So the time had come that i was going to have to try the new 2012 Blade, so here is my compalation of what's to like and what not's. Firstly i am not a great lover of the new digital clocks the sunlight reflects of them and i see them as a cheaper alternative to a good old fashoined needle, the indicator lights are now placed right at the bottom bar with the neutral light which means having to look further down detracting my view of the road ahead. There is now a gear indicator not really in my eye line so i did see why they bothered? Rev counter is quite hard to read with a quick glance but you could get used to that. The Showa big piston forks really suit the bike and overall are a big plus point............appart from the clonking at low speed which they do suffer with, the balance free shock works well in conjunction with the forks. The blade i took out had only done 150 miles and it felt REALLY SLOW, i had the throttle wide open in most gears and i felt like i really had to work the engine, even had trouble lifting the front in first and second gears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also the low down grunt was poor compared to mine it just lacked midrange punch!! Perhaps the exhaust and newer emissions control have strangled a few ponies from it? or the engine was mega tight and needed wearing in with more miles so i shall have a test ride again when it is run in more. Also i did notice an annoying boom that comes from the airbox as soon as it reaches 4K when the second set of injectors come on line, this was louder than the exhaust!! again could be cured. I liked the bike but it felt sanitised almost mundane like and did not give me that 'Zing' feeling that mine does so for me i will give it a miss as i can always upgrade mine for less money? A bit dissapointed really as i was expecting it to be fantastic but hey given that all the blades are great bikes Honda really have got it right in the first place!
Cheers Pete, Really slow though? I'm not sure how 160 hp in a bike can feel slow, certainly not to me anyway. Do dealers do something to stop the bikes being overworked before they hit 600 miles? I've often wondered about this when looking to buy ex-demonstrators, how can the dealer ensure they are run in according to guidelines? Given its the same engine in the 08/11 but with apparently improved fueling in the mid range, I wonder how that could have change the induction sound at 4k to make it more noticable. how would you change that anyway? Cheers for the review and its always good to get opinions, although i must admit it seems to conflict with others i've read. cheers
The 2012 blade I rode had plenty of guts, wheelying without even trying.That was chasing a VFR1200 though.It had just over 250 miles on the clock.Your demonstrator could be wound down if it's possible.Shame cos they won't sell many if it's slow.
Perhaps saying it was slow was rather drastic, yes sure it was not slow by any litre bike standards but my perception compared to mine was , maybe because mine has an Akrapovic with the baffle removed and a free flow filter it sounds FASTER!!! also mine has been run in properly with many oil changes and the engine purrs!
when i bought my 09 Blade i felt that it was slow compared to my old 05 Blade, it just seemed slow to rev up, however after the first service i could tell something was different as i rode away from the shop, no such problems now!
My brother took delivery of his 12 Blade last week and he seems to think it is slighly better all round. Hope to ride it next month
I've just took delivery of a 2012 blade, suspension is far better, clocks are excellent. can't say anything about the power as l'm running it in. I like the look of the bike some nice improvements, wheels, wider rear end, better looking front.
Oh yes and i forgot to mention the wheels, the bike did feel lighter alround but it seemed to have lees gyroscopic forces to turn into the corners at slower speeds which i liked.
Hi YG, glad you're enjoing the new blade....looked great in the photos you posted, much better than library images. Can i ask, in respect of running in what are you doing and do you have a chosen approach to bedding in properly. I have read everything from nothing above 7k to ride it like you stole it. Also, a service manager i was speaking to said that new bikes are shipped with "special oil" that they can't buy and is uniquely used for the 600 mile running in period. he then also suggested semi-synth for the next 8k miles. What do you think of those comments? cheers buddy
There is a guy named motorman or something has a website about a method I believe in... Up and back down the rev range in a gear like third, traffic allowing, I think is good method... From low down, heavy throttle same gear, up to say 10,000, not red line at all, and let it decel back down, a few runs of that, park up, cool down, do it again. No quick shifting gears, easy when changing gears... Don't let it get too hot in between runs. No motorway cruising!!! Don't stay at the same revs, basically... You want the engine loaded either acceleration or deceleration, not cruising. If you have to on a motorway, I believe you should blip the throttle to off and back on, to pick up oil from change in pressures, cooling the pistons... Just have some mechanical sympathy with clashing parts but run the engine in any gear... Some racers break in engines within 5 laps on a track!!!
