When you see an automobile company grow through its formative years, just as you yourself mature through your years of babyhood, you form an emotional attachment that’s hard to explain. You begin to develop an irrational, inexplicable, and perhaps even childlike relationship with the brand. You don’t like hearing negative views on the brand, and even dream of being a part of the company one day.

In the Year 1962, 18 years after his birth, Tadao Baba realized that dream as he joined Honda – a company that itself was young, being barely 14 years old. Honda’s motorcycle division – the unit Baba-san joined – started production in 1955. Baba-san was in the machinery section and made crankcases and cylinder heads for the CB72 and CB77 motorcycles. Two years in, he moved to the research and development department.

In 2004, the CBR1000RR was introduced. The 1000RR was developed by the same team working on Honda’s MotoGP bikes, and was the spiritual successor to the CBR954RR. It was confirmed, Honda had hit back – with a sledgehammer. The original CBR1000RR was powered by an all-new in-line four 998cc engine, race-inspired cassette-type six-speed gearbox, all-new ECU-controlled ram-air system, dual-stage fuel injection, and center-up exhaust featuring a new computer-controlled butterfly valve. An update was introduced in 2006 that featured new intake and exhaust porting, revised cam timing, higher redline, better chassis geometry, lighter swingarm, and the list goes on and on.

But it wasn’t a cakewalk for Honda. Compatriots Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki too were throwing in all the technology, refinement, and style in their litre bikes. And then the world finally woke up to realize that Italians did sensuous and sexy on two wheels as well. In the devout global biking community, Ducati, MV Agusta and Aprilia were next only to religion. Even smaller players like Bimota and Moto Guzzi were the talk of the town with their sexy and powerful two-wheeled tools of passion. There’s just something about the Italians – they know how to do flair and style properly. There’s just so much passion and lust flowing out of the bikes they do – and cars, and pizza, and wine, and shoes, and vernacular poetry, and of course women (oh damn, I’m drifting into the prohibited zone of male madness).

Back to the CBR1000RR – when developing this product, Honda was obsessed with agility. And it shows. A slight displacement bump from 998cc to 999.8cc was a result of increased bore and reduced stroke. Dual ram-air intake was added, with ducts underneath the headlights. Lighter cams, narrower cylinder head, and lighter, forged pistons bring the grand weight-loss total to almost 4 kilos. To lower the centre of gravity, more components are moved towards the centre of the bike and the famous under-seat exhaust has been ditched in favour of the 4-2-1 exhaust manifold system.

Helping the agility quotient further is an advanced electronic steering damper system. Most steering dampers only sense handlebar deflection speed, but Honda’s steering damper also reads vehicle speed and adjusts damping proportionally. This makes handling the bike, both at slow and high speeds, very easy.

I’m not reviewing the bike, so I’ll refrain from the ‘does it have soul,’ and ‘does it move you’ sort of questions. But, as a track-tool, oh-hell-yes it’s brilliant. The chassis is just so composed all the time that it eggs you on to push to the limit, and beyond. Our CBR suffered three punctures en route from Mumbai to Chennai, but despite that the tyre held up very well. If the guys in the cars were having fun, the CBR was on a different plain altogether. They may have had the bragging rights in terms of lap times, but for a sheer emotional rush, the bike was mountains above the cars.

Dhruv, Vir and Ishan were talking about the massive speeds they were doing. Ha, silly boys. Now watch and learn. Line up, slot first gear and bam! This thing does 0-100km/h in just over 3 seconds. The CBR1000RR’s 999.8cc engine pumps out 176bhp right at the redline, and a very usable 112Nm of torque. With such brute power at my disposal, I managed to gather all my courage and wrung the throttle open. I remember seeing 195 on the speedo, and I’m certain that the CBR would have done a few more clicks if I hadn’t panic-braked when I did. But the ABS equipped brakes threw in no unwanted drama, and all was well.

The CBR1000RR is a very easy bike to ride – really! If you’re used to big bikes, this will be a docile and obedient pet to you. The Fireblade doesn’t come across as a bulky motorcycle, contrary to what its weight suggests. It is agile and takes corners enthusiastically. More importantly, it does that both on the track and on normal roads. The lap time I managed on the CBR1000RR is probably miles away from what the pros register on their prepped up toys, but if an 80-kilo merely-above-average biker could manage this, imagine the sort of fun a proper racer would have had.

I was growing in confidence, and there were a few more seconds to be found. But the time restrictions kept me honest, and, in the end, I was content with what I achieved – new-found confidence, assurance that I could have gone faster, and respect for this incredible machine.