Well first things first you've probably got a bargain and an absolute peach of a motorcycle. I read a review on here a week or so ago regarding the new Blade and the reviewer said it made him go "whoa" a few times due to the power. This got me thinking about my riding style and how I'd really become a bit lazy since owning the Blade (2015). I've always had smaller capacity sports bikes, mostly 600's and a few 750's, as most of my mates had litre + bikes it was always a redline and lots of gear changing frenzy to keep up with them, I enjoyed this immensely but was always told, you should buy something bigger, don't stress the engine so much, blah, blah, blah. So I bought the Blade in 2015 and the engine is so smooth and tractable I basically became lazy, keeping the bike in gear, changing at 6/7000 rpm, I'm sure we've all done it, the bike is still going plenty fast. Anyhoo after reading this comment about the noticeable extra power I decided to do a little experiment, the last couple of times I've been out on good quiet country roads, I've been leaving the bike in gear and bouncing up to the red-line.......... What a beast this bike becomes over about 8000, 125mph in 3rd was the last time I was brave enough to take my eyes off the road. Needles to say I don't think I used 5th or 6th gear in the 100 or so miles my journey took but the bike never skipped a beat or got out of shape one bit during all this abuse, after all that's what it's designed for so I don't know why it surprised me so much. Now I'm over 50 and I can ride fast when I want to but I can also just cruise around and have a good time on the bike, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this post now other than Honda developed a hell of a bike when this model rolled out of the factory and I'm sure the new one is every bit as good, I suppose I'm saying that while it's a cracking all rounder I guess we all need to remind ourselves just what a machine it is we are riding Obviously I don't condone speeding on the public highway.
Couldn't agree more...I tend to do the same mainly because of the miles I do & trying to make the fuel go a bit further....but then it's great on a fun day to never get above 3rd & thrash the pants off her She bloody loves it...& so do I
Yes, i think alot of people get a bit blinded by all the new models and electronic suspension etc but kinda forget what amazing machine the older fireblade is. It is bloddy quick and a good allrounder. Most people don't use their bike to their full potential, and when they test ride a new machine they ride way harder on that then their own bike. Try to "testdrive" your own bike from time to time, it is great fun!
A lot of people wind the throttle on steadily or chase it, it is only when you snap it back hard in the lower gears you really get an idea of what these bikes are capable of ... After 3 years I freely admit I'm looking around at new bikes... but every time I ride the blade and open it up hard I question myself - why? What am I really going to get that is that much better than what I already have ... not only that but an additional £9000 to change!
I've probably mentioned this once or twice I'm now on Blade no.7, after Blade no.6 (2010 model) I sold the bike and had a break for just over 12 months because I just wasn't enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, the bike was great, never missed a beat, but it seems as the BHP went up my enjoyment started to wane. I just felt that the power was all a bit pointless and unusable. I grew up on two strokes and loved keeping the engine on the boil, not braking and constantly looking to keep the momentum going. As the power increased I noticed my riding style had become more point and squirt and I'd lost the fluidity I'd once had. So I'd started to feel a bit lost and considered moving back down to a 600, but the 600 class had died on it's ass. I then considered a super naked, but I'd basically be losing the faring and giving myself more neck pain. Anyway, I've now decided to stick a taller screen on and some new rubber and the two of us will see if we can make a go of it for a while longer. I've actually got the bike on a cheap 3 year PCP deal and I'm now thinking of buying it and putting some effort into tailoring it to the way I want it and doing some track days
While sitting on the loo reading this months Performance bikes mag and seeing their 40k miler 2008 bike wipe the pants off the new one.As well as the S1000rr and Gsxr1000rr.Although the old girl did have new k tech suspension and a couple of tweaks here and there but still under £8k I was gobsmacked.Lower bhp than all the new ones but the supension probably did most of the best lap times. I'm keeping my 2011 because it does everything I want from it.The Helibars help keep it comfortable. I'm sorry i just don't get the styling of the new one.
I only ever go above 3rd if I'm on the motorway, and unless it's a slow corner or I'm stopping I rarely go below 3rd! It's the only gear needed really, I love everything about the blade it's nimble enough to chuck about but fast enough to make you hang on for dear life. Rides very similar to my old r6 but has so much more grunt and power makes it easy to ride and a hell of allot better with her in doors on the back. I the really twisties I Luke to leave in 2nd just for that extra snap on acceleration! I haven't looked at another bike since I set my eyes on the blade and doubt i will for a long time yet
Honda always said that they didn't want to increase the power as that meant you have to get into traction control, obviously as the EU regs crept in it's become necessary anyway but I just don't feel the need for a 200bhp bike. Actually I'm not that struck on the new styling, the red standard model reminds me of the GPz500 twin.
