Sorry i haven't been around much but thought i'd let you know how we're getting on... I'd ridden 600's and 750's for years and decided i'd try a litre bike. I read up on 2008 bikes and the RR08 was supposed to be my best bet for track and road so off to ebay i headed... Brought the bike two days before xmas like this; Spending so much as i had i wanted to get more use out of the bike than one TD a month so i ordered a Chinese bodykit from ebay The kit was better quality than i expected but needed some trimming and messing around. All i did to the bike was change it to raceshift, bodge an Akky baffle into the Leo Vince can (how bloody loud!) and fit a gear indicator. I hadn't ridden on the road in years and to be honest i feel as though i'm more cautious than i've ever been though my mates reckon the years of track riding have made me loads quicker and smoother. The suspension felt miles away from what i'm used to and poor grip for the back tyre hasn't really helped to ride it how i wanted. I've managed two trackdays now on the Blade, Oulton in April and Donny in May. The only things i've done is remove the hero blobs, fitt stompgrips and a pair of K2 racetecs. Oulton is a track i've never really got on with and to be honest was a mare due to dodgy weather and no suspension service on the day. I toddled around all day at the back end of the fast group with the suspension really holding me back. At Donny i got the suspension set up by Colin at 100% and the bike felt loads better, with only me learning the bike holding me back. The back shock loses damping towards the end of every session but i'm not going to change to an aftermarket shock unless i can pick up a bargain from somewhere... So, what do i think of my first Honda? I liked it when i brought it but spending a little cash has made it a much better bike. Dropping a tooth on the front sprocket has made it really good fun and the motor is a beauty. It's a well built thing that doesn't (touches wood) miss a beat. It is bonkers to ride on the road and i'd forgotten the bullshitters you meet when at bike meets/cafes etc! The brakes are superb and i haven't even fitted stainless lines or checked what make of pads are fitted. The standard steering damper works better than i expected too so that's saved some cash... I'm really pleased with the bike and wish i'd have considered a Honda years ago. Sorry about the novel but thought i'd share the experience so far.
Yeh it was a real good read thanks. glad your enjoying thrashing the bike around the tracks. Oh and you gotta love the bullsh*tters
Great to hear you two are doing great. That's what I need to do next a trackday.I thought I was reasonably quick until I went out with some good riders the other night.What's better more road miles or tracks to improve?
Trackdays help you understand what your bike can do and allow you to push the limits in a more controlled enviroment, you can then apply some of this to the road BUT you can never allow for all the other factors that you have absolutely no control over namely road surface, obsructed vision, other road users, wildlife etc you know what i mean , that can ultimately finish you off. So more track will help you understand the bike better whereas more road miles will in my eyes just make you more aware of how dangerous the roads can be. just my opinion.
Personally, i did improve as a rider on the road but the ral improvements came from track riding. As Lee says so well, there's too many things that hold you back on the road. Traffic, police, road surfaces, poor visibility etc... On track you get to use your bike as god intended but without as many risks. You're riding the same corners all day so you get to work on the bike and riding technique once you've found your way around. If you make a mistake on the road the chances are that you'll get hurt or wreck your bike, on track you can get away with running wide or outbraking yourself. IMO, track riding makes me a better road rider. Trackdays aren't perfect by any means (but that's another story) but they will bring your riding on no end.
i have had my blade since March 2012, love the bike so smooth and as said by pablo the steering damper is excellent on the road and the throttle is as smooth as when mid corner and coming out, handles like a dream the guy who had it before either set it up perfect or its at stock settings. I have done one trackday at snetterton not sure a 1000cc is for me on track?? i have done 30 odd trackdays but all on 600cc or a larger vtwin what i found was i had to totaly change the way i rode on track with the blade, so fast so braking points way out, steering damper on track not so good, brakes faded towards the end of every session didnt have an issue with handling. I am considering trading the blade in for a ducati streetfighter finding myself going way to fast on road because its so easy to do so.
