Opinions on 2010+ Honda Fireblade

[blade7]

Mr2Mike said:

Biker's Nemesis said:

According to Dave Hancock who worked very closely with Tada during the FireBlade development the above story is in fact correct.

Perhaps the story relates to an early prototype, and they stuck with the 16 inch wheel even though the production bikes didn't need it.

blade7 said:

This^^^^though fitting a 17" made it slappy, and Honda were too tight/arrogant to fit a steering damper.

I haven't noticed any instability on my '99, but I think the earlier bikes were a bit more flighty to start with.

With a 17" front wheel ? My 98 with a 17" was very flighty.
I'm not sure exactly when the 2nd gen S1000RR came out but the 13 bike isn't "dead" from 5-8k. Anti wheelie, what's that ?

Edited by blade7 on Thursday 25th August 11:37

[Mr2Mike]

blade7 said:

With a 17" front wheel ? My 98 with a 17" was very flighty.

Yes, I have 2014 CBR1000RR wheels on my '99 blade, along with 954 forks with gold valves. I did actually fit a damper a while back, but primarily for the bling if I'm honest; I found an almost new Harris/Ohlins kit which are like rocking horse poo and had to have it. However I rode pretty hard before the damper was installed and had no issues at all.

It does turn in more quickly for sure, but I put that down to the lighter wheels; the CBR900RR wheels are extremely heavy. The CBR1000RR wheels are a bit of a sod to clean though.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Friday 26th August 01:31

[308mate]

Biker's Nemesis said:

3 Nm less torques from the BMW compared to the Hernda, your bottom must be really sensitive Pete.

Both 2012 models, BMW has an extra 20 BHP.

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/bmw/bmw_s10...

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Honda/honda...

And didn't the "Star Boyz" mainly use Honda and those "chavy" Kawasaki's.

Las Vegas extremes used mainly GSXRs.....I think.

[blade7]

Mr2Mike said:

blade7 said:

With a 17" front wheel ? My 98 with a 17" was very flighty.

Yes, I have 2014 CBR1000RR wheels on my '99 blade, along with 954 forks with gold valves. I did actually fit a damper a while back, but primarily for the bling if I'm honest; I found an almost new Harris/Ohlins kit which are like rocking horse poo and had to have it. However I rode pretty hard before the damper was installed and had no issues at all.

It does turn in more quickly for sure, but I put that down to the lighter wheels; the CBR900RR wheels are extremely heavy.

Perhaps it was just down to the lighter 17" wheel on mine. Is the offset different on the 954 yokes though ?

[dc2rr07]

blade7 said:

Mr2Mike said:

Biker's Nemesis said:

According to Dave Hancock who worked very closely with Tada during the FireBlade development the above story is in fact correct.

Perhaps the story relates to an early prototype, and they stuck with the 16 inch wheel even though the production bikes didn't need it.

blade7 said:

This^^^^though fitting a 17" made it slappy, and Honda were too tight/arrogant to fit a steering damper.

I haven't noticed any instability on my '99, but I think the earlier bikes were a bit more flighty to start with.

With a 17" front wheel ? My 98 with a 17" was very flighty.
I'm not sure exactly when the 2nd gen S1000RR came out but the 13 bike isn't "dead" from 5-8k. Anti wheelie, what's that ?

Edited by blade7 on Thursday 25th August 11:37

The 16" wheels turn in quicker than the 17", most race bikes used the smaller diameter wheels and have only just recently changed to 17" I do believe.

[Mr2Mike]

blade7 said:

Perhaps it was just down to the lighter 17" wheel on mine. Is the offset different on the 954 yokes though ?

The 929/954 yokes have the same 30mm offset as the 98/99 CBR900RR. They also have the same fork spacing which makes it a more or less perfect a fit, the only fly in the ointment being the caliper mount which is designed for 330mm discs which nothing else uses.

Which wheel did you use? I had a VFR800 wheel all ready to fit but it was even heavier than the blade wheel and I really liked the look of the late 1000RR wheels. They also saved over 2kg on the rear and and over 1kg on the front compared to the originals.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Saturday 27th August 10:02

[blade7]

Mr2Mike said:

Which wheel did you use? I had a VFR800 wheel all ready to fit but it was even heavier than the blade wheel and I really liked the look of the late 1000RR wheels. They also saved over 2kg on the rear and and over 1kg on the front compared to the originals.

I think it was a CBR600 wheel with different spacers, I fitted a full Akra at the same time. A R1 left me for dead and I bought one soon afterwards.

