guys, I love the look of the new 650r , matte black, Currently own 2008 blade , I had a street triple r before and was so much fun in the lanes , Ive tracked the blade twice and it is brilliant on track , However road i feel it is not needed atall, so much power that cannot be used on the road , just seems a waste really . So its got me looking at going back to the middleweight class. The new fireblade is currently on 0% apr but ive never financed a bike! This bike was so tempting but as said it just too much for the road , oh and insurance or the new blade is £2k for me , my 2008 blade is also going to be £1k insurance . Just seems mad really. The new 650r is £7729 , which is not too bad as compared to a new street triple rs is £10k. The 650r looks similar looking to the 17+ blade which i love. I feel i can sell my blade for £5k+ as its 2008 12k miles brilliant condition, i would only have to pay a few more grand to get myself the 650r. I feel i will need to test ride it to see how i feel about it, only thing is it has showa front forks that are non adjustable. Any advice etc is welcome Charlie
Agree - go and test ride one. First thing you'll notice is that the riding position is much more upright (i.e. comfortable) despite the 650R being more aggressive than the older 650F (which I have, as a 17 model). Second thing you'll notice is that it doesn't have the shove at low-medium revs. It's plenty quick enough for the road once you hit 6k+ revs though! If I had to get from A to B on trafficky roads as quick as possible - high chance I'd pick my 650F over the Blade. Other advantage of it being a newer bike than your 08 blade is the fact it'll be safer in bad conditions too (ABS / traction control etc). If you often find yourself holding high speeds on a motorway - I fancy the Blade might have the edge. That comfier riding position on the 650 puts you more in the wind at 80mph+. Agree matt black is the one to go for too
I was just discussing the merits of the 650R here in the office, after one appeared in the car park this morning. Black with gold engine casings. Actually bigger than I thought in the flesh, bars look fairly wide and overall I like it. Like others say, go and get a test ride and see how you feel.
I like the look of the bike but think honda went backwards replacing the old 600 which had more power, performance and weighed a lot less plus is was also a lower RFL band
There's a review of one on 44teeth done by. Mossey last wk might be worth a watch but as others have said a test ride is a must...while you there put your 5k on a new blade and 99 a month your in....
The 2008 - 11 Blade is a hard bike to beat for reliability and rideability. I can't help thinking you'd have regrets moving down to a lower powered bike. Sure, we don't use 1 litre to its full potential, but it's damn nice to have it there when you want it!
Agree about the test rides. Hopefully you'll fall in love with the 650 and it will save you a fair bit of dosh. Think I'd be choosing the street/speed triple RS over the 650 if it was me though. Top man. Finance doesn't sit well with me either. Those fireblade deals still need a fairly big final payment too. If you're already thinking the 2008 fireblade is too much for the road, a brand new one is only going to be more of the same.
I think you'd have many followers on that point, me included, although I haven't yet had a really close look at the 650R.
Street Triple RS is an extra £2.5k so it’s not a direct comparison. Quite a different feel to ride too - I tried one and whilst it was bloody quick at the top end I can’t say I liked the rest of it on a bumpy B-road, felt very skittish. Horses for courses though, on a track day the 650R wouldn’t see which way the RS went.
I swapped - well not yet, I still have the blade for the moment - an 08 blade for a KTM 690 Duke. It's such a different experience to the blade, I do miss the stupid power of the blade, but I like being able to rag the ktm everywhere - it's just loads of fun, and much easier too. For the roads I ride, I probably end up faster on the Duke than on the blade. As is normal, I'd recommend you try one, but also a 790 is worth a look. Lots of toys with those...
Rode a 790 Duke a few months ago and loved it. Unbelievably nimble, loads of punch and just begged you to rag it. If you wanted a complementary bike for a blade in a 2 bike stable I couldn’t think of anything better.
I had a GSX1400 and moved to a BMW800R because the GSX was so heavy. To be honest its the best thing I did I had a great time as you can just go for it and use all the power most of the time but I really missed the grunt of the 1400 in a straight line it was fantastic. When I tried the Blade I realised I had to have another sports bike and for the road I really dont think you can ask for more and the deal from Honda sealed it for me. Oh and it took about 3 days to wipe the smile of my face after the test ride . The 650 looks a cracking bike and the lads at 44 teeth liked it a lot plus it looks fantastic, which helps at a really good price go ride one first though
Same me - was smiling for a week after taking new blade for a test ride. I’d never financed anything either but the 0% apr along with Honda paying £2k of the £4K deposit sealed it for me. First new vehicle I’ve ever owned - just looking at makes me feel happy! Re the 650 - in pictures I think it looks a little misshapen, kinda proportioned wrong, but they had a matte black one at Chiswick when I collected my Blade and it looks great in the flesh. I don’t think you’ll be unhappy but as others has said, I think you may miss the “feel” of a thou
My 5p worth.....I owned an RR9 Blade and absolutely loved it. Tried the 2013 Speed Triple back to back with a 2015 Street Triple and ended up buying a 2013 Street Triple R and PX'd the RR9 and was amazed at it's abilities and the Speedy never really felt any better than my old 02 S3. I tried my BIL's 2013 CBR600RRA and lent him my 1998 4XV R1 and whilst the 600 was ok it honestly felt like it was missing ANY grunt especially as I also had the Street Triple at the time which had stacks of torque. The RRA you had to hold it to the stop then somewhere above 11k it started to move but there was a gaping chasm below that. I deffo couldn't live with one. My BIL on the other hand was so used to riding the CBR that he reckoned that the R1 felt like it was trying to rip his arms off and batter him with the bloody ends and in my opinion my Blade was even better than my 4XV, if a little different (carbs v's injection, although the blade was very good). I swapped the STR for a 675 Daytona then PX'd it for an MT10 which is basically in a similar vein to the STR but has power EVERYWHERE but obviously feels larger.
