New Honda Fireblade to launch in India by December, Africa Twin by August
The Fireblade is one of the last few litre-class motorcycles to let heavy electronics take over.
In a conversation with Indian Autos Blog, Mr YS Guleria, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, HMSI, has confirmed that the new Honda Fireblade will be launched in India this calendar year.
Honda showcased two new Fireblades, the Honda CBR1000RR SP and Honda CBR1000RR SP2, at Intermot last year. A month later, in November 2016, they unveiled a third entry level model the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR at EICMA. The motorcycles are powered by a new 999 cc in-line four cylinder mill coupled to a 6-speed gearbox. The engine is capable of producing 191.7 PS of maximum power at 13,000 rpm and 114 Nm of peak torque at 11,000 rpm.
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It is however not known whether Honda will be introducing all three variants of the Fireblade. Apart from the new flagship, Honda India will also be launching the 2017 Honda Africa Twin in India as a CKD model. Localisation will be at a bare minimum just as the Honda CBR650F. The adventure tourer will be launched in India in the time period between June to August 2017.
Mr Guleria also confirmed that the 2017 Honda Africa Twin will be offered as a premium product and only the DCT (dual clutch automatic) version will be offered.