2008 Fireblades....
Discussion
Are they any good? My local dealer has one I'm very interested in, I went and sat on it yesterday but couldn't take it out as I'm currently waiting for my new driving licence to arrive.
I'm 6'4" and it felt very comfy for a sportsbike, knees are the main issue for me, and it felt slightly more relaxed than my Tuono does. The main reason I want to change is the Tuono is a brilliant bike but I went out for a long ride with some mates the other day which involved a motorway stint and it was frankly pretty uncomfortable trying to keep up with everyone else on their faired bikes. I want to go down to europe next year and I think a fairing would be welcome. Can't fault the Tuono for pace and handling.
Are there any issues to look out for on this model blade? The one I'm looking at has 24,000 miles on it which isn't ideal but I can live with that, it's got full service history and all the mod's on it are tasteful, expensive bits. (yoshimura exhaust, honda double bubble screen, akrapovic carbon fibre chain guard and side infils, carbon fibre hugger and front mudguard, brand new set of metzeler racetec K3's) They have another 2008 one in with 14,000 on but it's a worse colour and has no trick bits on it, and is £500 more.
Are they going to hold their value well? My Tuono still has solid residuals despite the oldest ones being 10 years old, I'd put my 2009 up for £5000 if I were to sell privately. The blade is priced at £5195.
I'm 6'4" and it felt very comfy for a sportsbike, knees are the main issue for me, and it felt slightly more relaxed than my Tuono does. The main reason I want to change is the Tuono is a brilliant bike but I went out for a long ride with some mates the other day which involved a motorway stint and it was frankly pretty uncomfortable trying to keep up with everyone else on their faired bikes. I want to go down to europe next year and I think a fairing would be welcome. Can't fault the Tuono for pace and handling.
Are there any issues to look out for on this model blade? The one I'm looking at has 24,000 miles on it which isn't ideal but I can live with that, it's got full service history and all the mod's on it are tasteful, expensive bits. (yoshimura exhaust, honda double bubble screen, akrapovic carbon fibre chain guard and side infils, carbon fibre hugger and front mudguard, brand new set of metzeler racetec K3's) They have another 2008 one in with 14,000 on but it's a worse colour and has no trick bits on it, and is £500 more.
Are they going to hold their value well? My Tuono still has solid residuals despite the oldest ones being 10 years old, I'd put my 2009 up for £5000 if I were to sell privately. The blade is priced at £5195.
Some of them burnt through oil quite quickly. That's the only issue I know of. I don't think ABS models came in till '09? Otherwise the ABS is a pain in the backside to bleed. I haven't rode any bike newer than that model blade but I have nothing but praise for it as the handling felt telepathic and the engine just had grunt everywhere. I loved it. That was definitely the best colour they did on the blade, shame they only did it for one or two years.
Some burn a lot of oil, some burn a little. No real way of telling though before purchase. I am 6'1" and in town there is a lot of weight on your wrists other than that it is comfortable. Nice fat mid range but lacks top end scream. Build quality seems good (despite MTB saying the opposite but i think his lived in the sea for 6 months before he bought it). Sure for that money you could find one with half the miles though.
jjones said:
Sure for that money you could find one with half the miles though.
This is true, the dealer I have been in isn't the cheapest around but all the bikes they sell are pristine, my dad has had probably 10 bikes off them in the past and they've all been spot on. The other one they have has less miles on, but it is more expensive and is standard, so by the time I have added an exhaust, hugger, tail tidy and screen it's going to be well over £1k more than the white one. I also think it's been tracked fairly often as the tyres are melted to f
k. And it's red and I want a white one. A quick scan on ebay and I think it's fairly priced really. Mileage doesn't bother me mechanically but I'm wondering if it will affect the resale much, realistically I will probably have it a year and put 6,000 miles on it so then it's going to be a 30,000 mile bike which will narrow the market down for it.
