posted this in new members hope its ok here too ..probably more traffic here I am looking for some info.I have a 2000 sp1 which I use for pleasure only and had hoped to keep but I need something for longer rides and the sp1 is tiring when on long or slow runs and in round town so im gonna have to change it im considering a cb1000r but it has no protection and the windblast is putting me off...I had a run on a 929 blade and its sporty but comfy too...what I really like is the cbr 1000rr6/rr7 can anyone advise me if it is ok to live with as an everyday bike and for long runs? Is it as comfy as the 929? don't want anything as aggressive as the sp1 riding position but im on the twin so long im gonna miss the power delivery any info or advise welcome
Hi, I just replaced my TDM850 with a 2006 Blade around 3 months ago. I am 6ft and on the chunkier side (17 st) and use the Blade predominately for commuting to work (central London). While I could not fault power, reliability, handling, fuel consumption (and looks of course ) my experience so far is a mixed one with regards to comfort. My main issue is that the original handle bars are too low for me in relation to the seat; when riding in stop-and-go town traffic I always keep my fingers on clutch and brake levers (I swear it has saved me those fractions of a second and helped avoid incidents many times!) which means my weight rests on the the part of my hand between my thumb and index finger. Painful. Also I had troubles seeing traffic lights when being close to them (and I am in first row quite a lot ) without forcing my head up- which gave me neck and shoulder aches. To address all of that, I have swapped my standard stock clip-ons for Woodcrafts (adding HEL brake hoses etc. requiring extra length); cut down my seat to sit lower in relation to the handles; installed adjustable foot pegs to relax my legs in line with the other 2 changes. Also I installed a set of tank grips to relax my upper body and get much better grip with my knees holding on to the tank (I prefer fabric trousers (Frank Thomas XTI) instead of leather as I can wear them over my office work trousers; fabric however gives you no grip to hold on to the plastic tank cover whatsoever unless you use tank grips). Final thing was to work out a way of using my Oxford magnetic tank bag on a plastic tank cover...no weight on my back helps a lot. All in all, my bike is much comfier now, it took me at least 5 weeks to get it there but think it was worth it; also my body gradually forgets the comfort of the TDM, which is good Maybe it's a bad move to trade the upright riding position of a TDM for the fold-in style of a Blade if you want to stay on the comfy side. However I would not want to trade back, I love my orange horse and I think it was worth the extra investments and changes. Anyway, out of town she's been ok to ride anyway, I only had issues with 30 minutes stop-go-balance-brake-accelerate..... twice a day through London. Only upgrade I put on for riding out of town is the larger wind screen (about the size of what you see on competition bikes I think?) which gives me much better protection and less fatigue at higher speeds e.g. motorways. Hope this helps!
Agree with a lot of the above, i now have a Honda CB1000R and use it to commute to work on, i swapped a Fireblade 954 for it and that had a comfy seat, Gilles variobars and an ohlins shock but for the daily commute it still was not right, at the end of the day its a sports bike, end of..... and trying to adapt a sportsbike to be something it is not will not work. I had all the same issues as you, and when filtering it was simply not good, i could not see far enough ahead to try and predict what the idiots were likely to do, the comfort with covering the clutch/brake was exactly as you described, all in all, i decided that i needed a bike fit for purpose and the CB is perfect, but for a longer ride i would look at something like the VFR1200 (maybe even with Hel bars !). Its like trying to turn a tiger into a house pet, at some point its going to bite.
It may depend on you as a rider, been commuting into London for longer than I care to remember, the last 15 years have been on Blades, one of which was an RR6, covering around 15k a year for 4 years, no issues with comfort at all, (5'11", 80kg), personal choice, but I am not a lever coverer, so never get any issues with weight on wrists etc. As a daily commuter, perfect tool, economical, cheap to run, and decent performance.
Always wanted a 954 but never got to own one or even have a spin on one, Hudson is there much of a wind blast off the cb? It can be nice to have a fairing to hide behind from the wind and sometimes the cold and rain too!! i do like the look of the cb but not sure what that would be like to like with.
