I am thinking of a 2017 Blade SP (I have previously had Blade RR6, RR8, RRC and now RRE). A few questions :- 1/ Have you had any issues with the quickshifter / gearbox? I have read reports (Fast Bikes etc.) where they have had selection problems which concerns me 2/ Is the Fly By Wire throttle ok? Again there seems to be mixed reports on this 3/ (SP Question) How harsh is the Ohlins suspension on bumpy roads? (e.g. Yorkshire Dales) 4/ What luggage options are there? I normally use Ventura luggage but I have checked with Motohaus and they aren't doing the brackets for the 2017 Blade. The only option I have found is a Hepco and Becker plate to replace the rear seat cowl (and then strap stuff to that) Thanks in advance for any help. Cheers, Ian.
I'll play...1100 miles last season, for the record. And I'd buy it again in a second. 1-Shifting is excellent. Not one missed gear, quickshifter performed flawlessly. 2-Throttle is...a bit weird at first. A lot of riders run a little play in their throttle cable, this one hasn't got any play, so that gets a lot of people right out the gate. This wasn't my issue as I've always run with very little or no play. I do find that it lacks a bit of feel-no real sense of progression as you wind it on, so especially in low throttle situations, it can be a little tricky in places like parking lots until you get used to it, and I find it a bit tough to get the launch right. All that said, the bike has the smoothest fueling of any fuel injected bike I've ever ridden (which isn't as many as some, I'll grant you), so that's a big plus. 3-The Ohlins suspension is flat out my favourite feature of the bike. For some of the really choppy rural roads around here, the softest automatic settings worked really well and kept the bike really composed, and for most of my general riding, the other two settings did very well. I didn't play with the settings as much as I would have thought, though that will change next season. I have a 919 Hornet as well, it's harder to get off the 'Blade and onto it than the other way around. 4-Haven't looked into luggage, have the Hornet for touring duties.
Quick shifter/blipper is awesome Fuelling on my non sp isn’t great but I put it down to the yoshi slip on? I might just put the standard exhaust back on as it ran fine with it. No ohlins Luggage I use a tail bag and just strap it on only do one trip per year.
I use Hepco Becker on my 2012 and it is great with Kriega. Plus you can remove it from the bike and leave all your luggage still strapped on. Great if your battery has inexplicably gone flat in the last five minutes.
