Just had a guy coming looking at buying my bike and was in love with it and said it was perfect until he went on a road test, he came back and said it was surprisingly slow compared to his hyabusa and even his triumph speed triple! Said it handled perfect but accelerating left him wanting more! In the end he didn’t buy the bike but as a complete novice with road bikes are these fireblades that slow? I only have my 600rr to go off and it felt so much faster and torquey than that!
No. He either hasn't got full articulation in his right wrist (I don't and had to fit a quick throttle) or is an idiot.
I have to moderate the power in the first three gears to stop the damn thing looping. What more does he want?
I don't tend to let people test ride my bike unless they've already tried one and know that that's what they're looking for. If they're just looking to try some bikes out then a dealer is better equipped and insured.
Cheers guys I couldn’t understand it when he said it was absolutely gutless as I’ve found it more than quick enough for myself, yes I’ve been able to jump on it and feel confident riding it but speed wise its stupid I thought! He was so sold on it though and had transferred the money over on condition that I’d transfer it back if it wasn’t as fast as he thought, just wonder if he wanted a ride to make his mind up on fireblades really and used me as a victim! I couldn’t stop thinking about saying it was slow though and how puzzled I was as I’ve had side by side bypass races with a mate on his r1 Big Bang and its pulled away from that at higher speeds! At least I get to keep it for a bit longer now the weathers getting good and fancy a ride out to cmc Chesterfield at the weekend!
Reckon he must have changed his mind. Was gonna call him a tyre kicker, but if he transferred the money across to you then it shows commitment. busa’s do have a bit more power but I wouldn’t have thought you’d have noticed it riding it on public roads. speed triple is a psychological thing I’d say. With a naked bike the wind blast hits you hard and you know about it, gives the impression that you’re caning it. Whereas on the faired blade, it so smooth and has decent wind protection that you don’t notice when you get to silly speed till you glance at the speedo (at least for me that was the case)
I wouldn't worry about it. It's a lovely bike and with the weather coming you should have it sold soon enough. Good luck.
Can only assume it’s someone you pissed off in the past and they’ve got some stooge to turn up and muller it past a speed camera.........anyway look on the bright side, 3 free meals a day, free telly and gym and if you behave you’ll be out in half the time
I had a cbr1100 blackbird previous to my blade. It felt like it had better acceleration and faster than the blade, but it wasn’t.
spot on pal I’m quite a small lad but exactly like you say I give it some beans and can be doing 120 plus on private roads! And don’t even realise I’m up there until I look at the speedo! I made him transfer the money if he wanted a ride as the busa he left with me could have been nicked for all I knew lol so rather have had the money in my bank in case and he asked before that if it wasn’t the right bike for him would I transfer the money straight back over but I said to the wife as he rode off I reckon he will come back and say its not for him, just had the feeling! At least I got to see the bike riding with somone else on it and to be honest it tickled me again and made me question selling it.
I tried to keep up with one on my 929 and failed quite badly. I was really disappointed when I bought one. Fast but totally bus like.
I absolutely loved my Blackbird, I could keep up with most of the sports bikes I would go out with at the time. It was the point where I was starting to scrape the foot rests of the road when I decided it would probably be best to upgrade to a Fireblade. I could also strap a fair amount of luggage on without noticing.
One of the best reviews of the old Blade ever: Its as fast as your balls are big Pilgrim ! ,,,,,twist that thing on the right real hard !!
i was watching all these vids and reviews when i bought mine pal and exactly why i bought the blade as its an easy to get on and ride bike with more than enough speed for me, i got the impression from this guy he was after something difficult to ride lol and maybe he just didnt like the smoothness easy to get up to speedness of the blade!
That's the thing I've noticed since having mine, some call it blandness etc (which I understand having a duc as it's stablemate) but these are such good, easy going and flattering bikes that they don't feel particularly fast probably because there is no fuss..... these engines were famous for their midrange which I think barring big twins is probably as good if not better than most other superbikes of it's era.. it might be slower top end but you'd not find that out on a road test unless you're John McGuiness... Lovely bike yours, I doubt it'll hang around long mate GLWS...
thanks bud see what happens but I’ve only advertised it on Facebook and gumtree and not that fussed if it goes now, I’ve been enjoying the green laning abit more on my ktm that’s why I put it up but with the weather looking better I may just keep it for the rest of the year now, it makes me smile when I actually get out on it anyway!!!
both bikes are very different to CBR. an upright bike gives you a higher sensation of acceleration as your upper boddy is theown backwards. the thriumph is more probable geared & tuned for sharper acceleration although I doubt it can outdo the CBR ridden in the right gear. If lazy riding both bikes, the suzuki, bigger engine and much more torque would give a faster speed pick up. The tall first gear on the CBR (good for 90+mph!!) may also give a false impression of muted acceleration. So I think his comment were fair but once he rides more similar 1000cc sportbikes, he will rethink
exactly I could see where he was coming from but to say they’re slow I don’t agree with, I think Honda make they’re bikes to feel like they’re non agressive! I remember my 600rr was similar it was so easy to get on and just ride at a decent speed without fighting you, maybe that’s why the blade is popular as it’s not a fighter like a more track focused bike like an r1. He’s since told me he’s had a go of a 2012 and that felt similar but not as fresh as mine and that blades probably aren’t for him as he wants something aggressive lol
An old Fireblade still holds our local sprint record (for bikes over 750cc). Stands at 147 mph actual - and a 1/4 mile of 9.66 seconds. Not even a dead straight straight either !!
