As much as I love my RR7 I have had a number of pant filling moments on it on track, mostly in damp and wet conditions but the odd one in the dry too. And the boundary between those slides that get caught and those that don't is wafer thin. Fact is, there's more ways to crash a bike than you can shake a stick at, and anything you can do to push a few of those down the list has to be worth it when it comes to valuing the future function of your limbs. That's me justifying the purchase of a new toy, but I think it's legit. Anyway, seems like if you're going to go for something modern you might as well come completely up to date. So - New S1000RR very nice but uninsurable in London. Same for Ducati V4. Ninja/GXSR both a bit old now. R1 bit uncompromising for the road, I do a weird combo of 50% London traffic and 50% track and don't think it would like the former much. RSV4 tempting but quite small and I'd worry about its low volume Italianness. After all that you end up on a Blade again. Consensus seems to be that the 2019 is the one to go for with it's electronic tweaks (given that there isn't so much of a premium with nearly new), and you might as well get an SP once someone else has bitten the initial hit. My local dealer is out of blades now as they've sold them all so I may have to buy unseen from the other end of the country, which currently has 3x SPs with a range of mileages from 55 to 3000 for £12.5k-£14k. Seems like pretty good value to me for bikes that retailed at £20k 6 months ago. What do I need to be aware of in jumping up from an RR6/7? Riding position similar? Any electronic bugs I need to ask the dealer about? What was the deal in the end on tyre size changes on the 19? Same as the 17/18s? (i.e. don't change the profile or the bike will throw a tantrum). Any and all advice welcome! Thanks!
As you know, I can easily compare the RR4 to the 2018. The 2017 - 19 is a smaller bike, but not by much. (I'm 5'9") The 2019 electronic are the same save for the 'Wheelie Control' or torque control. I don't trrack mine so can't offer anything there, other to say power delivery and feel wise, you'd feel right at home. There has been mixed reaction to the tyre and sprocket change 'dilemma.' It seems half and half to those who have experienced fault codes and those who have not. This has been extensively covered. See these: https://www.1000rr.co.uk/threads/2017-cbr1000rr-rear-tire-size-problem.34969/#post-499325 https://www.1000rr.co.uk/threads/2017-18-ecu-thread.37550/
For a combination of road, as you say 50% commuting into London and 50% track - how about this for right up to date ! .....the new KTM 1290 Super Duke R How awesome is that !
First thing is weight n size, will feel more like a 600. I went +1 on the rear with no codes def an easier bike to ride.. good to hear dealers running out of them, may just make mine sellable next year. im currently tweaking a handful of Speed triple for track that i may just regret after a wealth of electrics in the blade.
If you change gearing or tyre profiles you will have some kind of issues on track 100%. We got three bikes all have problems
