Test ride challenge

[carelesschucca]

Lenny, go and try the 675's naked brother the street triple R. its a little beauty, things like the clocks work better on it too

[L3nny]

Test 2 - 2011 Suzuki GSXR 600. 45.42 miles
Total Mileage 84.62


Was very impressed by this bike. Found it very neutral and easy to ride. The riding position was pretty similar to my Blade as well so I found it comfortable apart from the footpegs were a bit higher but they are adjustable so I am sure that can be sorted.

The engine was lacking in mid-range compared to the 675 and my Blade but that's to be expected cause it is a 600 however once you got past 8,000 revs it comes to life. If you want mid-range then there is the 750 anyway.

The suspension is excellent, it feels firm and gives loads of feedback but soaked up all the bumps without problems. I was getting thrown out of the seat all the time on the Triumph but this was much better.

There are some nice gizmos like flashing lights to tell you to change gear and a lap timer, there is also a button to reign back the power if riding in the wet.

Only down side are the looks. I wouldn't say it was ugly but compared to the Daytona it's very plain.

This is definitely a contender for my next bike

[L3nny]

Originally Posted by carelesschucca

Lenny, go and try the 675's naked brother the street triple R. its a little beauty, things like the clocks work better on it too

Not really a naked bike fan though but I was thinking that would be a good bike to try cause it's got the great 675 engine but none of the stupid ergonomics.

Trying to work my way through the 600 Supersport class at the moment but it's on the list

2011 GSXR looks good. Hopefully what I'm gonna get in a year or so. How were the Brembos compared to the brakes on your 'blade?

[L3nny]

Originally Posted by radicalry00

How were the Brembos compared to the brakes on your 'blade?

Awesome!

Its a brilliant Bike from some of the other accounts I've read and.... I know this is bringing the Biking IQ level down a bit but those front indicators / combined mirrors look a right mess front on. Yuk.

[L3nny]

Test 3 - 2010 Honda CBR 600RR. 28.93 miles
Total Mileage 113.55

Again I wanted to take a brand new bike out for this test but again the dealer didn't have a new demo so instead took out a model one of the sales guys had been riding for the past few months.

The colour scheme was last years "special" colours and from a distance looks okay, It's not untlil you study it and realise it has pictures of playing cards and a womans face on it complete with lipstick marks it puts you off. In a regular colour scheme though I think the bike is really good looking.

This bike had also been fitted with a Leo Vance end can.

Sitting on the bike it seemed comfy enough probably the nicest of the 600s I have tried so far. Made my way slowly through the ever increasing traffic on the way out of town and the problems with this bike soon made themself apparent.

There was quite a lot of vibration through the bars and 5000-7000 revs the exhaust sounded awful I had just woken up from doing a night shift, was a de-hydrated and had a bit of a headache and this wasn't helping.

Got out onto the open road and some twisties and once you get the bike above 7000 revs it feels sounds and feels a lot better. However the suspension didn’t cope with the bumps as well as the GSXR and the midrange power was lacking. I had to keep it in second and third gear the whole time.

I really wanted to like this bike because its a Honda so will last for ever, I like the looks of it and at the moment they have a great 0% finance offer on so I could actually afford one. Unfortunately I was glad to get off it.

I am sure on the right roads or on a track this is a very fast bike but on the road it's too much hard work and compared to the new GSXR it feels very harsh and unsophisticated.

[L3nny]

Test 4 - 2010 Honda CBR 1000RR. 25.30 miles
Total Mileage 138.85

After taking out the CBR600RR I went back to the showroom and told the salesman how I got on. I kept comparing it to my Fireblade so he said, well why don't you try the new Blade then.

Well I spose so

Again there wasn't a demo if the 2011 model but there was this 2010 in the showroom which was their demo from last year.

Sitting on the bike was just like sitting on my Blade. I had read that the newer Blades had become more focussed and that the old ones are more comfortable but I didn't find this was the case. It was like putting on an old pair of slippers. The riding position felt the same as my bike.

The oly thing that was a bit strange was the gear lever, you have to move it a lot further than any other bike I have ridden and the first couple of times I went to shift into second I ended up on neutral.

This is also the first bike I have ridden with a slipper clutch which took some getting used to. I kept thinking I had knocked it down into neutral.

Unfortunately just as I was going out I hit rush hour so couldn't really give the proper test as I spent most of it stuck in traffic. For the short ride I did do it felt just like my old Blade, i.e. brilliant at everything and comfortable as well as being sporty.

I will try and take it out again and do a proper report.

Lenny, that Daytona has hard settings as standard. I know my Street Triple R which has similar suspenders also seems a fairly stiff ride. I've dropped the compression and rebound damping off a little to see if it makes much difference. Its much better now on everything but the bumpiest B roads (which happens to be where most of my riding is ) I'm thinking of dropping another setting to see if that makes it even better however, it needs to be balanced without having too much see-sawing going on

Im not liking the new blade, the paintwork makes it look fugly