Just watched this very same video Sinewave. A very good account. Ha, I bet BMW searches have gone up ten fold recently. Especially for the HP4 'non carbon'
I have no experience of riding the bikes in the shootout video but having watched it I couldn't help but feel it was not a very credible test. A lot of emphasis was placed on electronics, which I know impresses a lot of people. The test riders did not inspire me with a wealth of ability or experience to make sound critical analysis, like so many bike mag testers. Probably the biggest criteria is advertisers and any sweeteners. I think a lot depends on how and what criteria you measure the bikes on. The bikes involved all seem great bikes and from feedback across a lot different sources I reckon the result is not far out by their criteria. But judging an MV F4 for road use is a bit like commenting on a Harley as a Track bike. Real world. for the average sports bike rider, IMO it would have to include the other great bikes like the Suzuki, Kawasaki and er.........the Fireblade. So many factors need to be assessed and let's face it, the biggest market is still street use. Maybe a divide should be made between best track bike and best road bike and best combination of the two.
the Blade wins the workhorse class.......so take your pick!!! 2012 though. 2012 Superbike Shootout - YouTube
What a load of shite.... Rc8 over a blade or r1? Yeah course the blade is not relevant.... It hasn't won on the tack in bsb form or on the road in years!? I'm not brand fixated at all. But surely one of the best selling and arguably best performing bike across a range of disciplines should be the bench mark which everything is measured upon? I think the blade has become the every mans bike.... Brilliant but considered a "work horse" when reality is far from it.... That line up IMO is the marketing mans wet dream.... Yeah there are better bikes than the blade if you want to load up on gizmos and 'lectric wizardry but rember folks - power is nothing without control! Last time I checked, the blade spanked them all round Anglesey bar the prilla but was in half a second of it - and they said that was due to the abs Not bad for a 6 year old bike that been left dead in the water
After watching most of these reviews it becomes boring listening to them drivel on about the BMW.I can say it is a good bike, but comes into its own when really motoring at over100mph. I prefer the blade because its easier to ride through traffic,easier to turn and trumps on when exiting roundabouts etc.On the road those beemers are not as quick as they make them out to be.
Sorry, what a complete load of bollox. I'm not saying there arn't better bikes than the blade, just not some that are featured in this. Done 20k on mine in three years in all weathers, proper spanked the poor thing. Ok it's not perfect but it hasn't missed a beat. When these others have won most non GP championships and done 20k of faultless miles in three years I'll start to value the "pub talk" bragging rights. That doesn't mean I don't like them, I just choose to like my blade more.
I dont think the vid is pub bragging, 200 mile run then a track session seems a legit way of testing.on most tests the bmw usually does win but I do know they have a lot of issues, but apart from that most bikes would easily do 20k faultless miles,I manged 15k miles in a year and a half with not one issue on the 848....my blade has flooded a few times over the summer and failed to start(ecu reset fixed this) does this mean the duke is better than the blade then? loads of factors make a good bike and everyones taste is different so of course these tests wont make eveyone happy but I wouldnt say there bollox also on the MCN ultimate superbike tests they rated them 1st panigale 2nd HP4 3rd RSV4 R 4th F4 MV so they arnt to far off the results of the vid.
Sooner or later something else will be the next must have be all and end all. Having the quickest bike won't make you a faster rider all it does is give you a smugness when parked up at the local bike meet the smugness soon dissappears when the riding starts and your at the back because the Blade is a better road bike or because your just a shit rider hoping by having the 'best' bike according to the media machine will make you better.
So why did the blade beat them all round a track other than the aprilla in the fast bike shoot out? Dude, I have a DUCATI, ok not the 1199. Let me tell you it does most definitely give you a feel good factor, but it ain't a great bike IMO (monster 1100 Evo) read the write up and it's the nuts! (Wife picked it, not me) Looked at four 1199 r's in a row at a dealers @ touching 25k. All had paint imperfections, all had bad fitting panels- 25k, you must be having a serious laugh? Would I have one, oh yes. Is it a better all round sports bike than the blade, no chance. Does talking about what in essence is a six year old bike sell mags, nope. Don't see these bikes havin it at the IOM, whys that then?
That was a very tight track thats why it came second, repeat the test on a more open track and it drops down the pack. Not at the bottom of the pack but mid way up. Its a 7 year old design and not the latest and greatest anymore, still a great package though.
I personally wouldnt buy one but thats all down to cost.the water based paint problems is on nearly all models and something they should sorted by now but I think the point of this and the mcn test was more a shoot out of the top end superbikes as in the glam ones with all the bells and whistles which is why apart from the zx10 the jap bikes were left out as in 2013 nothing much adventurous happened with jap bikes, most were the previous model with a new lick of paint.
The Porsche 911 is an old design, Is often seriously down on BHP- still whips most HyperCars on the road....... Straight line speed ain't what it's all about, buy a busa!
Regardless of what bike wins in these shootouts, its ALWAYS down to the rider n how good they are, a decent rider on any litre bike will beat anyone else that is just an average rider on a bm, aprilla, ktm n the like...... Ive raced litre pilots on the road whilst on me R6 n beat them easily, does that mean their litre bike is crap, no it means the litre pilot wasn't as fast as me end of. So enjoy your ride n leave these boring vids to the dickheads you meet at all bike meets who have all the gear but absolutely no frigging idea of how to ride a bike!!
Try telling Alex Lowes and J McPint that...haha Some say the ZX10 is the best of the best but it still lost against the blade in BSB and on a track favoured by the rider of the 10R!
For a lot of people who ride on the road the journey starts in a city/town environment to a greater or lesser extent. So how a bike handles in dense traffic can be a valid factor. Some ride twisty back roads, others A and B roads, some motorways. Some ride very fast and others much more slowly. Some use their bikes just at the weekends, some use them for commuting. Of course some do a little bit of everything. Some purely ride on track. With so many variables you can't just pick and choose specific parts and say 'this is the best sportsbike'. The test on the shootout showed big wide roads, absolutely nothing like the ones I ride on. Love to see the results of their shootout bikes against a decent rider on a Blade on normal roads and the smaller ones. Maybe those Shootout bikes will all wipe the floor with the Jap bikes at this years TT and the other road races. If they do, then I might be a be a little less sceptical. FWIW I have very little time for any shoot out tests as there are often far too many agendas and some of the riders are Hmmmm how can I put this.....of dubious experience and ability.....and yes I have met some.
