Here was me thinking we’d get a glimpse of @Lozzy since her mate showed up in the video recently posted this am. Alas but our Loz wasn’t the photographer
I've thought this since I first saw the new blade. Could be wrong having not seen it in the flesh...... But can anyone else see the resemblance to Yamahas 2004 R6?? Not that there is anything wrong with the old Yam.... I had 2 of them!!
Yes the R6 ...I had one very small and had to rev the ......off it...I sold me within a few months a bought a Zx6r.....looks like new blade going to be a rev monster...
Tech wise I hope they have got it right......but design wise it's not cutting the mustard for me. It's only the HRC paint scheme that sets it apart. If you bought a black one it would just look like you're riding an old R6
Quick updates? Thanks for the Monday comic relief . While their at it can they fit a set of Marchesinis and some braided lines for the price?? Ohhh and throw in the seat cowl too before crating the first deliveries ✌
Dunno @PauloHRC . There's not a lot that sets many of the current bikes apart save for Ducati with its unmistakeable look and appeal. I think if we push all the emotion and hoo haa aside, the 2020 Blade rally is 'just another bike'. For the average rider/enthusiast or whatever, I don't think we care about: 'Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) on the cam lobes'; ' Forged, lightweight TI-64A Titanium (a material developed by Honda) con-rods and con-rod caps save 50% in weight'; and 'pistons are forged from A2618 aluminium (the same as the RC213V-S)' etc. All this is evolving technology which is already (or soon will be) incorporated into other manufacturers new machines. I believe Honda has chosen to make a song and dance about all these trendy acronyms and scientific data simply to justify the massive price hike. As most are aware, this hasn't dampened my enthusiasm, but in my opinion, the bike doesn't really bring anything new to the table in the way of groundbreaking technology. So, in simple terms, what some of us are doing is buying a 'pretty' bike with a heap of power we can't use and a heap of money we can barely afford. Some might liken it to the 'keeping up with the Jones's' syndrome.
I was having a nose at the 2020 SP at the NEC and I saw a bloke on the floor investigating it even more closely (at the end of the day when it was quiet). Turned out he was an engineer for Triumph, and is responsible for designing their next generation of engines. He was fascinated by some of the decisions Honda had made around the engine for the new blade - a bunch of them which were clearly not made with minimising cost in mind. He couldn't be sure why those decisions would have been made, but his opinion was that this had the look of an engine which had been designed for the maximum number of marginal gains at the expense of manufacturing cost. So yes - it would seem that this is probably a more expensive bike for Honda to make, hence the price hike. If it goes round a track quicker than the new S1000RR as a result (and thus the V4 too) that price won't seem so extravagant.
