This one here! it's complete bollocks this was last years mag they also road tested 600 bikes and I'm sure one of them had basically the same performance as 2012 Blade you see here! Then another test a few pages later where the standard 954 Blade blew everything away by some margin when comparing all their performance figures! It not that they are not giving an accurate account and this month's tyre test done at 36f36r I just find frustrating why publish it! They said that the Dunlop Sportsmart were unstable I've done coming up for 5k on them and I've never found this they have been nothing short of perfect! Maybe it's just me but when I buy a mag and read fact and figures I would like them to be accurate you kinda look in mags for what's the best out there but PB are just disappointing
Anyway the proof is in the pudding mate a 131mph TT lap on superstock shows what our Blade is capable of in the right hands also ITV4 done the perfect lap of 133mph with 6 riders adding up all the fastest time in each sector Anstey,Donald,Platter,Martin,Hutchy and McGuinness all had one thing in common they were all riding a Blade at that time! BMW and Kawazaki just don't cut it on the road but the track is a different story but how often do we ride on track? I know! Not often enough
. Other than recognizing Ian Hutchinson as 'The One True God' that he is, I don't pay much attention to the competition scene so can someone tell me; Just how 'stock' is Superstock? Nick.
upgraded shock internals, ecu,filter an pipe.thats about it I think....quicker than our road bikes in more ways than one.but I still say the TT is more about the man over the machine as its taken near 13 years to gain 6 mph in lap speed even with track improvements such as reduction of bumps and wider bends.
160 on the clock. Honda double bubble fitted. All in the world felt comfortable, just have to find the sweet spot behind the screen.
Hi Phantom apologies if I was a bit arsey last night I was a bit worse for wear mate The point I was trying to make is that! It's our beloved Blade the rule the roost at the TT what ever it's guise or rider! And that PB isn't a very good mag mate I think depending on the journo not always the best of riders they can be swayed by hype and looks and that doesn't always favour the best real world bike the perfect example is Ducati's Panigale
I used to be addicted to bike mags a few years back, I used to be most of the sports ones. The differences between performance figures etc was laughable. Some even contradicted their own figures within the same article. Eventually I realised most of the figures just could not be relied upon, just like their bike tests and tyre tests and most other things they tested. It was just down to personal preference (might even be who was advertising with them as well) and some of the testers had very limited riding experience when you looked into their background. I had a 954 and now have the RR6, my RR6 at stock was noticeably faster and handled better than the 954 I had which had a PC and was dyno tuned.
The overriding USP of the Blade is usability! As some one very wisely said many moons ago, Power is nothing without control!
So many different points in this thread now, here's a summary of my opinions... 42psi is too hard for most conditions. PB are normally pretty reliable when it comes to figures. All dynos are different and comparisons are worthless unless done at the same time. No-one seems to have done more than 175mph on a stock 2012.
I agree totally about the usability/ power and control sinewave. The blade is just so well balanced for road use. I know some people consider it bland compared to other bikes and I can sort of understand what they mean ie it is predictable and not as exciting as some bikes feel. The 'exciting' in my experience has often mean't a very thin line between being on the bike and off of it. My R1 and both Ducati's were exciting ! I much prefer riding fast, having control, being reasonably safe, comfortable and getting the thrill of riding faster than I could on some other bikes and still being alive/in one piece at the end of it. Honda's do very well at all levels IMO, and not just the Blade, the 600's are pretty awesome too, again a bit less 'exciting' than other makes but a great all round bike and of course let's not forget the 'reliability' factor. I find torque is considered less important than bhp by many people, I like good torque figures.
bhp is a myth, torque is where its at lol I didnt think any of it was arsey, I like a good debate about bikes....my wife and sister hate when me an the bro in law meet in the pubs as its bike talk all night...sometimes heated as he thinks suzuki's are the ultimate bike ever and just wont accept that he's wrong lol.