I have a 2012 bike. Some of the early ones do burn oil, but it's not usually a problem. Chassis is great for the road, engine is more than enough. If you like Hondas you'll love it. If you think Hondas are dull then you'll think it's dull.
Personally I love mine, so refined and easy to ride when you don't feel like ragging it everywhere and it encourages you when you want to push on.
I have an R77 on mine and it's pretty loud. Not offensive, but it does scream at full throttle. Not too bad at lower throttle openings.
Personally I love mine, so refined and easy to ride when you don't feel like ragging it everywhere and it encourages you when you want to push on.
I have an R77 on mine and it's pretty loud. Not offensive, but it does scream at full throttle. Not too bad at lower throttle openings.
Gunk said:
Can't quite understand your concern about 24,000 in 8 years. It's nothing and at least it's been used and hopefully serviced regularly.
I'd much rather by a bike with some miles on than one that's been a garage ornament.
Clearly you didn't actually read my posts then. As I said mileage doesn't bother ME but in reality I'll only keep this bike a year and it'll be sold with 30,000+ miles on which may put some people off. I'd much rather by a bike with some miles on than one that's been a garage ornament.
patchb said:
Gunk said:
Can't quite understand your concern about 24,000 in 8 years. It's nothing and at least it's been used and hopefully serviced regularly.
I'd much rather by a bike with some miles on than one that's been a garage ornament.
Clearly you didn't actually read my posts then. As I said mileage doesn't bother ME but in reality I'll only keep this bike a year and it'll be sold with 30,000+ miles on which may put some people off. I'd much rather by a bike with some miles on than one that's been a garage ornament.
batchb said:
The one I'm looking at has 24,000 miles on it which isn't ideal but I can live with that
Sorry I offended, wasn't my intention Edited by Gunk on Sunday 23 October 16:08
As well as the oil issue, there was a recall on the 2008 model related to the clutch, my mate found out about it when it(the clutch) started to play up in the Alps. It never used any oil thou.
Im sure with that mileage it will be sorted but worth asking the dealer/Honda for evidence that its been done to the particular bike your looking at.
Im sure with that mileage it will be sorted but worth asking the dealer/Honda for evidence that its been done to the particular bike your looking at.
I've got a 2010... I've done 20,000 miles on it so far ... the chassis is just superb. Not ridden anything else like it (it does have the later spec suspension) ... I've also spent a few quid on it to get it how I want.
Despite having owned it two years I have no intention of selling it. It's an incredible bike and this comes from someone who was a Yamaha fanboi!
It doesn't use a drop of oil either.
6 years old and 24,000 miles. Still looks brand new. Honda build quality.
Despite having owned it two years I have no intention of selling it. It's an incredible bike and this comes from someone who was a Yamaha fanboi!
It doesn't use a drop of oil either.
6 years old and 24,000 miles. Still looks brand new. Honda build quality.
Mr OCD said:
I've got a 2010... I've done 20,000 miles on it so far ... the chassis is just superb. Not ridden anything else like it (it does have the later spec suspension) ... I've also spent a few quid on it to get it how I want.
Despite having owned it two years I have no intention of selling it. It's an incredible bike and this comes from someone who was a Yamaha fanboi!
It doesn't use a drop of oil either.
6 years old and 24,000 miles. Still looks brand new. Honda build quality.
Sorry for thread hijack - looking good Mr OCD! I see you swapped the Yoshi for the lovely Akra?Despite having owned it two years I have no intention of selling it. It's an incredible bike and this comes from someone who was a Yamaha fanboi!
It doesn't use a drop of oil either.
6 years old and 24,000 miles. Still looks brand new. Honda build quality.
Question - do the GB Racing covers touch or trap any crud behind them? I'm keen on getting some, but worried they'll mark or cause the original cases to corrode/bloom.
