What 90s bike next?
Discussion
I’m looking to buy a new bike and deciding on an early 90s fireblade , zx7r or an early r1 . Currently have a 1299 pani and few 125s which are All staying. Not so bothered about resale value , might do a few track days on it it as I’m still a novice on the track and the idea of dropping the pani on the track isn’t a good one but mainly for the road . . Iv had a fair few 600s so not interested in them coming from the Ducati. My main concern is after some Extension works on the house removing the back gate , my bikes now have to come through the kitchen and hallway which is very tight but is easily done with folding the mirrors and foot pegs in. So my question is which is the better bike for the money and having never sat on either bike are they that much bigger than a Ducati 1299? And anyone selling a decent early blade or r1 let me know cheers
Had a ZX7 from new back in the 90’s and they are a bit of chubby unwieldy pig when wheeling them around. Lovely looking things & get a nice one for under £2k.
Had my 98 R1 for a dozen years and it’s done about 8 house moves where it frequently had to through houses. They’re very light and the chance positioning of the side stand and weight distribution mean they are the easiest bike to pull up onto the stand and spin it round in its own length. The mirrors ping in and out without having to readjust them to use. It’s currently sat in my back garden having gone up a 25 cm step and through a 70 cm doorway. It’s regularly trackdayed in UK & Europe. Get a nice one for £3k.
Had my 98 R1 for a dozen years and it’s done about 8 house moves where it frequently had to through houses. They’re very light and the chance positioning of the side stand and weight distribution mean they are the easiest bike to pull up onto the stand and spin it round in its own length. The mirrors ping in and out without having to readjust them to use. It’s currently sat in my back garden having gone up a 25 cm step and through a 70 cm doorway. It’s regularly trackdayed in UK & Europe. Get a nice one for £3k.
Just had the itch to buy an early 90s blade or an early r1 , always fancied owning one and the r1 prices are only going up it seems ,
Thanks for that info motox , that answers many questions . The panigale didn't come with foldable mirrors so when It was delivered i had to remove the mirrors just to get it in the house then order some foldible ones from America, and wait 4 weeks , also the pani isn't that heavy so manoeuvring it through the house isn't an issue so hopefully the r1 or fireblade would be similar to this . Unfortunately I cant test ride and ask if I can fit it into my house before I have paid for it . I did test ride the new 2020 r6 from a dealer and it went through my house easy but i had it for the whole day but it didn't do anything for me being a 600cc
Thanks for that info motox , that answers many questions . The panigale didn't come with foldable mirrors so when It was delivered i had to remove the mirrors just to get it in the house then order some foldible ones from America, and wait 4 weeks , also the pani isn't that heavy so manoeuvring it through the house isn't an issue so hopefully the r1 or fireblade would be similar to this . Unfortunately I cant test ride and ask if I can fit it into my house before I have paid for it . I did test ride the new 2020 r6 from a dealer and it went through my house easy but i had it for the whole day but it didn't do anything for me being a 600cc
You must buy this. Just look at the Urban Tiger scheme. Glorious!
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1253420
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1253420
Possibly the best sports bike of the 90's is the SRAD 750 fuel injected models. Won sports bike of the year in 1999 IIRC, vs the blade and game changing R1.
The good thing is, relatively speaking they are cheap as chips and riding one, takes you back to a purity of sports bike that hasnt been seen in a long time. So stiff a chassis, slick gearbox, GP geometry, light, raw, but addictive top end razzability.
Mine reminds me of my RS250, only quicker and more useable on road.
Proper gem of a bike
The good thing is, relatively speaking they are cheap as chips and riding one, takes you back to a purity of sports bike that hasnt been seen in a long time. So stiff a chassis, slick gearbox, GP geometry, light, raw, but addictive top end razzability.
Mine reminds me of my RS250, only quicker and more useable on road.
Proper gem of a bike
I love the 750 srads but they seem bulky and would be a pain moving through the house but maybe that maybe just my eyes. Never took to the urban tiger colour scheme but they seem to be commanding the best price , always liked the purple and pink/red1992/3 twin headlights , these still fetch decent money aswell. Looked at the prices of the 1997/8 r1 white with red seats seem to go for silly money. If I remember they didn’t sell many of that colour because people didn’t like the red seats now that’s the major selling point .Off topic but I have bike trader magazine from August 2000 Just looking at the prices you could pick up a 2 stroke 250 tzr, rs,rgv etc . I could retire now if I had kept a few ,I know it’s all relative but I remember struggling to sell my mint rs250 in 2005 for £2000. Was advertised for months and still had to haggle to get £1700
leighavfc123 said:
I love the 750 srads but they seem bulky and would be a pain moving through the house but maybe that maybe just my eyes.
They're tiny compared to most modern bikes! At MOT my stock road bike (stock exhaust) and full tank was 191kg. Hardly a monster! Of all those late 90s sports bikes, only the R1 comes close and the FI of the Suzook, coupled to such a race chassis makes it hard to beat.
Just feel "special" to ride when out and about on them in 2020!!
Was also looking at a 400 due to the size and easy to move about through the house , Iv seen a couple of nice cbr 400s in the early blade colours but don’t know if I could drop that amount of money on a 400 when the proper blades can be had for the same amount. Going to view a 1993 fireblade on Monday to gauge the size
leighavfc123 said:
Was also looking at a 400 due to the size and easy to move about through the house , Iv seen a couple of nice cbr 400s in the early blade colours but don’t know if I could drop that amount of money on a 400 when the proper blades can be had for the same amount. Going to view a 1993 fireblade on Monday to gauge the size
I don’t know if this will help but I suppose it depends what you want from a bike, I had an RVF400 as my first big bike after passing my test and moved from there to a 1995 Fireblade, the RVF was much more nimble through the corners but lacking a bit on straights, the Fireblade was a dog through bends but had more power on the straights, if I could pick one to have again it would be the RVF without a doubt.NorthernSky said:
You must buy this. Just look at the Urban Tiger scheme. Glorious!
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1253420
Identical to mine. Fabulous thing. https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1253420
poo at Paul's said:
They're tiny compared to most modern bikes! At MOT my stock road bike (stock exhaust) and full tank was 191kg. Hardly a monster!
Of all those late 90s sports bikes, only the R1 comes close and the FI of the Suzook, coupled to such a race chassis makes it hard to beat.
Just feel "special" to ride when out and about on them in 2020!!
I think he meant physical size rather than weight. I have a 600 srad and it's certainly a good deal larger than a modern 600 (I learnt on a Z650 Kawasaki). Personally I like a large bike so it suits me!Of all those late 90s sports bikes, only the R1 comes close and the FI of the Suzook, coupled to such a race chassis makes it hard to beat.
Just feel "special" to ride when out and about on them in 2020!!
SRAD 750 is the bike that is often noted for being still impressively quick and agile. I had a modified race one with updated suspension and it was phenomenal. Preferred it to my K4 GSXR 1000.
As for being bulky, I used to keep mine in my ground floor flat bedroom so wasnt especially large, although I did have a K1 fairing on it.
As for being bulky, I used to keep mine in my ground floor flat bedroom so wasnt especially large, although I did have a K1 fairing on it.
Edited by Pebbles167 on Tuesday 8th September 00:40
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