Had an opportunity to take out a 08 plate rc8 with only 1500 on the clock now I've only been riding 5 years and the blade is my 3rd bike and never rode a VTwin.. Now I was surprised as to how rattly it was around the town, this is the norm for these engines? I mean it did not like anything under 2.5k revs..3k was the sweet spot but then its twitchy as cook..with the blade you can poodle around in 4th doing 30mph no prob, crack the throttle and it will pull nice and smooth..do that in the rc8 and it chatters like a bitch and feels like its going to spit you off.. The bike vibrates that much that the mirrors are only good for seeing outline of objects, a car/lorry/bike and that's it so yea it covers the important bits but you wouldn't be able to tell if that white car is a police car or not they really are that bad and it doesn't change at speed which is a shame. The throttle movement of travel is shyte too...your hands on position from start to then cracking open the throttle is very uncomfortable which leads you to adjusting your hand position..I know you can fix this but why have they got so much travel, my blade has a aftermarket can with no PC and it like many is a bit lumpy like many in the low ref range so I was expecting looking forward to a smooth ride with the rc8 as it was stock..not even close to being smooth in the low rev range and around the town as I say so is this the norm for vtwins? I know after the 09 model.they changed the gearbox and ironed out the fueling so I'd be interested to take a newer model out, the gearbox is very very clunky too btw.. Now the good bits: Massive amounts of torque which sees you the rev limiter light blinding you very quickly which is something I don't or need to see with the blade..redlines at 12k so definitely no where near the room you have with blade, handles very well and gives you/me a lot of covidence only after half hour of being on it round the twisties, its very light and doesn't have an electronic damper like the blade so that takes a bit more getting used too as it moves around a bit more.. The brakes are awesome and gives you loads of confidence but you don't expect anything less from the Brembos..suspension I can't really comment on as it was what it was and not adjusted to me in any way, the bike moving about a bit possibly could of been fixed a bit if I set the suspension up to me. Pros (IMO) The looks The brakes The torque Weight and handling Cons (IMO) Vibrations Low speed characteristics Manual steering damper Mirrors So has anyone rode one, is this the norm for these bikes and is this just what you put up with if you go down the vtwin route? Its really low mileage so I don't think its because its been strangled to death at such an early age..
Haven't ridden one so can't comment on that as such. However I do have a ducati 748 and I would say the 'basics' are roughly the same. It hates low speeds, vibrates like hell and the comfort level is zero. Can't go more than an hour on it before I have to stop as I have no wrists left! !! Hoever the noise and handling and the looks the bike still get make it worth it. But she will be gracefully retired into my home office soon, as I am so hankering for a blade Love the v twin note but dying to get back on a screamer again
great bike but do your self a favour if you are think about one get the R , it is so much better , they hate low rpm , they need +3 teeth on the rear at least , fit a G2 0.5 throttle , they need the idle set high i ran mine around 2000rpm , great track bike on a short track but if its open with long straights you will get hammered one of the slowest top speeds of any superbike . fit a Suter slipper or you will back it in, straight off the track :-}} also they need a fuelling PC5 or something like that to get them running nice . keep the oil and filters up to them only problem i ever had where coils it eats those a bit . great bit of kit for the money again get the R
Sounds about right there is a long thread on here chatting about the RC8, all I will say is the blade is just SUCH a good bike, for example I've been touring round for the last month on my TDM and with a brand new touring bike you have to admit that's it's Awsome at what it does, so today jumping back on a superbike you would think it poor at just cruzeing round town, but NO how is it that those chaps at Honda get a bike to do it all, and not just do it all but do it SOOOO well, popping to the shops or blasting round Silverstone the CBR is the bike for it all.. hard to beat IMO...and damm near perfect. If I were buying an RC8 I would have someone like me who knows a little about them check it over if I were buying first thing I would want to check is the liners, they wear terribly and end up with no plating at the top of the bores! That's the BIG downside to the motors! Only way to check is with a borescope!
just sold one for the reason shanes quoted(alright shanes have these lads got a sense of humour)the bike is faultless in the twisties but come straightline, out of the bend they are on it then you get swallowed by the 1000cc rice burners,i have had a lot of v twins and cant really fault them,ktm best of the bunch in my opinion.
I'm not sure I'd have one to be honest for the reasons I stated...wouldn't be to keen with getting a bike and having to spend quite a bit just to make it run a bit nicer..didn't they change the fueling with the R though, Im sure the gearbox is different too so maybe the R would be slightly smoother around the town. I couldn't imagine wanting to do any long runs on it due to the vibrations..I dunno its just seemed like a choir to ride it until you get some decent road and your no where near the 2.5/3k rev range.
Friends have had them, everything shanes said. With the mirrors they used silicon to stop them vibrating as much. I think there an awesome bike, but wouldn't get one without a decent warranty length left on it.
As a road bike? I do like KTM off road & SMs, but this I would treat like a Ducati - expect it to fall apart and whatever you do, don't ride it in winter!
sorry lads but i think you have all been talking to lots of people who have not owned one,they are a awesome bike,and as for long distance the most comfortable sportsbike i have owned,you have to do a couple of thousand miles to get comfortable on,and when you do they are nothin short of brilliant,as for winter riding my bikes are used all year round,it never skipped a beat.
Thats good but are you agreeing with my first post on some or all of the points that was my original intention of this thread to find out from people who have or have owned these bikes...i love the look of them, not a lot of peopld do but I think there the best looking sportbikes bar none...The 'R' with in white with orange frame is fookin lush in my eyes but i was a bit put off is what im saying, but is that the norm for these or being the very first model (08) just suffered abit with gearbox, fueling etc...i do no its had all its recalls done but didnt bother to find out which ones as i wasnt looking to buy but just try it
Correct, I haven't owned an RC8, because the salt on the roads here would eat it alive, unless I washed it every day which is not going to happen
i agree with your points,but they were not a issue for me,i changed everything on my bike for track use,but the speed was my issue,if you were not on it 600cc bikes could cause you problems,i had the 08 rc8,which was the one with all the recalls,but 9000 miles and it was all good,a real buzz to ride on a twisty track.