To the OP - Oil consumption issues only thing I know from an 08 - seems hit or miss on those, but 09 onwards was sorted apparently. If buying from a dealer just say that if it's chewing a litre a thousand miles you'll be bringing it back.
3DP said:
Sorry for thread hijack - looking good Mr OCD! I see you swapped the Yoshi for the lovely Akra?
Question - do the GB Racing covers touch or trap any crud behind them? I'm keen on getting some, but worried they'll mark or cause the original cases to corrode/bloom.
To the OP - Oil consumption issues only thing I know from an 08 - seems hit or miss on those, but 09 onwards was sorted apparently. If buying from a dealer just say that if it's chewing a litre a thousand miles you'll be bringing it back.
Question - do the GB Racing covers touch or trap any crud behind them? I'm keen on getting some, but worried they'll mark or cause the original cases to corrode/bloom.
To the OP - Oil consumption issues only thing I know from an 08 - seems hit or miss on those, but 09 onwards was sorted apparently. If buying from a dealer just say that if it's chewing a litre a thousand miles you'll be bringing it back.
Yes, I got fed up with the poor idle with the Yoshimura... hence swapping for the Akra. No problems since and IMHO sounds better - it's also been mapped properly for it.
No issues with the GB racing covers yet and they've been on a while. But then I do pay attention to them when cleaning the bike so the crud doesn't build up to become a problem (pressure washer helps with this) - yet lol. I might pop them off over winter when I do a deep clean and send the suspension off to K-Tech to see what the cases are like.
The reason I went for a 10 plate was due to the issues affecting some 08-09 bikes... oil consumption, crank issues, etc.
patchb said:
Clearly you didn't actually read my posts then. As I said mileage doesn't bother ME but in reality I'll only keep this bike a year and it'll be sold with 30,000+ miles on which may put some people off.
Yep it will. However, those same people would be put off with the same bike with 20,000 miles.I wouldn't sweat it ... its a blade - they always sell regardless of mileage.
Use it and enjoy it. Just accept you'll lose a little money on it come trade in. Or be shrewd... remove all the fancy bits come sale time, put back to standard. Trade in cheaply and sell the fancy parts on to recoup any loss.
It's what I do.
Mr OCD said:
3DP said:
Sorry for thread hijack - looking good Mr OCD! I see you swapped the Yoshi for the lovely Akra?
Question - do the GB Racing covers touch or trap any crud behind them? I'm keen on getting some, but worried they'll mark or cause the original cases to corrode/bloom.
To the OP - Oil consumption issues only thing I know from an 08 - seems hit or miss on those, but 09 onwards was sorted apparently. If buying from a dealer just say that if it's chewing a litre a thousand miles you'll be bringing it back.
Question - do the GB Racing covers touch or trap any crud behind them? I'm keen on getting some, but worried they'll mark or cause the original cases to corrode/bloom.
To the OP - Oil consumption issues only thing I know from an 08 - seems hit or miss on those, but 09 onwards was sorted apparently. If buying from a dealer just say that if it's chewing a litre a thousand miles you'll be bringing it back.
Yes, I got fed up with the poor idle with the Yoshimura... hence swapping for the Akra. No problems since and IMHO sounds better - it's also been mapped properly for it.
No issues with the GB racing covers yet and they've been on a while. But then I do pay attention to them when cleaning the bike so the crud doesn't build up to become a problem (pressure washer helps with this) - yet lol. I might pop them off over winter when I do a deep clean and send the suspension off to K-Tech to see what the cases are like.
The reason I went for a 10 plate was due to the issues affecting some 08-09 bikes... oil consumption, crank issues, etc.
3DP said:
Good to know - yours looks ace. GB Racing covers going on my Christmas list then
Thank you. The only thing I don't like it is the HRC rear brake hose... it goes cloudy so that's coming off.No other plans for it ... although going full brembo at the front is tempting me ... it's a rocket ship with the mods done and even with the brake work already done I'd still like more power at the lever for less effort.
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