I know performance is what a lot of sports bike riders are after and fair one if you are into willie swinging competitions. Last night I went to a local bike meet. Loads of sports bikes there and I made my conclusion. The 2018 Honda Fireblade is a quality looking, good looking Motorcycle. The BMW s1000rr is the fat mate who hangs around the good looking Girl. The Suzuki GXSR 1000 is ok but no way my cup of tea and the ZX 10 was not present but I don’t like it anyway. I don’t really like the Ducati panigale (as I had one and realised it was not a Honda). Honda Fireblade does it again.
I agree I saw my first v4 Ducati out on the road Sunday even had V4 DUC numberplate didn't sound that great plus all one colour doesn't look right not racy enough even the local Ducati dealer is doing a tri colour wrap available like on the 35k model to get those that have 1199/ 1299 to change.....still would like to have a go on one ...but would be 18k to change ouch....
Honda has always been renowned for its quality. As I'm 'slightly' older than some, I come from the days of the 1970 CB 175 which I purchased mainly because it was a four-stroke. At those times both Yamaha and Suzuki were pinging two-strokes. Who wanted to ride something that sounded like their dad's lawnmower. (Later, of course, there were some very fast two-strokes). Even at that time, key quality issues like the visual look of welds, fittings of plastics/indicators/instruments etc, was superior. To me, nothing has changed. The R1 is a nice looking bike, but I couldn't see myself buying one. On the other side, BMW has always rated highly for quality. It seems now, from many reports, that that key selling point no longer exists. Before buying my 2018 Blade, I did consider Aprilia and Panigale, but to do so would have made me feel like bailing out of an affair I'd enjoyed for many years.
A cracking blend of performance, quality and usability. I don't take to the track on my blade. It's a road bike and as I get older I want it to excel at that rather than having it be like a road going race bike. Since buying the bike from ColinBR I've taken the race dash off it and even gone back to a 50 section rear tyre. Proper old man stuff No helibars though
I see you've bought a e-comfort seat though for your ageing saggy old man cheeks Might be worth getting the missus to rub some of that spare leather stuff on them
I bought it specifically because my arse was killing after the last ride She's not going anywhere near my saggy old man cheeks with anything balmy. She might slip
fireblades have many good qualities i think but comfort aint one of them... last summer i did a 700km one day trip thru germany all on b-roads and near the end of that i was close to dumping it in a ditch and take the bus home... Its the stock seat that kills my ass on longer trips so after that i found and bought the comfort seat... I will have another go this summer on such a distance daytrip and see if its any better... In all fairness, the cbr aint a tourer so i cant fault it for failing in that area... I own a vstrom 1000 for touring and altho its really comfy it completely sucks in the performance department so i guess there always something left to moan about with any bike...... maybe ditching the strom for a ktm 1290 would be perfection but i hear them austrian bikes have plenty of issues and thats not what i am after either.....
For me and I am sure many others too, buying a sports bike is not only about performance (unless I was only using it for racing). I look for a blend of performance, built quality, longetivity and performance. I don't expect the bike to be comfy but then again I don't want to have to stop every 30 mins with burning bum, numb hands or headache. I road tested the R1 against RR8 and while I found their performance very similiar, the honda felt like a swiss watch where everything is in the right place and put together properly while the R1 was more of a parts thrown together. Think of it as a porsche compared to tvr I had a close inspection of the RR2017 and to be frank the has shed too much bulk to the extent that unless you are of small built, your head, elbows or knees would stick out and you'll only be able o do 160mph on the M4 instead of 185 in terms of aesthetic, the GSXR would appeal to me but without its cheminey but don't care much for bmw or z10r
Ah yes. But while we're doing 'only' 160 mph with our head, arms and legs sticking out, we're friggin' lovin' it. They are fabulous bikes. Sure, not to everyone's taste, but I won't be sacrificing mine for any reason.
well it will keep the armpits dry for sure! And the elbow could be used as winglets The machines are well made but they have gone down in size. My RR8 is already smaller than the previous series and some say not as comfy. I can just about bend my joint enough to fit on mine get some wind protection and stay there for an hour or so. Anything smaller, would be a torture for me
So true. I am on record as saying that my RR4 is more comfortable than the 11 and 18. I am just glad that I'm not one of the 6-footers - I can see that as very cramped.
Hmm. I find the SP more comfortable than the RR6 I traded in. Largely because of the quickshifter/blipper.
Huh? What school did you go to? Comfort is descriptive of riding position; quickshifter/blipper is best described as convenience. I am certainly not saying that I don't like the SP/SP2, but I do maintain the riding position is more 'roomy' on the earlier models, but then again, nowhere near as roomy as the VF1000R.
I find the riding position similar for me. When you're in the alps going around seriously twisty roads, the shifter relieves you of much of the work on the clutch. I could ride much further before arm strain and back pain set in.
Damn! there's always one in the bunch (But it's usually me!) There are 'degrees' of comfort on sports bikes, as there are degrees of comfort on a kitchen chair. All I am doing is explaining my perceived difference between the early and current Blades. You'll have me p/x ing on a friggin' Goldwing next!