I never wanted any electronics that's what drew me to the blade in the first place, i never even had abs . I like to know everything is mechanical, no chance of ABS skipping a beat or tc slipping and letting it spin or anti wheelie letting it fly LMAO. I prefer to know I'm in control, never had it on my earlier bikes so don't miss it. Intrigued to try it but think it would be better for track than the road and didn't want extras to go wrong on a bike i plan on keeping for a while. The bmw was tempting but didn't fancy the extra outlay or servicing cost
Mine pretty much lives between 8 and the limiter.... apart from town or villages in between the fast bits and of course the first important 10 mins of warm up catch it right just as the last shift light comes on and it's proper singing.....
We seem to be going backwards. The fuelling on my 2015 is superb. The low revs going round those little painted roundabouts, is superb delicate response - great. Took the new Blade for a test yesterday and we are back to jerky throttle responses at low revs - not quite as bad as my old XT660x but heading back that way ! On the whole upgrade idea - maybe get one of those GSX - S1000F things which might be good. Cheap new, K5 motor, and spend a few quid upgrading the suspension and sorting any fuelling issues - might be fun ! 2015 Balde in HRC colours - great bike that !
Yep I'm not keen on getting any electronics either as I've never had it but it's pretty much on everything now. That's Suzuki with the K5 motor is one of the bikes I'm looking at next as well, supposed to be good but I think I've been spoilt with the Blade My HRC with a few little mods.
If you haven't already, change your gearing. It will transform the bike, and probably the way you ride it Then get a quickshifter... Fun, fun fun !
I brought the out going model in January this year the black edition I love it and wanted non abs, like an idiot I rode the new model last weekend and got to say it's a bloody good bike. Jumped on my black edition I still loved it I have only covered 600 miles on her and have come from a 675R so it's a fair bit different. I am off on a European trip with 9 other mates tomorrow and we are expected to do 2000 miles so by the end of this trip I should know all about this bike. Roll on the picos de europa miles and miles of twistys wooooooo hooooooo.
Im definately the type of person that wants to have the newest machine but every time i ride my bike it does everything i need, the amount of times lately ive shouted fek me i love this thing whilst riding Sounds class Pulls like a train Handles like a dream Looks fierce Still wanting to try the new one to see what its all about though.
I know what you mean - but even if it was the best bike in the world, I would still want to try others. No mater how good this Blade is, I will still want to try other bikes. IMHO: The new one is allright, much smaller and lighter is what I noticed when tipping it in. It has plenty of hooligan about it, better engine braking when you shut the throttle right off. Sounds lovely. Numbers are a bit small on the dash when looking for engine temp and mileage - but okay just getting used to it I suppose. Controls were okay, no issues with the brakes or clutch. The indicator switch - I have been through that already with a 2014 VFR, so the old brain could still remember how to do that without pipping the horn all the time. It just needs a bit of muscle memory - needs a bit of time and practice is all. That was the only thing the slightly jerkier throttle response, and a bit of looseness/play on the throttle. But it wasn't that bad just not as good as my 2015 model. The 2015 is a chunkier looking bike - it looks like a 1000 - like a sportsbike version of a muscle car ! The new one - people will be asking you what cc it is - is it a 250, or a 125 ? Now that Suzuki.........
Funny you should say that. Not long after buying this Blade (2015 HRC) I had two bikers on two separate occasions ask what size it was, the 300 or 500. I resisted spitting at them. I had a Mille for a few months in between Blades and moving back to the Blade made the Mille feel huge in comparison. The last couple of generations seem to have shrunk and maybe the CBR Fireblade logo is a bit less noticeable these days than it once was.
Yes I always like to try the competition as well, I don't really have an allegiance to any one manufacturer tbh, they aren't giving them away and it's a shed load of money now so a test ride on something else to compare is a good idea I think, only one I'm not keen on is the R1 really, I just don't like the looks of it and I think the engine is overly complex, I've ridden the early R1 before the cross plane crank and it was a great bike and fairly comfortable as well, not sure why they changed it just to be different I guess.
This is my first 1k Sports Bike (had a blackbird) and I am still ridding it under the 10,000 rpm mark for most of the time, as has been said above when you snap the throttle open its a whole different story, past 5k and it starts to snarl, then when you get it up the top end its like hanging onto a ballistic missile and I do mean hang on. I love the whole package that is my bike, the looks, the noise (standard Can) the engine and most of all the handling, new tyres last weekend showed me that I will never be able to out ride this bike. cannot believe how nice the bike is to ride at a fast and sedimentary pace
