I've decided to enter the 21st century and accept electronics are likely to save my life on today's roads. My current '07 is great but it's seat of the pants only. So, I've had a look around at the 1kRR class and can't honestly see past the S1000RR. It simply looks and specs like a much better bike than the Honda. Am I wrong?
I'm not sure that electronics will save your life. For me, and I suspect many others, we turn them down low or off (traction control etc) so that we have no interference with our 'feel' of the bike and its reactions to certain situations. I haven't found any advantage in switching suspension settings from 'city' to 'race' on my 2018 Blade. I guess that when suspension is set up properly, both the suspension and rider will cope under all varied situations. Many will sing praises of the BMW whilst some are critical. Hopefully, you'll get some replies from members on here who have traded from Blade to Bee Em.
If you're getting the bmw I'd go for one of the newer ones. We had an 11 & bits fell off it plus electrics temperamental & then it involves visits to BMW to plug the bloody things in...
Yes I hope so. I've met a few folk who've swooped a Blade for an S1000 but never found anyone whose been happy having gone the other way.
Mine was down to a number of things; The deal and the dealer I wanted a road bike not a track bike and the Blade has always been that for me Build, I know what I'm getting and I know what to look out for Not overly adventurous but there you go.
I'm not entirely convinced of the supposed superiority of German engineering. Of all the cars I've ever owned, it's really only the German ones that have broken and given me problems. The Japanese ones never missed a beat. I just like Japanese stuff in general. Well.......not really the food. And the women aren't really my cup of tea As for manufactured stuff, I don't think you can go wrong with Japanese. So really, for me at least, the choice is Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or Kawasaki. I've owned Hondas and Yamahas and couldn't really tell the difference between them. The Blade is a fine bike and does everything I want it to. I never really use full beans on the road so this endless chasing higher horsepower numbers doesn't really matter to me. When I was replacing my last Blade I just went with the no brainer option and got another.
I agree with Japanese build quality. I have had my blade for 4 years now and it hasn't missed a beat. Yeah you get the odd furred up bolt or salt encrusted bits but that happens on most machines and why Titanium was invented ;-0 My mates 17 plate Triumph has paint flaking off the radiator and its only done 856 miles WTF! I chose the blade because its comfortable to ride on the road, which is where 90% of my riding is done. The suspension has been set up at ECS for road riding to my weight and its brilliant. Hoping to do another track day this year at Knock hill but moving house and having a 2 year old son has left my pockets empty.
Nah. Definitely not my cup of tea. Not to lower the tone but Japanese porn has put me off the idea. When the women are getting shafted they sound like a stuffed squeaky toy getting kicked down an extremely long flight of stairs
I can't begin to imagine the amount of self-loathing one must feel whilst cleaning one of them after you've finished with it
BMW shape change next year in my humble view it now looks dated.....if the spy shots are anything to go by the next version has been on a diet.....R1 size......did see a deal somewhere 4K down and 15 quid a month! So worth a punt.....I'm hanging on to see what comes out next year I think new zx10 due as well.....also think new Blade bland as well (sorry)......R1m or V4s does get the blood flowing just awaiting test ride now weather good....at the end of the day we all like different things so buy what floats you boat....
What about Euro 5 regs ? not sure how that is going to affect new bikes. Euro 4 is bad enough. Not looking forward to that.
Personally I think the inclusion of full electronic rider aids packages sets a dangerous precedent in that the new riding style will be “if I get it wrong the electronics will sort it out”. Will it create a up and coming generation of bikers who don’t know how to ride a totally analogue bike like the RR-7? Knowing where the grip is, knowing when and how much throttle to apply when exiting a corner, knowing how to be progressive on the brakes etc...
A couple of my friends have S1000RRs and they both claim how they are the best sport bike around and yet neither can get within 2 seconds of my lap times on track aboard my “inferior” 11 year old blade.
Lets be honest about this - and apologies for saying this on a Fireblade forum, and I had a 2015 Fireblade myself : When I was in the market for an upgrade last year I had been really looking forward to the new Blade - all ready to buy one. Then the first racing season unfolded - what a disaster that was. McGuinness in hospital, after throttle issues, Guy Martin thrown down the road at the TT - box full of neutrals he said (lucky to escape serious injury) - then there was that vid of the guy being flung around like a rag doll in the pit lane of a test. It just went on and on. They had to withdraw it from the NW200 and the Senior TT. All this matters to me, hugely. On top of all that they wanted £XXXX thousands of pounds for a new one ! - you got to be kidding ! Bought a Suzuki 'cause it was much cheaper, it works and has some basic electronics (including a fuel gauge ) and people were not ending up in hospital because of it. With more money to spend then maybe I would have looked at other bikes. But to be brutally honest, and at that asking price, I am still not convinced by the new Fireblade.
Except the WSB, BSB, road racing and endurance bikes have barely a bolt in common with a blade that you can buy from Honda never mind things like electronics / gearbox. I though we’d been over this a million times, no?