[Gunk]

dc2rr07 said:

blade7 said:

Mr2Mike said:

Biker's Nemesis said:

According to Dave Hancock who worked very closely with Tada during the FireBlade development the above story is in fact correct.

Perhaps the story relates to an early prototype, and they stuck with the 16 inch wheel even though the production bikes didn't need it.

blade7 said:

This^^^^though fitting a 17" made it slappy, and Honda were too tight/arrogant to fit a steering damper.

I haven't noticed any instability on my '99, but I think the earlier bikes were a bit more flighty to start with.

With a 17" front wheel ? My 98 with a 17" was very flighty.
I'm not sure exactly when the 2nd gen S1000RR came out but the 13 bike isn't "dead" from 5-8k. Anti wheelie, what's that ?

Edited by blade7 on Thursday 25th August 11:37

The 16" wheels turn in quicker than the 17", most race bikes used the smaller diameter wheels and have only just recently changed to 17" I do believe.

I've converted my 1994 'blade from a 16" to a 17" front wheel. The reality is that unless you ride it right on the edge (or you're a motorcycling journalist!) there's very little difference in front end feel. The biggest benefit is just a wider tyre choice.

[dc2rr07]

Gunk said:

I've converted my 1994 'blade from a 16" to a 17" front wheel. The reality is that unless you ride it right on the edge (or you're a motorcycling journalist!) there's very little difference in front end feel. The biggest benefit is just a wider tyre choice.

Yes that was the downside that's why most switched to the 17" wheels to get the better choice of tyre.

[blade7]

Gunk said:

I've converted my 1994 'blade from a 16" to a 17" front wheel. The biggest benefit is just a wider tyre choice.

Presumably that enabled you to fit a better front tyre...

[bgunn]

Today, whilst my '15 CB1000R was in for its second service (if only to put the first few stamps in the book), I thought I'd take out a 'blade and the dealer had an SP sitting there (that was bloody filthy, truth be told).

Thoughts on it compared to my CB thou:

It's a lot 'softer' low down - but I put that down to gearing more than anything, although the CB is tuned for midrange.
It's very very plush on the suspension - I put a lot of that down to the Öhlins, I'd like to ride a standard Showa equipped bike and see. Leagues better in damping than my CB which is well known to be severely lacking on rebound at the front, for sure
Throttle response is lovely, it feels pretty well mapped, soft ish low down but without the slight jerkiness of my CB and a very progressive power curve that really builds nicely
Comfy - not such low bars as would be horrendous, I gave it a good run for 40 mins and even in traffic my back wasn't killing or wrists aching
Deceptively quick - clearly progressive on power as it just gets you up to fairly silly speeds without much fuss
A bit quiet on the exhaust for my liking as standard, I don't like a stupidly loud bike but this seemed a tad muted and restrained
Smooth - less bar vibes etc than my bike

I'm now seriously considering chopping my bike in for one. I can live with the difficult packaging and cheese fasteners as I'd replace these as I go. I've taken to going on fairly decent blasts now, having done a 530 mile run around Wales etc last week, and the CB isn't really too practical for that - fun and slightly hooliganish it might be, it's not actually that practical, the seat is a bit hard for long runs too.

I really liked it.

[Zebrs]

^^^ Good comparison write up - thanks. I took a Cb1000 out in a test ride shortly after I passed as I wanted a biggish naked bike. It went like a scalded cat, unsurprisingly - I loved it. I have come to appreciate the sports bikes looks though, and think the blade looks great. In the end I bought an MT09, but, as you do, already thinking about possible replacements albeit for sometime in the future. A blade would definitely be on the shortlist. Big question is when/if Honda will replace the CB thou as I imagine it's sales are getting hammered by MT10 and S1000R atm.

[bgunn]

Speaking to the dealer, the CB thou is history with EU4 coming along. Or it is in its current form, so expect a revised one (or brand new equivalent) in 2017 along with the 'blade.

CBR600F and 600RR have obviously already bitten the dust, the CBR300R is going too.

I love my CB thou - it's a great fun bike, but having ridden something a little more sophisticated, I'm recognising the shorfalls in the suspension (particularly) now.

I'm in a quandary, really!

[3DP]

Glad you liked it - the standard Blade has Showa BPF forks and a bi-tube (Ohlins TTX) style Showa rear shock. Both would not be as up to pro-longed track use as the Ohlins, but personally, the road based Showas on the Blade are better than any Ohlins I've tried on the road, including the Magneto electric jobbies. You'll be losing little to nothing in road use by going for the standard Blade.