Rode my mates new blade today. It’s really small, I’m 6ft4 and it feels like I’m on a 600 race bike. The power delivery is something else. I’ve not experienced another bike that comes on song like this thing does. It’s ballistic! It’s like a 2 stroke power delivery, but imagine a 2 stroke with 200 odd bhp. It’s nothing like any blade that’s come before it. And honestly I’m struggling to think of a bike that’s as focussed as this thing anywhere else on the market. It feels very VERY fast, i think a lot of this is sensation as the power delivery is so potent and not exactly linear. But wow it’s thrilling. I wouldn’t buy one as a road bike as I’d 10000% be dropping the soap. But Christ i can tell why it’s such a good race bike. It’s just a shame you need kit electronics to do anything properly with them. it’s so light and flickable. The stock suspension is very plush. The quick shifter is very very good. The brakes feel panigale good. It’s the closest thing to a race bike with head lights that I’ve ridden. It’s also the best sounding stock bike by a country mile when you go passed 6k revs. The induction bark is seriously boner inducing. However I doubt it’s going to do well with noise testing...
Jeez, and that's coming from the GSXR as a comparison! The GSXR is the most 2-stroke like 4clyinder I've ridden tbh so I can't imagine what this is like to ride! The thing that intrigues me about me Fireblade is that even even though it's supposed to be flat at the bottom end, I think on the road it would surely still be as strong as something like a V2 Panigale? or is it 'REALLY' flat...? I wouldn't care if it had a mental top end that I won't use on the track, but am intrigued by something that still feels really exciting and special before you go ballistic speeds.
We did a quick, but not brilliant quality vid of me running it past. kept below 10k as he’s running it in and I didn’t want to take the piss
That’s intriguing. I find the current Gsxr really good for grunt and a wide spread power delivery personally. This thing is flat at the bottom for sure. It’s not awful though. But you aren’t there for long. 6k is where the exhaust opens and it takes off like shit off a shovel! But I could see it landing you in trouble with the police rather quickly. It’s built a bit like a race bike as well. It’s well built, but I wouldn’t say it looks special to the eye or touch like say a panigale. It’s ridiculous at the top end and totally addictive. it wouldn’t be my choice for a road bike though. To get a thrill from it, you’re already going pretty fast! I didn’t play around with the electronics, but from my brief ride, it’s a bike that will make you feel very alive. You have to work it like a 600 a bit, so you’ve got that awesome riders input rewarding thing going on, but when it gets going it’s a rush I’ve not really experienced since the first time I rode a 1000cc bike years ago. it’s piss easy to ride slow. But once you get going on it.. you need to be on your game. It would suit more experienced riders in my opinion. It’s not as easy for a knobber to get going half quick on like an s1000 for example. it’s a special bike in ways as there’s not really much else about like this in my opinion.
It feels lighter than the gsxr and the front end is more plush at the speeds I was doing on the roads I was on. however, im under no illusions that I could probably peddle the gsxr quicker than the Honda. The Suzuki is more versatile. It’s more of a rounded package IMO. I think to ride that Honda fast, you’d need to be a fairly shit hot rider. It’s not as accessible as some other brands on the road atleast. it’s fairly physical just holding on to it
Interesting you comment on the size of the blade. I remember a couple of years ago at the bike show sitting on one & thinking it looked and felt great but my 6ft 2 mate frankly looked ridiculous on it.
Rode one last year....sublime handling! Most uncomfortable Sportsbike I’ve ever ridden. Absolutely gutless under 7k! But a ballistic missile above... Brakes felt wooden compared to the V4 but could be down to pad material. Super easy and smooth to ride. Didn’t feel that special to ride if I’m honest. Definitely not a do it all road bike like the previous models. Couldn’t wait to get back on my V4s.... Far more character, far more entertaining, more comfortable for sure. Challenging at times, but that’s part of its charm. Would definitely consider the Blade for track use only
@Advikaz yeah I mean I think one thing about the GSXR was the fact that either side id been riding the twins so perhaps made my impressions somewhat more jaded, that said not long after I rode a 2015 S1000RR and it still felt fast but much more linear with a nicer throttle connection. I’m going to try and get on an RSV4 this year, would really like to try one, trouble is I want a 1000cc one and they are rare to find really clean ones
