Hello all... Ive been on here a year next week and I've got to say thanks to all you guys for all your help and advise since I've been a member. I bought my blade back in October 2013 and have loved ever second with it ! We have done 15000 miles together in that time and we've got to know each other really well... I toyed with the idea of upgrading her to a later model, i toyed with the idea of S1000rr and RSV4's, but something has kept me with her ! I love her shape, and her eagerness to want to play. I love her purity and rawness, not interfered with by electrical assistance or ABS or any of that.. Just me and her ! We've been together through all weathers, sun rain, snow and ice and she's always held on and got us through it, and still, with a bit of a hosing down and polishing, she still looks mint and beautiful... Its easy to be swayed by all the write up's and constant claims of which is the best, the most powerful blah blah, but it is mainly irrelevant when you have something that is already plenty powerful and built with racing in mind and you gel with and it works for you ! John Mcguinness Loves his 2007 Blade so much its in his house ! He said something like, "I loved riding my 07 because it was like riding the wife, i knew exactly what it was gonna do" ! In honour of her, I've decided to throw some love (money) at her, and thought id document our history together here to give you guys some shiny bits to look at as we make progress. I know its all been done before and there are loads of amazing machines and testimonies to the devotion a lot of you put into you prides and joy, but this also gives me something to do to take my mind off the obsession i have grown for parcel force ! Any comments or advise will be gratefully received.. Cheers G (aka Blackness) The weekend i bought her.. Totally standard ! Beautiful !! Kept it totally untouched for the first couple of months... I have always had bikes since i was about 5. Grown up with them. Worked at Harris Performance when i was a kid and HS Performance when i left school for a while. Got my first proper street bike when i was 17, a FZR600, which the guy i worked for at HS did a supersport engine job on it for me. Great little thing in its time, and with cross plys, taught me a bit about riding too... My career path changed but always had bikes around me. I got heavily into the custom bike and chopper scene for a lot of years and have built lots of customs but i always got the calling for speed and sports bikes and had love affairs with a few Hayabusa's as well along the way.. The last chop i built myself... Huge labour of love and expense ! I had nearly a year out, then one day had an epiphany, and went out and bought a Blade ! Didn't really do much research, she just kind called me while i was scrolling through every litre sports bike available on ebay. I didn't do anything to her for the first few month, but things needed to be done as my ocd's kept kicking in about the number plate hanger and other little niggley things that bug most owners. First off was to get rid of the offending articles, addition of a tinted screen, which first started out as a power bronze, but that kept buzzing so changed it for a dark double bubble ffabbri. Evotech tail tidy and a motodynamics tinted tail light/indicator led thing. Rear pegs off.. Cleaned all that up nicely ! Went to Steve Jordans to get the suspension set up, which made a huge improvement to what was already a great handling bike.. Huge inspiration kept washing over from the forum and your fine pieces of machinery, and not being one to be able to leave anything alone i spent a few months wondering whether to get something newer towards the end of last year and did the battle of reasoning somewhere between my head and my heart... The voices told me to stick with her !! I'm staying with her !! Time for some upgrading it is then ! That exhaust had to go, obviously ! Did like the double barrelled look tho... Wanted something a bit different.. Went for mivvi's, and by eck chief, they're loud ! K&N's, pair valve job and blanks, flapper valve mod, air box mod, de-catted and put her back together... Booom... I took her for a quick test flight and she was amazing now she could breath more easily... Went home, baffles out and OMG thats loud ! Beautiful sound tho. Like a F1 car ! Didn't run quite as well low down but it hasn't been remapped or anything but i was really conscious of how much noise we were making and at one point ended up in front of a cop car and i crawled along fearing to go above 2000rpm, just waiting for the tug (they get a bit silly about such things as noise and speed over here on the island), but got lucky, went home, put the baffles back in... For now Went out for a proper ride around the island with one off my mates whose also on the forum, Jas. His got a 2009 blade in HM Plant colours with QS, Aprok, PCV, Carbon wheels etc etc.. Really nice... It was only a couple of weeks ago and the sun was kinda shining, but the roads were really wet.. I hadn't been out on a proper ride for a few months and it felt so good.. We were riding fairly hard and the bike just stayed planted.. I felt closer to it now i could hear the induction roaring and exhaust howling more... Military road, south of the Island, about seven miles of quite road running along the coastline with long straights and sweeping bends. Some of its been resurfaced and was quite pleasant, the rest of it is bad ! Pot holes, the odd crack where its subsiding into the sea. In a few places it is literally road, cliff, sea.. I hammers it through there at stupid speeds, with the wet roads and wind blowing from the sea, and she stuck, and wanted more and more ! Thats when i truly realised she was the one !! Spanner time... Fitted a HRC QAT, pondered grips and controversially went for R&G heated ones... Bit of grief with how i wanted the electrics set up but got there in the end and all works lovely. Don't you find that as soon as you put something nice and new on your bike, it starts to make the old original bits look a bit shitty ?! Whilst hacking away at my hugger which the bolts had seized on, i dropped the shock out so i could get at it ! Grimy looking it was ! Hence i had to order the Ohlins All i saw after that was everyone one was getting Brembos, and not me.. So i fixed that ! Awaiting delivery... Been toying with the idea of a paint job, but wanted to keep my originals just incase, plus i like hoarding things apparently.. I love the red and black but there are another 2 here on the island and it bugs me, plus i like to be a bit different ! I was looking at all the chinese fairing designs, liked HRC, always like the Rothmans too, even thought about the rossi gas austin powers design, but thought no, less is more ! Really love Gilesy's blade on here in all carbon, but resided on all gloss black, matt black belly pan, no logos or stickers at all ! Thought it would pop the carbon and gold alloy I'm strapping to it at the moment. So, fairing has been ordered and waiting delivery Wheels have been stripped and are being blasted and resprayed in same gold as the SP's.. Thanks to MrB for the paint code.. So, last few days have been stripping off the old bits and cleaning the 9 years worth of crud that has go into all the hard to reach places, places that you don't normally see until you hold something new against it.. Lots of packages started arriving too
Fitted the Gilles Rearsets and carbon chain guard.... Hugger had to go back to power bronze as didn't fit and waiting a replacement.
