Hot off the press - written by Wolf
at 20.00pm on 21 February 2008 - the launch date.
With special thanks to Lings
Honda of Lowestoft ......
So, there I was at the allotted time,
bike parked up, and complimentary coffee in hand awaiting the most
important event of recent times as far as this club is concerned -
the launch of the brand spanking new 2008 Fireblade.
We have all seen the press pictures,
some of the lucky ones had been to the bike show at Excel and seen
it in the flesh, and one or two really lucky people had a sneak preview
before the official launch date (I can say no more otherwise I would
have to shoot you!), but this was the night Honda were officially
unveiling the latest blade. Tadao Baba brought us the first Fireblade
in 1992, and ever since that date the word conjures up the spirit
of adventure and speed. Why else would you be reading this on this
particular site? Tadao, we owe all this to you.
Despite the wooden master of ceremonies
who could have thought out his material beforehand, and the smoke
machine that simply prevented a good look at the bikes, Lings did
at least try to make the evening an event. There were a couple of
hundred people there, most casual hangers-on but some even in biker
jackets (who had arrived by car), and about 10 of us with bikes actually
parked outside. Mine was one of just two Fireblades in the car park
which was a major disappointment given my involvement with this club.
I had been hoping to recruit a few more members, but I doubt there
were more than a handful of actual bikers there.
The 'show'got underway with the new
750 trail bike (sorry my mind was elsewhere at this point), then the
new naked 600's which concluded with the drop-dead gorgeous Hannspree-logo'd
CBR600RR. Wow, it looked really good and at least the rider seemed
to know something about it and was able to fill a few minutes into
the microphone with something other than the standard monotone replies.
There then followed some 'killing time' displays of the S200 and Civic
R cars, and even a ride-on tractor! Talk about milking the audience,
I was ready to fall asleep at this point but then came the new blade.
It was ridden by Paul from the Harleston
branch and he at least had done his homework. He gave a good overview
of the bike, what made it different from earlier models, and how it
compared to the opposition. He discussed the weight reduction (199Kgs
soaking wet), and gave us all info on the new dual-valve exhaust system.
He even knew enough about blade history to compare it to the first
RRN - well done Paul, you saved the show and recovered my interest.
It
was then over to yours truly to get on one, purely in the interests
of providing some useful feedback to the members of this club you
understand?
The first impression was of how small
the blade is compared to my RR1. Its very low (I easily had both feet
on the floor) and it feels very easy to get comfortable on. The bars
are nicely placed and don't bend the wrists in the same way that earlier
blades do. The tank is narrow where it meets your private parts, and
this could be an issue if you have to stop in a hurry! But it provides
good knee-hugging capability to get the weight off your wrists at
slow speeds. It felt solid and very comfortable. Dammit, I was liking
it........
As regular forum members will know I
was scathing about the first pictures, saying it was an R1 lookalike
and that Honda had sold out to Yamaha's design. OK, I hereby eat some
humble pie. Its not an R1 when seen close up, in fact to its credit
it doesn't look like anything else. I was also won over by the stubby
exhaust layout, but the lack of the underseat exhaust unit now leaves
an ugly gap between the seat and the number plate bracket - cue the
after-market boys to sort that issue out pretty quickly!
Lings
had all the colour schemes available, and the pure black was the pick
of the bunch.
Members will know my intense dislike
for black blade wheels, but on the black blade and the white/black
version, they were in keeping. The red one was a little boring and
predictable, and the one with the black tank looked like it was cobbled
together with spare parts. What is with Honda that they always have
to include black into the blade?
In the back of the showroom, well away
from the new model I noticed, there was an HRC blade. It looked stunning
and along with the Hannspree 600RR easily outshone the new blade as
eye candy. Now that, Mr Honda, is what a bike should look like!
So, would I have one? That is after
all why Honda wanted us there, right?
Well
its better in the flesh than in the pictures, and it feels good when
you are in the saddle. I'll certainly be taking one out for a blast
to get a comparison with other models, but that second-hand 07 HRC.......
that was just calling to me.....!
(Click any of the pics for a bigger
image ....... )
Click
here for page 2.....
So, what do you think? Come on over
to the
forum and have your say.......
