Having owned an R1 CP dude I don't dispute it's a cracking bike but IMO the blade is better it's better handling smoother acceleration and more nimble on its feet. I prefer the blade every day of the week and twice on Sunday...
I saw this first hand and your spot on, people were just not prepared to spend that much. It wasn't the bike that was the problem, it was justifying the sudden price hike from one year to the next, it would be the same for the Blade.
I don't understand if the blade is as disappointing as some of the earlier posts on this thread suggest then why do people own them? I admit I'm new to the fireblade and I love it it's the first bike I really feel at home on and could quite happily ride it all day. Surely all the money in the world couldn't put a price tag on that feeling? Regardless of price hikes etc all manufacturers are doing it and to be honest although I'm in the minority it would appear I wouldn't spend my money on anything else now... Blade can't be all bad it was the championship winning bike in BSB seeing off the zx10r, the GSXR, the s1krr, the R1 and the panigale....
IMO Honda are only gonna do something radical if they stop winning stuff. As far as they're concerned the current package is the best package and sells stuff. Lowes, Dunlop, McGuinness, listen here! you are holding evolution of the Blade back, you need to lower your game
road racing doesnt really count, they stuck the top guys on bmw's at the nw200 when they first came out and they cleaned up in every race.I am no disputing that the blade is a great bike, I am just saying the lack of change and increase of price is the wrong way to go. I remember when the new 1000rr first came out back in 04 and people had little accidents when they seen it with its underseat pipe and rcv looks and the then cheap price.but now its like they are not putting as much effort into new designs and have got a bit GSXR on the designs with not much changes in looks but bigger price tags.whats all new on the stock model that justifies the £1000 price increase as I think it just looks like a 2013 model with new paint, maybe 2016 will get the next big update?
So the 2014 base model is a grand more expensive than this year?? What!!! If thats true then they are having a laugh.. Hope they dont expect to sell many
I dont think people are disputing its still a great bike, the issue which certainly is disappointing is the design of the bike is 7 years old now and the development seems to have come to a halt.. That has never happened before its allways evolved it just seems Honda is unwilling to invest whats needed to take it to the next level and its happy to "make do" For another year anyway..
That is not entirely true. The original 1992 blade soldiered on till 2002 before they put a 17 inch front wheel, ditched the carbs for FI and hiked the capacity. Thats 10 whole years dude. the current model has been out since 2008. That makes it 5 years (going on 6) old
Yes but that bike had major revisions over those 10 years, new frame design in 97, and the 98 bike had 80% revised engine internals plus a host of other changes over the years including 3-4 bodywork changes features added and suspension revisions. Agreed 16 inch front wheel remained and from 2000 the bike changed dramaticly every 4 years. Plus remember that bike remained the daddy and was cutting edge top of the class so why change it too much, then the R1 came out in 98, then Honda upped their game and revised the whole bike in 2000. Bottom line is for me if there had been a new bike for 2014 I would likely have bought one, now not going to bother or perhaps look elsewhere...
My RRY must have been a production cock up then as it come with FI and a 17" front hoop in 2000 And in its first 8 years, they changed the engine capacity once from its original starting point, so there was development going on.
I understand that you will probably look elsewhere, and that is your prerogative, but there have been revisions to the new blade too. New fairing, lights, (dare I mention) ABS, big piston forks, digital dash etc. The fact that the old oil burning 08 bike issue seems to have been resolved suggests modiffied internals, The new head on the 2014 bikes. If you took an 08 oil burner and a 2014 SP (or even a base model), I can guarantee you there wouldn't be that many components with the same part number. The development over the lifecycle bears an uncanny resemblance to the early bikes.
Haha, ok point taken. I was a year or so out on the 929 production dates. My point still stands though, i'm sure you will agree
Put a private plate on it and people wouldnt know if your bikes brand new or 6yrs old i just think a new bike should have something a little different
Dunno about you, but I can tell a 2008 from a 2012 a mile off. Wheels are different, Forks are different, clocks are different, Fairing and lights are different. It maintains the general outline, but to say you can't tell them aprt is plain wrong or you know nothing about bikes.
In terms of appearance alone, I think it is quite hard for any manufacturer to come up with something new aesthetically on motorbikes and still maintain it's marque ie a Fireblade looks different to it's competitors because of it's appearance. Over the years, the Fireblade has undergone a lot of changes, in terms of looks, the amount of fairing has become smaller on the mid section. TBH, I am not a fan of the fairing design over recent years because of the 'cut out' section, I prefer a fairing that covers more of the bike rather than less. As the fairing panels have become smaller there is probably not too many options left to come up with something new, unless you return a bit more to earlier designs which had more fairing. Ducati made a fairly big design mistake with the 999 in many peoples eyes in relation to it's looks. It was very much a marmite bike, but many Ducati followers hated it because it looked so different to it's predecessors. I actually liked them, not as pretty as the 916 996 or 998 but overall a better bike. They pretty quickly returned to the Ducati look with the 1098 and newer models. Apart from that they have kept the look that works for their customer base. It is also perhaps a bit easier to hone the design when you maintain a large fairing. Whilst I personally do not want all the rider aides on a bike I am probably in the minority and Honda will need to provide the bells and whistles to remain competitive IMO. I understand peoples disappointment, if I was in the market for the latest fastest rider assisted bike I would not be looking at a Fireblade. If, however, I was looking for a very fast, safe (abs issues aside) comfortable, reliable, versatile, functional, easy to mod, easy to ride, reasonably priced, well made bike with a fantastic history and near bullet proof engine then I would....and did choose a Firebalde.
