Evening, I'm simply curious with this question. What makes you swap your bikes for like-for-like machines? Blade to S1000RR's, ZX10R's, RSV4's, Ducatis, R1's you get the gist. Is it for electronic gizmos, sound, looks, trick suspension, boredom of the same bike and fancy a change??? I personally can't see myself parting with my bike, other than for a more sensible machine, once my back makes me decide. The blade is plenty fast enough, looks nice, sounds nice, so I can't see why I would need to chop it in, for a rival sports machine I appreciate you have your reasons, that goes without saying, but I'm curious what makes you decide to part with the Blade. Wayne.
My reasons for changing have always been because of mileage. Once I get around to the 125,000 mile mark, for me it is time for a change. I sold my Blackbird last year at 110,000 miles and that was only because after my health issues I was not sure I would be able to ride again and I had a new VFR1200 on order (which had to be cancelled), but there was nothing wrong with the Bird. It was quick (dam quick) comfortable, handled well, pretty econmical, and had I not been ill, despite having a company bike ordered, I may have kept it as my incognito bike as the 1200 would have been an advertising bilboard So back to your original question, mileage is usually my only reason for changing, and in my opinion 10 year old bikes don't look out of place today, and most are so over engineered, the majority of us mere mortals can't exploit the full potential on the road anyway, so my view is why change for the sake of change and a potential debt?
i will probably keep this blade for 100k if possible (if it will do it)and just upgrade parts when needed. Not worth me spending 13-20k on anything new as I do 10-20k a year so won't be worth much pretty quickly.
I went from blade to s1000rr cos really shit customer service from Honda. And no disrespect but the s1000rr for me rides better then blade
Of course, winning the lottery might have me change it... http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/super-sport/RC213V-S/rcv-spirit-of-honda.html
I never rate a bike by the dealers because I do most of my own serving anyway, but is not the question a bit daft, if we didn't upgrade things we would still be using 1990's mobiles, PC's and driving around in old cars and on old bikes, however my old blade was fun, but love the new R1
I changed from my 08 R1 to my 09 cbr simply because after 2 years of ownership I just couldn't get on with it. I never felt confident on it, that was THE reason that I sold it. The 04 R1 that I had before the 08 inspired confidence from the beginning.
I had lot of issues with the bike, rejected the first one. The dealer at the time did nothing about it and Honda uk didn't want to know. That's why. Changed brands. I service and do any work to my own cars and bikes
Usually I get bored of the same bike after 2 years or so. But I've now had my Blade just over 3 years and still love it ! I keep peeping at a 959 Panigale but for me my bike is a hobby/toy and I struggle to justify to myself (and the wife) spending c£14,000 on a new bike/plaything ! IMO the price of new bikes has got a bit daft in the last couple of years. My Blade was £10k brand new. And I got a good p/ex deal at the time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Just in the process of changing my RR6 to a new blade SP, had my blade for nearly 10 years and it is still mint, mileage has just turned to 30000 which the dealer thought was high, but is only really 3000 a year which is not excessive in my book, don't really need the SP version but why not, I like the brembos and ohlins, the blue printed engine etc etc, and I wanted the new style blade. Honda are doing great deals at the minute, took this one out on a PCP deal, £96 pound a month for 3 years, then get a new one, it's a no brainer really. Spend more on my sky package every month.
I went from a 600rr to an 08 blade last year and on to a brand new blade last month In honesty got a great deal on the new one on a PCP, old one was mint, needed nothing but had 25k miles, which I know is nothing, but the issues with crankshaft etc just scared the pants off me and just wanted something newer with a warranty etc to keep the hassle away Daft thing is, I haven't got the suspension just as nice on the new one, it's very slightly higher on the pegs and a slight further reach to bars making it very very slightly less comfy, not much but it is
Some great comments so far. @SimonRR, yes pal, if we didn't upgrade, then of course we'd be using old hat technology. But if you read what I asked, it was asking what makes you upgrade for a like for like machine, and not why bother upgrading your bike. Or in other words, what attracts you to other machines, to trade on the blade.
For me it was time to change,like a car things can get expensive the older it gets as things start to wear out, it was also the next thing on my wife and i's list of things to do, Change my car,her car and the bike, get some plants for the garden
Ok well for me it was: My blade was 2005 and I wanted newer I wanted 200bhp I wanted to try new electronics package of the 2015+ bikes I liked new R1 from all the reviews I had read I found one at a great price so bought it, and so far am.lovong it I have nothing bad to say about my old 2005 blade, it was fun to ride and own but I wanted a new bike and the 2015/16 blade just didn't do it for me anymore Does that answer your question better then pal?
I upgraded one because I stuck it in to the front of an oncoming Astra. Don't think it would have handled too well after that . More seriously I went to a blade because I was offered it at a silly low price and loved it on the test ride. Next one will be because of either an itch to own a Ducati, or go for something more upright.
I changed this week to a S1000R as I wanted something more upright, with more technology and the bike itself is awesome. The BMW dealers in North Oxford were brilliant, the bike came with a 2 year warrant as standard, fab for a used bike, and as part of the deal they serviced it, taxed it, filled it with petrol and put a tall screen on, they also gave me top dollar in px for my blade. The Brembo brakes on the S1000 are outstanding and I can already vouch for the abs as on the way home some twat pulled out in front of me, saw me coming and stopped in the middle of the road, I grabbed a handful the abs kicked in and I was able to steer round the twatish road block, I would certainly have been in the side of him on the blade.
Has anybody ridden the Yamaha MT10 yet ? My back sometimes tells me it could be worth looking at ! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I think had I not bought an ABS model I would be sticking with the blade. Don't want to be paying up to £500 every time to change brake fluid,plus all the documented issues with the c-abs and the vague feeling at the lever.