zunkus
19-05-08, 11:11 AM
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0021-1.jpg
Do we need more power?
A great number of sport bikers here in Malta ride 600s. It seems the logical choice for our small island. We haven't got great distances to travel so a 600cc bike should be more than enough to get us from A to B in a quick, fun manner, right? But there is always the question of what a 1000cc would be like to ride is there? The new(ish) trend to take your bike to Sicily or further still is a good excuse to take the plunge surely. Can mere mortals like us normal folk handle such powerful machines?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/PAQPAQTAQALI3BIKEROADTEST025.jpg
I myself am in such a dilemma. I've been riding my trusty Suzuki SV650 from the day they emerged from the factory, back in 1999. So will I be able to handle a bigger machine and which one should fit me best? The Suzuki TL1000 came to mind, but so many reviews against the bike's rear damper and the fact they call it the widow maker put me off somewhat, and I've always secretly craved for a Honda. The opportunity came through this three bike review. I was asked to test ride the Honda Firestorm, 2004 Fireblade and the gorgeously looking 2007 Fireblade. What luck!
Honda VTR1000 Firestorm
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0120-1.jpg
One of the most awaited bikes when it appeared in 1997, it was immediately overshadowed by the TL1000. Since then the VTR has always been regarded as the softest V-twin around. Twin, side mounted radiators and a small capacity tank make the bike physically quite small and quite slim. It's hard to believe you're sitting on a thou giving you an instant 108bhp. Almost feels the same as my little 650. The firestorm was never designed for hard track use but it makes for a fantastic roadbike, especially as a first big bike. It doesn't seem to rev as freely as my bike but boy does it go. The combination of decent grip, small dimensions and instant wallop is very effective at picking past cars. It's got character like all V-twins, and feels somewhat old fashioned, raw and un-smooth. If you hanker after such feelings, the VTR's your bike. It fails to impress in extreme braking though. Maybe it just needs some attention, pads and seals renewed and fresh hydraulic in its veins; after all it's the oldest bike here.
Honda Fireblade 2004
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0251-1.jpg
"The new Fireblade represents total control", that was what the Honda people were banging about at the time this beauty came out. They didn't want to build a bike for outright power to compete with Suzuki's GSX-R1000 which had been king since 2001. For the moment they decided not to tackle the competition on the stat sheets but instead build a machine they said is more accessible, more usable and consequently more fun to ride. Performance you can use. Total control. A fine theory and it's easy to understand what Honda means. This incarnation is fantastically easy to ride fast, slow or in between. When you want to put your head down and trash it with your mates you're only giving 50% effort to keep up. 130bhp at the back wheel and 168kg do make for a nimble, quick bike even by today's standards. The drive from low revs is always strong, but not so brutal as to be off putting, before the high rev frenzy kicks in and races you to peak power. Steering is quick and precise and the Blade seems to fall intuitively to turn without the need to force it down or heave it up. Nothing wrong with this bike's brakes, think of stopping and you're stationery. The feel is the best I've ever felt on any bike's, building up your confidence to no end. It is a superbike, however it's so civilised and easy to live with it's no wonder it sold like hot cakes, sales helped by the fact that Honda kept their reputation of producing well put together, high performance bikes. Total control, it works for me.
Honda Fireblade 2007
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0172-1.jpg
Honda's flagship won the prestigious Suzuka 8 hours every time it rolled onto the grid, it claimed the 2006 British Superbike crown and been in contention for the FIM World Superbike title for both 2005 and 2006. Bike sales on Honda's 2006 Fireblade was 2067 units which made it the best selling bike in the UK for that year so the 2007 Blade had a hard act to follow. Honda had no need to worry, it trashed the competition in WSB with James Toseland at the reigns. The ergonomics are spot on, the cockpit well laid out, the tank just wide enough to leave you something to hang onto, so when you reach out to the spaced clip-ons and put your feet on the perfectly located pegs, everything feels like you had put them there yourself. The praise doesn't end here, the radial-mounted four piston callipers make for solid brakes, very nice especially when you overcook a corner. Suspension did great work of levelling out the most of the usual undulations found on our public roads and very little dive was felt in heavy braking. This bike feels torquer in the mid-range than its 2004 predecessor, just where it counts on the open road and with gearing tailor made for street use, it's tough to beat. Be careful though, this generation is best suited for riders with more experience, self-control and respect for the awesome power available, like my buddies here on this review. More saddle experience required on big bikes is my case then.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0240-1.jpg
Final thoughts
The 2007 edition of the Fireblade looks awesome. It comes second in the looks department only to KTM's RC8 in my opinion and is much better looking than the 2008 edition of the Fireblade with its stubby nose and short rear end. It's great for the experienced but for now more than I can handle. Second comes the Firestorm. It's a V-twin which sounds awesome especially when rev'ed hard but to me it was more of the same and didn't fire my taste buds all that much. My overall winner is the 2004 Fireblade, it just felt so right. Being honest, I was the thou virgin here and to have kept up with my more experienced mates without feeling that I rode over my comfort zone is a testimony to this bike's greatness.
This is power for the masses and you'll want to ride forever.
zunkus
Do we need more power?
