Same here, I was the second person in the queue I think. I'm now starting to get over the looks, it's that sound which has got me.
So which might you plan on plumping for? The S or the Speciale? Either are (at least on the face of it) great bikes. IIRC, Tony said he sold 7 Speciales with a total of 15 orders of intent. Plenty of S's and Base models it seems. Well at least until the bike gets into the mainstream media and magazines, then he expects to sell a few more, beyond those people dialled into what's new for 2018 on the respective forums. Exhaust system is confirmed as £4K or very close to it and CNC Racing are reputed to already be working on some rearsets. They'll no doubt be a tidal wave of new products appearing over the next few months. I might try and take a day off work and go during the week to the NEC, as the Saturday is always a zoo there which really marrs the whole event for me.
Well I know I have a Specialé if I want, I put my deposit down as soon as news of the V4 broke. As it's limited, he actually told me not to take my name off of the list. It's possible these will sell at premium if I wanted to move it on as soon as I have it. More likely though, if I don't have it Seastars will want it in their shop for a while. The Specialé is growing on me but the new R will be amazing, fact. The Specialé will lose the least off the forecourt though if I trade in for the R. I think someone is definitely going to come up with a better exhaust option than that also. Oh, and my 5 year old told me the new one is ace......
Wish I could afford the Speciale but it's just too rich for my blood. Champagne tastes, lemonade money and all that. I think I can get an S close to it in terms of spec but not looking to mimic it; certainly not the livery which is nice but maybe a similar design to the SL or an SPS theme with the mag coloured frame and swingarm, black OZ Gass wheels plus some inevitable trinkets. It's looking less likely I'll be getting the day off I wanted so perhaps the 18th it is after all for the NEC. There used to be a company in Norwich that did return coach day trips including ticket to get in but it seems that's no more, so I'll probably end up driving and prepare to be robbed for the car parking fees.
Guess I could bin my rear tyre warmer They are trying hard to stop Kawasaki and also give a chance to privateer teams ...I was really upset when read through the homologation documents. Is WSBK be the new Superstock?
IMO Kawasaki won't stand a chance with their limited edition 2018 offering, shame the duke won't be racing until 2019
These guys definitely know how to “LAUNCH” a bike I think they just got confused between launching TO an audience and launching INTO an audience!!!
Hmm don't quote me on this but it looks like air filter changes need to be done from the front of the main frame. Front subframe/instruments off to do it?
Well that pesky light will be coming straight off, bubble wrapped, and directly into loft. Next to the other ones. Lights. Totally overrated.
Kind of the direction I may be going in. Mag frame, swingarm. Cerakoted black swing arm support brackets and shock linkage brackets plus black ceramic coated radiators. Exhaust will be swapped out along with footrests/rearsets, so these two won't feature as shown here.
maybe battery cover? that said, if theres one cover on each side, maybe 2 air filters behind each 'conveyor'? bet the covers are angled for easy removal (ish) gotto be better than the V2 design
No I'm told by the dealer that the battery sits directly behind the headstock under the top fuel tank panel (below)
Air is ducted through the ram air scoops inboard of the headlights then passes through the front subframe, then through the black plastic filter assembly that is sandwiched between the subframe and the main front frame, and lastly into the airbox. I'm trying to get as intimate with the bike as I can as all this lot will be coming off when I get my sticky mitts on mine!
