They do, but European bikes always do. The Japs are never going to compete with Europe on that front. They have tried it many times and failed miserably. Also, you are talking that the blade doesnt have enough power, but are talking about 2 bikes a class down. I know what you want. It is a mythical beast that is a panigale, with a zx10R engine, MV exhaust pipes and Honda reliability. Unfortunately, if the best outright bike in the world had been built, we would all be riding it
yeah the blade is down in power in the 1000cc category but as I said before my point is why pay top end money for what looks like a 2013 with upgraded shocks and brakes.something most do to their bikes anyway. I also stated my 848 was faster off the mark than the blade, mostly due to the fact its a twin, bikes that only start producing power once you are doing xxxmph no longer interest me. I want something that leaps out of corners like a scolded cat and looks different from the normal.unfortunately the 2014 model so far doesnt look like that, maybe next year the new bike rumors will start all over again.
Well without contradicting myself I see what your saying, I ride my 848 back to back with the blade and the 848 feels punchy off the mark (but then its a twin), it also has no problem staying out in front when we have blast with my mates all on blades etc (miss one gear and its over!), however when I see the speed build on the blade I look back and think the 848 is out right slow top end, YET it keeps out front when we ride together,,,,?? Maybe its my "will" to keep out in front....lol People ride in different ways, feeding on power at different rates and so on, snapping open the gas on the blade always seems to deliver some smiles for me, but then like I say I am over 40 now...ha ha, so must be weak! Lambchops, you can never have too much power!
I think I now know why I want a bit more acceleration on my blade Arthur. I pin mine to the red line and keeping the front down is not much of a problem, unless I want to put it up. I have the pegs set well back and put a lot of weight over the front..............too much weight ! and this is probably the crux of my problem. I think the 4.5 stone difference between you and me must make quite a difference to how our respective bikes feel. I reckon I would need a bike that puts out at least 210 bhp to give me the same acceleration as you get lol or I suppose I could go on a very serious diet....but the chances of me getting below 13.5 st are incredibly slim.
I reckon the 1Kg weight saving has come from them cutting those couple of holes in the subframe. Wow. Genius.
mine was identical pre power commander, now with the 55 it only powers up in first so a tooth needs to be lost up front lol
Although I can see the appeal of having an SP (I would want one) I can't help but feel a little sad that Honda have created it. Up to now there was just the one model, next year there will be two levels of Blade and then no doubt there will be a third one, an SP S or SP R. I sort of feel that a manufacturer is saying " I can make my bikes better than the standard one, but you are going to have to pay quite a bit more money for it" rather than saying "I am going to focus on keeping the Blade the best bike and all Blade owners will have the benefit of it ". Not sure if I have explained that clearly. Ducati created an elitism within their own model range eg the 998, the 998S and the 999R and this has continued. On some forums, it created a 3 tier hierarchy and tbh an a degree on snobbery. Almost like " well you haven't really got a proper Ducati because yours is the base model, not even an S and mine is an R the ultimate Ducati ". I am sure this forum will be different, but it probably means that for the majority of Blade buyers we will get less of a developed bike in standard models from now on. The emphasis will go on developing the SP and any other higher spec model. I think one of the Blades strengths was the 'one' model which has proven successful since it's inception. Ultimately, I think it will lose them sales. I would be more likely to buy a different manufacturers bike than pay extra for the next level up Blade.
I think I might be contradicting one of my earlier posts here but does your bike make you grin from ear to ear when you ride it? If so then you have found the right bike for you. Have ridden the KTM RC8R the Ducati 1198s and the BMW S1000rr back to back I can say IMO the Ducati was the worst of them all the quick shifter felt like it was made out of Lego and the gearbox regularly decided that it didn't want to be a gearbox. The rc8r was wonderful to ride and the bling you got as standard was real value for money the bug bear for me was the 3k service intervals. The S1krr which I ended up buying felt like fun but then much like an Std I discovered that whilst it was great fun on the test ride living with it afterwards was not fun and after two near high sides corrected only by TC I decided to get rid of it. I went back to 600's for a while then went back up to an R1 6 months later and I managed to master the R1 but even an R1 CP in mode a still doesn't feel as powerful as my blade does. The reason I got the blade was because to me it was a Swiss Army knife I could use it for any function and it would get the job done plus the mrs rides on the back and I don't feel like she is there unlike on the R1 where she was virtually leaning on me the whole time. My point here is yes the new blades are much of the same but I like that honda have tried something new with the SP I just hope it isn't the flop that the HP4 was because it's slapped with a stupid price tag. The zx10r is a cracking bike I rode the 2011 model but one thing struck me immediately the bike had so much power it was damn near impossible to keep out of triple figures which with the bacon ever present round where I was at the time made me decide against it.
I both agree and disagree. There will undoubtedly be a bit of snobbery, but what you find in the world of Ducati is that the good bits on the R model make it onto next years standard bike. This generaly fuels the development. Take the data Analyser and traction control. They were on the R model 1098, but are standard features on the 1199. There will always be a few choice bits on the R models, but then they were always made in limited numbers and had the price tag to match. As for the SP, it just allows you to buy the bike most of us would like to make off the shelf (exhaust pipe excepted lol) and therefore keep the warranty and have it all included in the servicing schedules if thats your bag. As long as the development of the blade isn't compromised, I think it's a good thing.
Mine has PC, full titanium exhaust system, -1 tooth on front ,2 maps, 55 tyres, QA throttle and all the other usual mods done, with 168 bhp at rear wheel and 82.5 torque but it's still not enough to move my lardy ass fast enough lol Have to say, I think I ride twins better than inline fours. I think some people find twins suit their riding better and vice versa ,.
One bonus of having all the bling as standard is no worries over your insurance company trying wriggle out of a claim because you didn't declare all ya mods.
Makes you laugh when you think about it hay? Insurance companies are so full of sh&it! You add better suspension and brakes and your insurance goes up...wtf surly it's the other way round...
Will be interesting how it is reviewed in real world tests - ie. on the roads of the UK / Europe etc. For the sake of maybe £400 per bike extra an HRC Branded HM quickshifter would have been a good addition, a bit of extra bling to avoid owners having to fit one. The BMW Sport at just under £14k is a pretty serious weapon to complete against now so be interesting how this one is priced - Honda could pull a blinder and put it sub £13k with no discounts available
If the Base model is £12k the mods are probably £4k give or take a few hundred. Thats £16k. I think we need to see what the price is when it comes out. If it is £15k then that would be a saving plus the whole warranty/insurance question out of the way
BMW had the brembos as standard, the qs, traction etc and even heated grips for under 14k with posh paint, let alone the small fact of 194hp So given the blade lacks a lot of that how could they charge more than £14k or am I missing something?