A great number of sport bikers here in Malta ride 600s. It seems the logical choice for our small island. We haven't got great distances to travel so a 600cc bike should be more than enough to get us from A to B in a quick, fun manner, right? But there is always the question of what a 1000cc would be like to ride is there? The new(ish) trend to take your bike to Sicily or further still is a good excuse to take the plunge surely. Can mere mortals like us normal folk handle such powerful machines?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/PAQPAQTAQALI3BIKEROADTEST025.jpg
I myself am in such a dilemma. I've been riding my trusty Suzuki SV650 from the day they emerged from the factory, back in 1999. So will I be able to handle a bigger machine and which one should fit me best? The Suzuki TL1000 came to mind, but so many reviews against the bike's rear damper and the fact they call it the widow maker put me off somewhat, and I've always secretly craved for a Honda. The opportunity came through this three bike review. I was asked to test ride the Honda Firestorm, 2004 Fireblade and the gorgeously looking 2007 Fireblade. What luck!
Honda VTR1000 Firestorm
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0120-1.jpg
One of the most awaited bikes when it appeared in 1997, it was immediately overshadowed by the TL1000. Since then the VTR has always been regarded as the softest V-twin around. Twin, side mounted radiators and a small capacity tank make the bike physically quite small and quite slim. It's hard to believe you're sitting on a thou giving you an instant 108bhp. Almost feels the same as my little 650. The firestorm was never designed for hard track use but it makes for a fantastic roadbike, especially as a first big bike. It doesn't seem to rev as freely as my bike but boy does it go. The combination of decent grip, small dimensions and instant wallop is very effective at picking past cars. It's got character like all V-twins, and feels somewhat old fashioned, raw and un-smooth. If you hanker after such feelings, the VTR's your bike. It fails to impress in extreme braking though. Maybe it just needs some attention, pads and seals renewed and fresh hydraulic in its veins; after all it's the oldest bike here.
Honda Fireblade 2004
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0251-1.jpg
"The new Fireblade represents total control", that was what the Honda people were banging about at the time this beauty came out. They didn't want to build a bike for outright power to compete with Suzuki's GSX-R1000 which had been king since 2001. For the moment they decided not to tackle the competition on the stat sheets but instead build a machine they said is more accessible, more usable and consequently more fun to ride. Performance you can use. Total control. A fine theory and it's easy to understand what Honda means. This incarnation is fantastically easy to ride fast, slow or in between. When you want to put your head down and trash it with your mates you're only giving 50% effort to keep up. 130bhp at the back wheel and 168kg do make for a nimble, quick bike even by today's standards. The drive from low revs is always strong, but not so brutal as to be off putting, before the high rev frenzy kicks in and races you to peak power. Steering is quick and precise and the Blade seems to fall intuitively to turn without the need to force it down or heave it up. Nothing wrong with this bike's brakes, think of stopping and you're stationery. The feel is the best I've ever felt on any bike's, building up your confidence to no end. It is a superbike, however it's so civilised and easy to live with it's no wonder it sold like hot cakes, sales helped by the fact that Honda kept their reputation of producing well put together, high performance bikes. Total control, it works for me.
Honda Fireblade 2007
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0172-1.jpg
Honda's flagship won the prestigious Suzuka 8 hours every time it rolled onto the grid, it claimed the 2006 British Superbike crown and been in contention for the FIM World Superbike title for both 2005 and 2006. Bike sales on Honda's 2006 Fireblade was 2067 units which made it the best selling bike in the UK for that year so the 2007 Blade had a hard act to follow. Honda had no need to worry, it trashed the competition in WSB with James Toseland at the reigns. The ergonomics are spot on, the cockpit well laid out, the tank just wide enough to leave you something to hang onto, so when you reach out to the spaced clip-ons and put your feet on the perfectly located pegs, everything feels like you had put them there yourself. The praise doesn't end here, the radial-mounted four piston callipers make for solid brakes, very nice especially when you overcook a corner. Suspension did great work of levelling out the most of the usual undulations found on our public roads and very little dive was felt in heavy braking. This bike feels torquer in the mid-range than its 2004 predecessor, just where it counts on the open road and with gearing tailor made for street use, it's tough to beat. Be careful though, this generation is best suited for riders with more experience, self-control and respect for the awesome power available, like my buddies here on this review. More saddle experience required on big bikes is my case then.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/zunkus/Motorcycles/paqpaq%20review%201/IMG_0240-1.jpg
Final thoughts
The 2007 edition of the Fireblade looks awesome. It comes second in the looks department only to KTM's RC8 in my opinion and is much better looking than the 2008 edition of the Fireblade with its stubby nose and short rear end. It's great for the experienced but for now more than I can handle. Second comes the Firestorm. It's a V-twin which sounds awesome especially when rev'ed hard but to me it was more of the same and didn't fire my taste buds all that much. My overall winner is the 2004 Fireblade, it just felt so right. Being honest, I was the thou virgin here and to have kept up with my more experienced mates without feeling that I rode over my comfort zone is a testimony to this bike's greatness.
This is power for the masses and you'll want to ride forever.
zunkus