This is gonna have to come back off as kit was missing a brake light holder, so waiting for that to get sorted by demon tweeks..
Cheers buddy.. I must admit i really enjoyed your build and your bike is one of my all time favourite blades !
The last two days over here have been beautiful and its typical that the bikes in bits all over the garage... I notice the gritters are still prowling about in the evening, so i know its for the best But yeah, roll on warmth and more day light..
fantastic write up G! Bike is going to look and drive fantastic when she is all finished. One thing struck me though.. did you got for a 15 tooth front sprocket? Or did you stick with the standard 16? I think the 15 tooth front has to be one of my favourite mods to the Blade..
That kit add's up to a decent penny ! All very nice though, i can not wait until its finished, did you say your getting or got an Ohlins unit as well ?
Thank you mate, and you've been a big help all the way ! Great minds think alike, and put the 15 in yesterday First time in years I've gone by the book and actually used a torque wrench, and its made me realise how much i seriously over tighten everything... 54 Nm felt like finger tight for that sprocket...
Cheers Hudson... Yeah, its been expensive and I'm trying not to visualise the total figure I got onto Kyle Racing in California last week and ordered the Ohlins rear, so just waiting on that being delivered. They are also sending it out with a spring thats rated for my weight as I'm around 110kg. Need to order some new bolts for it tomorrow as the originals are proper tatty, and we can't have that ! Once its all back together i'll go back to Steve Jordon Suspension to get it fully dialled in. When i first had it set up by them they suggested if i ever get a aftermarket shock, they'd raise the back a bit to get it to turn in even quicker, so looking forward to how good we can get her to handle... Brembos should turn up in the next few days too, so i must get even more Titanium to hold them in with
Good write up Blackness. Was wondering the reason for all the modding. I thought you might be rebuilding after a crash, what with the fairing change, but no, you just want it to be different. We salute you Looking forward to seeing the finished article. I'm definitely one for the don't trade it upgrade it philosophy.
Im generally hating mirrors at the moment and find they spoil the lines on a bike.. Been toying with the idea for a while now, so just gone for it and ordered a rear view camera and monitor ! Just need to work out where and how I'm going to mount the monitor as subtly as possible.. Just been in the garage for a fag and a head scratch with a piece of card in the dimensions of the monitor to see where it can go so i can still easily see it... Gonna try and make some blanking plates for where the mirrors went out of this chunky sheet of carbon i have courtesy of my friend that works at the factory that makes all the carbon products for aston martin. This should be an interesting little project !
Great read Blackness, bike will be ace by the time you have finished. For me, there is something special about the RR6/7 and having owned mine now for nearly three and a half years I am still amazed at how much I love the bike. Usually after a year I have wanted a change, hence why I have had so many bikes. I am not mechanically gifted (understatement) but I know how I want my bike to be and feel as I do ride her hard on very uncompromising roads. I started out getting the suspension how I wanted it, I thought it was OK, until I upgraded the brakes M4's, Brembo M/C's, braided lines and Brembo floating discs. I then found that because I could brake later and harder and thus ride a bit faster the suspension was not how I needed it to be. Hence I ended up upgrading the front forks again (rear already upgraded to Ohlins). It is hard sometimes working out how and what to upgrade and in what order, especially when you are still using the bike. Mine is all black and no decals and I still have a few things planned for March..........more money. Looking forward to reading the rest of your build.
