I didn't think about the money tbh, I will just buy the bike I like the best. Would have the SP but you can't take a pillion on the SP So whether the Blade is worth the extra few grand is very subjective, but yes personally I'd be happy to pay the extra. I will be ordering one soon. I also tested the ZX10R and the Panagali S The ZX10 was very disappointing and felt cheap. and I certainly would not pay the £20k + for the Ducati. The biggest surprise for me was the handling, the ZX10 and GSXR have the latest Showa BFF forks whereas the Blade has the older Showa BPF, but it handled better IMHO. It was sharper and more precise, and more comfy on bumpy roads. So I guess the blade has a better chassis, or it could be the stock settings were more suited to my size and weight. I am 6'4" and 232lbs
I was thinking of getting a Zx10rr but sat on the Zx10r and didn't like it. Was ment to test the gsxr but never did due to weather
I had 2 GSXR750s before I bought this Blade and although great bikes I always found the shocks very stiff for road use, capable as in they never got out of shape, just became a bit tiring in the longer runs, I pretty much had it down as all sports bikes would be the same until I bought the Blade and realised you could actually have a comfortable sports bike
With Honda doing there #FirebladeSelfie ( as the saying goes " you`ve got to be in it to win it" although i never win any thing! ) i pop`d into my local dealer Saturday just gone and sat on the new base model blade. Previous to this i had watched MCN`s superbike shoot out and even i was shocked to see the blade get top spot, not saying its a bad thing at all and long overdue for Honda to step up to the plate with the other competition. Just sitting on it you can instantly feel and see how much lighter it is so I`ve booked a test ride for a weeks time today and if its as good as alot of reviews say it is, it impresses me too!, then i may just trade my current blade in for one although i won`t be shelling out for SP model, a tad out of my budget.
When I first saw and sat on the new blade at the NEC I wasn't particularly impressed, it wasn't till I rode it that I appreciated it. My previous blade was a 2009 Repsol which was a great bike ( till a scum bag stole it ) in comparison the new blade is even smoother and very easy to ride for a 1000cc sports bike, exceptional road manners, I could happily ride it all day as a tourer. Although it feels like a 600 it's still roomy enough even for me. I liked the S1000RR as that's a good road bike but I could never trust one, they have so many problems, spend a while on the S1k forum and you will see what I mean. I read the new R1's have also had a few problems
The funny thing with forums is you tend to get an exaggerated view of problems, I had 3 separate people tell me not to buy a Blade because of stuff they'd heard, camchain issues, excessive oil consumption, the problem is the other 98% of satisfied customers don't rave on about how their bike has no problems so you develop a skewed perspective. If you're buying new it's not an issue anyway I guess. Just as a point my friend is buying an S1000RR and he traded in his 1199 Panigale, in the two years he'd had that, he'd had a new tank (paintwork) new instrument cluster (kept steaming up), new seat (stitching) and a new clutch slave cylinder (or something like that) It was all fixed under warranty but that was an £18k bike and it still had problems.
Very true Blix. But I compared the number of issues raised on the S1k forum against this one, the gixxer and the ZX10 forum and it does seem that the BMW has a lot more problems than the Jap bikes. No problem if you only keep the bike whilst under warranty but I tend to keep mine for a number of years. I've had my blackbird for 10 years. The only real issue I was aware of with the blade was the oil consumption problem on the 08 model, but that only affected a few bikes and I believe was possibly down to them having been run in too carefully. Mine didn't use a drop.
Yep mine is the same, I didn't listen to the doubters, took it for a test ride, liked it and bought it, I think that's all that matters really.
You're right there if you like something it don't matter a toss what other people think. Half of those slagging off this and that bike and saying this other bike is better haven't even ridden them. Having ridden nearly all of the new offerings I know which one I like, and I have a good idea which will give the least amount of problems in years to come.
