every FireBlade was directly drawn from everything Honda learned in their domination of the race track. In Grand Prix in particular, it seemed they had that Midas touch forever. This formed an HRC attachment which I naturally latched onto Nicky Hayden in the early noughties. Nicky was very much the last of the multiple generations of US flat trackers to slide their way to tarmac glory - Roberts, Spencer, Rainey, Lawson et al, all held in such high esteem since my youth. But Nicky brought other rarer racing qualities in addition to his speed; modest, likeable, fun. What better way to recover a cosmetically challenged bike than throw a Respol re-spray at it and stick a #69 on the tail.
The result was certainly eye catching but after a while the bike just never quite seemed the same again and we parted ways before The Kentucky Kid became MotoGP World Champion on a memorable day in Valencia in 2006.
Jump forward to 2017. Hayden is now campaigning a FireBlade on the World Superbike stage and the stunning new SP is simply breathtaking in its HRC colours and semi-active Ohlins shod finery. The £20k price tag however is equally eye watering, and despite the gigantic kerb appeal, it is simply not plunge time.
Then tragedy. In May 2017, Nicky is struck by a speeding driver whilst training on his bicycle in Italy, succumbing to his injuries five days later aged just 35. Motorcycling loses a genuinely talented and charismatic star and a storied racing family, a beloved brother and son.
As we age and there is more and more behind to reflect upon, it seems natural to find connections and comfort in bonds and bikes from our past. The motorcycle world is increasingly diverse and nostalgia sells retro fashion and lifestyle like never before. Perhaps this also means what was once mainstream not so long ago - vulgar race replicas festooned in bright plastic panels - are now rendered a little niche and unfashionable. Good. Depreciation becomes a friend and the demands of both heart and head can be satisfied in one purchase. Seems Appleyard Motorcycles were hiding a pristine and unmolested 2018 SP in the corner of their showroom since last winter. Until last week.
Rhetorical questions ensue in conclusion.
Surely it isn’t sustainable to curate a fanzine titled ‘Superbike Island’ without, you know, actually riding one now and then?
Even Tadao Baba binned his own precious creations fairly regularly. Most notably taking a day away from the retirement golf course to launch one at McLeans on a Donington Park event. That’s like throwing your own children off a cliff, so maybe my past crimes reduce down to a minor misdemeanour?
Even though I am confident I have #69 to watch over me, maybe no track days for now eh?
Rest in peace, Kentucky Kid.
