Honda has just given its CBR1000RR-R SP Fireblade a surprisingly substantial set of technical updates for the year 2024, but most of them are hidden beneath a practically unchanged set of fairings. Now, a new patent application from the company reveals that a more substantial set of visual changes is being developed with the aim of increasing downforce and simultaneously reducing resistance.
One of the few exterior changes to the 2024 CBR1000RR-R SP is the introduction of new hoop-shaped wings at the front, inspired by MotoGP, which replace the side and multi-layer versions of its predecessor. These are a tried and tested solution for the growing demand for front downforce, proven in the heat of competition and offering a useful visual link to Honda’s MotoGP machines, but inevitably they increase resistance compared to a simpler fairing design. The completely redesigned shape presented in a recently published patent application aims for the best of both worlds, eliminating protruding wings and reducing the motorcycle’s frontal area in the search for less resistance, while introducing an innovative front design intended to replicate the downforce of the missing wings.
Essentially, the idea is to move the winglets from their normal position on each side of the front of the bike and bring them closer together, directing the air towards surfaces within the front through a set of air inlets and outlets. Honda’s patent document explains: “…when the inverted wings are placed on both ends of the front fairing, the downforce becomes large. However, the aerodynamic resistance also becomes large.” And it continues: “In the present invention, the downforce can be increased by the fact that the first part of the front fairing has an inverted wing shape. Additionally, since the wings are not necessary, the aerodynamic resistance can be reduced. Thus, the performance of the movement (maximum speed and acceleration performance)… improves and, consequently, the fuel consumption performance can improve.”
The main visible components of the new design are the clearly visible air inlets on each side of the screen, just in front of the handlebars. These are accompanied by a second set of air inlets mounted lower, inside the concave section just below the front edge of the nose. Both inlets are connected to outlets at the rear of the fairing, but what is not immediately visible is the shape of the internal fairing over which the air flows between the inlets and outlets. This is only revealed in a drawing from Honda’s patent application (marked with Fig. 5) that shows a cutaway section of the front and reveals that the air flows around a wing profile with an aggressive angle inside the bike.
