Yes al , bloody hell , it felt like pin's and needles in my foot . Now I shouldn't really say this but even the good lady felt the vibe's And in the right place too . I promise that's what she said ,
Barney, the s1000RR blows your bloody socks off. It is without a doubt the best bike I've ever ridden and I will be joining you on a BMW within a few months. I've just got to buy a VW Van and sell the Fireblade first…..
what is there to think about. If you like it, will use it and can afford it then why not. We only live once mate.
I've never ridden one before, and I'm sure it is a beast of a thing mate. BUT what is it like at "our" normal riding speeds. Ie is there as much oomph where you actually need it, instead of most of it being up in the top of the range? Remember mate you only ride 2 up and you wont get to the giddy heights of that BMW. (PS I ain't a Honda snob, even I am looking further afield)
I tried the Tuono before I swapped a 2008 for a 2012, the wind blast at 90 was totally unacceptable after being used to a full fairing.
Having tooled about on a BMW this summer, as well as the blade, I can tell you it handles real world riding and two up far better than the blade does. Feel more relaxed when going for it when two up as well, where as I removed the rear pegs from the blade as I could never get comfortable on it. Easier to avoid giving the inevitable pillions to the stricken Ducati crew. Around town the riding position is better as well. Sounds like I'm hating the blade which I'm not. Still love it, just realise there is better out there. The reason we like the bikes we ride are more than the sum of the parts. We don't necessarily like it better just cause its faster, more comfy, better mpg or even..cough…a nicer colour! Some bikes just click and make us smile. I know the BMW is far superior in almost any way, but I still jump on the blade 9 times out of 10. Lol
Is it me or does £8300 sound a bit cheap for a blade about 1 year old? Or is my memory failing me on the age of your bike Barney?
Price sounds about right - with new ones around 10k and interest free etc. Plenty of 2012s from Dealers on Trader for around £8300.
i tried a tuono before i got the blade ,loved it at the time , it is just that i got the blade at a price i couldnt refuse (thanks repsol rob.) i find that i am doing rides of 300 miles plus most times i go out on the blade ,hence it is now on 11,000 miles without commuting on it. there are some half decent front screens for the tuono now,so that is what is making me want to try one again.
The main difference I have noticed where the blade feels better than the bmw is when you want to move the bike around quickly when Corning etc,when I did the track day at brandshatch the blade felt so light compared to the bmw ,bear in mind I had just done a 1500 trip on the bmw when there is only about 7 kg difference in weight as stock. The blade is going to be a bit lighter from stock as i have removed lights etc .The bmw looks a bigger bike as well but saying that I still love it . Be interested to see how Scooby gets on with his Bmw trackbike if he feels the same compared to the blade.