Hi i have used that method on my last 2 blades and it works it has something to do with the piston rings, alot of people complain of a lot of oil usage on the 08-11 models mine has hardley used any might have something to do with this running in method you don't have to ride the whole 600 miles like this just about 10-20 miles hold second or third let it rev and rev down best when not much traffic about as your nearly hitting 3 figures lol.
Exactly how I ran mine in too, I took a look at the new blade and it's not made me want to change at all. The front end is not as nice looking air scoops look horrid. Don't like the wheels either, do like the clocks and forks mind, unless they come out with a radical new design I'll be running mine for a few years yet. But hey each to there own.
I'm looking into the running part because l dont really ride on the road l bought the bike for the track. I'm waiting for TeamWFR Honda to come back from Spain l was going to ask them, they run theirs in on the Dyno. I think they do something similar to what Only1matrixx qutoes. DON'T LIKE THE WHEELS!!!! lol From what l've seen the wheels are heavier then the 08-11 not lighter. It's everyone to there own l suppose. The bikes are very similar but if your like me, riding on the track then the changes are everything you need, better wheels, suspension, clocks.
I've spent too much on the RR6 to change it anytime soon, but with what I've spent I'd be within spitting distance of a new one I recon! What a dickhead eh
I had read the motoman theory before but also the conflicting views. I have no idea what is best, but i probably align more to the mechanical sympathy camp, and lean towards just riding it pretty normally, probably up to say 7k with a mix of revs, and just letting things bed in well. I have asked a couple of well respected dealers and that was their view, but they also acknowledged ragging it from the start (like a demo bike) is unlikely to destroy it, but then most people don't keep their bikes long enough to have that happen to them either. Anyone else wish to care to share their running in advice? What about changing the oil ahead of the 600 miles....beneficial or a waste of time?
I shall give you my info on how to run in engines from my experience in the engineering trade of some 20 years. I have built all types of road engines from early 1960s from the humble XK 6 pot to race units from Holbay and a flurry of Ford BDA, BDG, coventry climax, Lotus pre x-flow, twin cams, and acouple of DVF's, DFX, and more modern K series and Swindon Vauxhalls. The main challenge to run an engine in is to ensure that it is fit and healthy for the task to which it was built. Each engine should be treated to a different running in regime given how it should be used and treated in it's life. So for instance a formula 2 Hart 420R unit will require a quick bedding in process compared to an endurance DFX unit. There is no magic formula to all engines as each is specific to the job and rebuild time it has to be for. Modern motorbike engines with excellent machine tolerances require very little running in time, but they also have the gearbox using the same oil as did the A series so the running in also causes friction and minutes amounts of swarf to be mixed with the engine oil. Also motorcycle engines do not run shell bearings which are prone to picking up swarf and retaining the contaminents to wear bearing surfaces. So given that really the only thing that requires wearing in on these engines is the rings and that really is important to ensure a gas tight seal that ensures the cylinder to combust the mixture and not waste excess power and promote bore wear through ring scrapping and excess oil use. Important use of mineral oil in the first 600 miles ensures the rings to bed in the honing ridges which will prolong the cylinder wear, it is not advisable to change to synthetic or part synthetic oil before this process is complete, otherwise the rings being hardened steel will not bed in with the cylinder walls and a gas tight seal will not be achieved. So running your blade in will not harm it by revving it, unless your engine is cold then you will be in trouble, but use the throttle on and off to make the engine work is the best way to bed the rings in. There is a host more information that i could give but really this is a road machine and those stats are fine .
Thanks Peter, so given your comments re swarf would you change the oil before 600 miles or leave it until then? I'm not clear how best to wear the rings in then...... so long as the bike is warmed up, usse a good rev range (say up to 7k), don't labour in high gears, don't sit at constant revs, would you think that will be sufficient. having read motoman, he has very specific theories aroun the first 20 miles and revving up/down in a certain way. what are your thoughts on that as there can't be many who abide by that approch surely? cheers
