1994 Honda CBR900/Fireblade on ebay
When we first started posting the CBR900RR on RSBFS a few years ago, some readers complained that it didn't belong on RSBFS.com. The comments ranged from it not being rare enough because Honda made so many of them to the Yamaha R1 being a more pure interpretation of the small package/big power concept to it not being pretty enough and on and on. However in the last 4-5 years prices for pristine 1st gen CBR900RR/Fireblades have jumped dramatically, moving from the mid $4000 USD to over $15,000 USD, so perhaps we were on to something after all <wink wink nudge nudge>.
My personal belief is that price jump is occurring because many people are now recognizing how significant an impact the CBR900RR/Fireblade had on the sportbike world and also how rare these types of changes are to the world of sportbikes. Prior to the Fireblade the 750cc class was the the most balanced class (the 1000+ sportbike class was more of the big power, big weight bikes). The Honda 900RR delivered 1000+ level power in a package no bigger than a 750 and the impact was so significant that major new development in the 750cc class was essentially discontinued within a few years (except for the Suzuki GSX-750R).
The only other sportibikes I can think of that so redefined expectations of what you could buy are the Suzuki Hayabusa and Ducati Desmosedici, and while they are both epic bikes and probably future classics, neither resulted in the such a blurring of the classes like the Honda did.
This particular CBR900RR is a 1st gen bike but is a 1994 which means its actually the 2nd year of production. From what I have been able to find the differences between the first two years were apparently just paint, so a buyer would in essence be getting a 1st year bike.
This particular Fireblade looks to be pretty much all OEM including the often removed turn signals and rear fender/taillight unit still in place. The only non OEM pieces I notice are an exhaust canister/muffler and a Scotts steering damper. Unfortunately the seller does not provide any service info or ownership history. The bar ends appear to be a bit nicked up but I am not seeing any evidence of the bike being down, so perhaps this just paint flaking from north Texas temp changes or from where it was parked? Regarding fluids or rubber, the front brake reservoir does look a bit dark so interested parties would be wise to send a note to the seller to get more info but given Honda's build quality in the late 1990's. I wouldn't be too worried about engine function even if this bike is still on original fluids.
So now we must consider, what is this 2nd year/1st gen CBR900RR worth? Well we had a pristine 1st year model in the most desired Blue/Red/White go for $15k earlier this year. This one probably won't fetch anything near that price but I wouldn't be surprised to see it go for around $5000 due to its low mileage.
-Marty/Dallaslavowner