Did any of you guys follow this build over the last couple of years ? What did you make of it ? I think most followed with interest - until that "wrap" and then interest dropped significantly.
Pretty much hit the nail on the head mate! Epic bike with huge attention to detail then for me went completely wrong with the wrap. Must be an amazing bike to ride though and will always be a talking point.
Yep - your spot on, it sure is epic to ride. a little firm and extreme for the road, but the motor is just stonking. these later blades are so damn grunty. Now i took it for its MOT at the weekend, then popped over to J&S for a brew and catch-up with a couple of mates. One of the lads had a go on it and rode it back to wales - and was just blown away by it. I am at Anglesey next week and i intend to take i over one day and see if i can win Novice on it as the slicks were removed and i fitted a pair of nice sensible Michelin Pilot 4's So either i am expecting medals and the top podium step, or fired into a low orbit. In all seriousness though, that bike like it or loath it is a piece of history and the final PB project in the truest sense. When it was offered for sale, there were a few sniffing to buy to break it and cash in which i felt was just wrong really. The wrap certainly caused some to have a meltdown, in the scheme of things once you overlook the styling and see through all this and spot all the finer points and the titanium and quality dripping from everywhere - it all makes a bit more sense. Of course all this is utterly wasted on me. Out of captivity at the weekend.
Link ? sorry it was a feature that appeared in PB every month over a couple of years. I guess you never bothered much with PB then
Out of interest mate, how uncomfortable is the racing seat on the road? Or are you getting away with it? I’m looking into putting a race seat unit on mine to go with the recently bought carbon tank cover. I have a 20mm pad so the thicker of what’s available. Cheers
its actually just fine, the suspension is fairly stiff which of course wont help on the road, however its not my arse i struggle with, its my wrists. That said, being a "normal" sized gent, having a bit of a tum helps you rest that on the tank and it takes the pressure off your wrists. Ok its not as comfy as my old CBR600FX that's for sure, but i managed a 90 mile round trip on saturday without too much drama.
For what its worth I don't mind the wrap This was the last ever PB project bike and there was some thinking behind the wrap design, not that i quite understood. It will never ever be mistaken for anything else, which is sort of the point of a 'one-off' special? Interesting about your wrists CRM, the clip ons were Robby Moto (i think) and shallower/flatter than OE. Sort of half way between OE and Helibars. Have you ridden an 08 with OE clip ons as comparison?
Chris has always said the wrap design was intentional and they deliberately avoided yet another race rep. It was built to be different - and the more controversy the bike got the more satisfaction they got and it achieved its intention and then some. I must admit when i first saw it i did think WTF, but i got why they did it like that. The fact everyone jumped on the outrage bus was quite funny and added fuel to the fire. I personally am quite used to it now and when riding it you can't see it - but then to be fair i am quite used to sneers and people looking down their noses as i ride my RC30 with a custom rack fitted with quickly removable top box - so fook the purists. Never ridden an 08 before this, it was quite an eye opener i will be honest. Are you saying these should be comfier than OE ? I thought my GSXR1000K1 was a quick bike - until i rode my Evo. Then i thought the Evo was quick - until i rode this 08. Thing is, its not that much more powerful than standard i don't think - was it 173 bhp at the wheel but weighed 174 kilos full of fuel fully wet. So while something like a new S1000 has much more power, it also has quite a bit more weight to deal with.
I think that's the theory, but its not a huge difference. I think they are less offset and have a shallower angle So the reach is slightly less and your wrists won't be angled quite so far down......but we are probably talking mm's in it. Having said that the fixed rearsets they fitted will lift you up and put more weight on the front, probably offsetting any comfort benefit of the clips ons!! Really glad to see it being ridden rather than broken up. Must be amazing to ride such a light bike.
Ah yes the pegs - they are fairly high. It was wrong for it to be broken up and cashed up, and i felt it was just pretty poor form so intercepted before that happened. Chris i think was glad it ended up going to me who he knew wouldn't flip it for a few quid, and of course where it is should the unfinished business with Rutter / Superlegera be back on the cards which i hoped it might. However it did excel when put up against the RCV213 and stood its ground admirably. I have in insured until March - so it wont be going anywhere before then but after that i will decide if i just sorn it and forget it for a couple of years and store in my office, or pass it to one of the other guys on PB who were genuinely interested in it but quite couldn't afford it when it came up for sale. I am hoping it will end up sticking in the ownership of one of us PB regulars and passed around between us like an old hooker. One of the guys rode it this weekend and was stunned by its road manners and sheer performance. To be fair from a gen 2 Mille - not hard to impress is it ?
Try this link - but be quick before the storage expires in a week https://wetransfer.com/downloads/25...load_button&utm_source=notify_recipient_email
I applaud such a bike going into the right hands. I wouldn't buy an 'ordinary' bike in such livery, but that is no 'ordinary' bike. The shame might be that its value is only recognised by those who know its history, but then again, it would probably be one of those people who would pay top 'dollar' if/when you offer it for sale.
I still have the PB mags , This bike was high up on the Michael Rutter fast lap chart ,,, faster than a lot of modern sports bikes ,,,, faster than the latest Blade I will look for the last mag and post the chart up soon
cheers for that. Its now over 20 kilos lighter fully fuelled. As Chris said to me "there is some unfinished business with that bike"
That always amused me - the Project Blade - cheap second hand old bike went on to top the Rutter Test ! it was at the top or near the top for a while. I wasn't sure about the WW1 inspired camouflage colour scheme, but it makes it different and unique. Certainly do not dislike it.
