ok,a little overdue but heres my opinion on the 2 bikes. firstly,having riden blades for the last 7 yrs on track, a BSB spec 07 for 4 yrs,and then my 09 blade for the last 3 or so,it's always going to be a big change going to another manufacturer regardless. so,1 st things 1st,the beemer is a 2012 s/stock spec,nothing fancy,apart from the usuall suspension (K-tec dds pro rear,and bitubo front end).power commander,full system etc pretty much same mods as my blade,apart from it had a little engine work done. it took me a good day to get the suspension/geometry anywhere near where i felt comfortable,and tbh it's still not right,but to get it spot on i need to goto oulton,which i know inside out to get the bike exactly how i want it. Reet then,power,well fuck me it's quick at the top end,where the blade starts to drop off around 10.5k RPM,the beemer is just coming alive,so it does take a while to get your head around having to hold gears for longer,and screaming it more,my blade was no slouch in this department showing over 182BHP,but the BMW is in a class of it's own,that said,it does suffer,and i mean really suffer in the mid range,if your off the revs,and in the wrong gear coming out of a corner it's lap over if your on a flyer,race over if your in a race,where as with the blade and it's massive amounts of grunt at lower revs you can get away with it,so moral of the story,dont be lazy with your gears. So with the extra power obviously comes the greater risk of being spat off the bike under hard acceleration,and this is where the BMW comes into it's own,now,as stated owning blades for so long i've been without the aid of TC,bar a Bazzaz add on to my 09,which is ok,but it does show how basic it is once you ride a full on system with all the bells and whistles like the beemer,chirp on all you want about wanting to be in total control of your bike etc,but at the end of the day if it keeps me upright and out of hospital,whilst allowing me to push harder,and ultimatley go faster then i'll take it thanks.wet,road,race are not for track,it's far to intrusive,slick option gives just the right amount of interuption without feeling held back,and it really works. so a quick summary on power. blade a lot easier to ride,and a lot more forgiving,but ultimatley lacks top end. beemer,poor mid range (and this is on the improved 2012 engine management,i'd hate to think what the 2010/11's are like!!!),but get it right and it's a missile. reet will leave it here for the time being,busy at work . will update with handling/chassis later on.although this part is still very much on going and cant give a proper comparison due to lack of time on the beemer.
with regard to lap times,i was 3 seconds quicker on the beemer,however,i never really got to grips with the track last yr due to changable weather conditions so it's not the best guide,saying that,i never felt i got to grips with it this yr either,i know theres a lot more to come at that track but for whatever reason i dont go too well round there.
i'm only joking,they both give a grin,but at the end of the day,when my lap timer tells me i'm 3 seconds quicker than my last visit,thats what gives the biggest smile. but,there are lads on blades (my m8 for 1) that trounce me on track,no bike is ever going to change that,balls,track time and improved skill are the only ways to keep up with them.
Indeed... Wonderful moments.. Passing expensive/exotic/pimped-out superbikes with 600's or std blade... There will always be something&someone who's faster and has bigger budgets.
Never forget doing a 50mph to max out 6th gear roll on side by side test with a BMW a few years ago - I wish it was on camera as it was closer than you think it would be, but the BMW ended up about 15m ahead at around 175 when we ran out of road / traffic interface Avoided the boredom of the motorway for a while... When I rode a MK1 back to back with my blade I had the same feeling of it being a bit gutless / flat in the midrange as mentioned, just lacked the shove in any gear when you want to pass traffic etc, but wind it on and it took off like a missile, but that's not really how I ride 95% of the time.
