Do any of these systems have variable input active hydraulic steering dampers yet? I should imagine it would be a huge let down to lean on the inside bar only to have the active steering damper lock up, push on the outside bar and say "Sorry mate, committee says no need to tighten steering here. We have decided it will be better to run wide."
The zx10 comes with an electric damper. It's shite, rip em off and go old skool. For track anyway, for road it's fine, don't need it anyway and it's not as extreme as to lock up etc as you mention.... Not sure what blade now comes with tbh My Ducati had one, didn't even bother trying it, threw it straight in the bin ha
I am a sucker for HRC trickery. It will be an interesting comparison for me to the time I spent street riding (and the odd track day) on my RC45 over a decade ago. But mostly because I could not afford an RC213V-S The fact the bike is end to end electronic is both a sign of the times and just the reality of progress I suppose. We humans end up giving away more control to other humans over time, vehicle dynamics is no different. We already cannot buy a new car that does not stop, turn or accelerate without first consulting the ECU committee so bikes giving over to the tech committee was inevitable - it may as well be an HRC one yeah?
well for what its worth I have a 2017 standard blade and its been fine, the throttle response is spot on, i'd go as far as to say you cant notice the difference between the electronic and cable throttle.
Does anybody here actually like these matte black paint jobs we're seeing more and more of? I can't stand them. Suzuki have never bettered the K4 blue and white and the 2 standard blade colours are complete crap imho. Put the 2 standard blades next to an SP and they make you start thinking whether having 2 kidneys is actually all that. Colours are subjective...im not trying to upset any new owners.
I think matte paint has been over done now. Many times the paint jobs just end up looking like rattle can sprayed stunt bikes. Its a pity really - over the years there have been many memorable paint schemes, I don't think the solid or matte colour ones are in the same league and always seem like a last minute thought.
Not my cup of tea either Charlie I like shiny paint, I bet bird poo is a nightmare to get off matte paint
Not keen on matte black but I don't thing the Current Suzuki Blue is anything spectacular, saying that I don't like the Blade colour scheme either, even the SP2 doesn't look as good as the HRC colours imo.
I quite like the mat black Blade for this year. Although I did vow never to buy another black bike again after the 2005 1000RR I owned, talk about swirl city.
My pushbike is matte black and it's a total pain in the arse to keep nice. You've got to be careful what you clean matte paint with because if the substance fills the surface imperfections you end up losing the matte effect in patches and it looks crap.
Just come back from a quick trip to France, whilst there was a bit of sunshine - had a look at the French <<moto revue>> magazine. They were doing a feature about whether you can use the latest generation of hypersport bikes as useful road bikes - put a rucksack on and head off kind of thing - they start off by mentioning the 5,000 automatic radars in use in France. The rest of the article was all in French - 5,000 automatic radars - I get that bit, but all the other stuff is all a bit BONNET de DOUCHE. Anyway, at the end of the article that is filled with nice pictures, they have the "Verdict", which I interpret to mean, verdict. There is a whole lot more bonnet de douche finishing off with Honda. So the Frenchies thought that the Honda Fireblade was the Top Trump, beating the GSX-RR; Aprilia RSV4 RR and the BMW SRR for a 1,000 kilometre jaunt across the country. So there you have it, it is official
No tin foil hats were used during this test. They had a chart called a "Bilan" whatever that means. And the Honda got overall 14.9 against the second place Suzuki on 14.5 So the Honda got 14.9 Bilans so is the clear winner. There is no arguing with the Bilans. Q.E.D
The frenchies who limit their bikes to 100bhp and have an even bigger inherent dislike for all things German.... Hmm get that hat back on mattie. Stinks of conspiracy pmsl
The 100 HP limit in France was revoked last year, or the year before - can't remember exactly without looking it up on Google - anyway you could say that the 100 HP limit is - OLD HAT I do remember them saying that it coincided with the huge increase in Radars and Speed Guns that were issued to French Police ! They probably thought that if they let people have faster bikes then the Fuzz could catch more people speeding and get more money from fines - where's that tin foil hat gone again......
