A new Fireblade is almost an urban myth in the motorcycling industry. For years everyone talks about a new revolutionary superbike from Honda. But until now no one has seen that bike. However, Honda keeps fueling the thoughts of fans with the possibility of the arrival of a new Fireblade.
The latest information about the Japanese superbike is a set of patent files. These reveal that Honda is studying the possibility of using active aerodynamics on a superbike. Probably on the next-gen Fireblade.
These schematics seen on the patent files show the generic forms of a sportbike. Clearly influenced by the MotoGP RC213V bike, the model on the drawings features a special feature.
Based on the MotoGP aerodynamic package, Honda wants to use winglets that will move!
The winglets are installed between a set of side fairings. Not like normal fixed wings, these ones will move according to the bike speed. They are controlled by springs that are connected to cables. These cables are controlled by an electronic processor.
Whenever the bike is going at high speeds, the wings will move to create the least drag possible (ie: horizontal position). When the bike needs to stop fast, the wings will move to a position that creates more drag (ie: vertical position).
If Honda is really planning on using this on their new Fireblade, the active aerodynamics package might well be used on the World Superbike championship.
In World Superbike manufacturers can use wings or aerodynamic packages if the production model uses them. Since the new Fireblade might be using an active system, that means the race version might use it too.
For Honda that means the new race bike will get a significant advantage over its competitors.