Triumphrat

doodledog · 04-13-2008

I am not sure if anyone has commented on the 08 blade, the press over here have slated its looks and praised the performance, I saw one today in white and absolutly love it, If I was a weaker man I would trade the Daytona in for one next weekend but I know that down the line a while I would get used to it being around and pine for my 955 again, so I will grit my teeth and say no till the need goes away, what do you guys think of the new blade though, and yes I know you all love your Triumphs but is it just me that thinks the new blade a lovely bike.

welshrob · 04-13-2008

I quite like the looks. For years I`ve absolutely hated all the 'training shoe' multi coloured schemes on Japanese sportsbikes, I think the single colour is tasteful and the exhaust looks neat. It`s going to be hard to make an aftermarket pipe that fits!

Maybe it`s me, but I`ve owned loads of Jap bikes and they are just bikes! They are great tools but don`t inspire any brand loyalty. I owned a 95 Blade and it was a great bike. When it was time to replace it, I bought a Kawasaki ZX9R, for no other reason than that particular year it happened to be a better bike. 2 years later it was a Gixxer for the same reason.

If you bought the new Blade tomorrow, in 6 months they`ll release a new Gixxer which will be faster, lighter, better looking and with more gadgets and you`ll wish you`d bought that instead!

Stick with your Daytona and you won`t get that problem! It`s cool, without having to be the best!

Gdsila · 04-13-2008

I lightly scanned an article on the New 'Blade today and I like the look very much and it seems to be full of trick bits. Slipper clutch, driveline lash eliminator,etc
Should be a great bike.

HiDesert · 04-13-2008

I've seen one in person. Very nice; I'm sure it's a fantastic machine. Better looking in person than I ever suspected from the photos, too.

Hopefully there will always be suppliers that are determined to stretch for ever higher levels of refinement. But the Japanese companies make bikes that people like for exactly the reasons Welshrob described. My YZF600R was a great example. So was the previous generation Concourse, several generations of VFRs, and a few more. I remember Peter Egan writing an article about these kinds of bikes. He said that sales managers loved them, because the people who bought them knew exactly what they wanted and what they were getting. They didn't get raved about in magazines, they quickly became somewhat outdated in terms of their tech sheets, but they consistently made buyers happy for far longer than any generation of GSX-R600.

Sprint1050DA · 04-13-2008

I'm not really a fan. The last Honda I liked the look of was the 954. I'm a tall guy and the constant downsizing of these litrebikes, while great for performance, reminds me of why I bought my ST.

steventhechef · 04-14-2008

When I sit on a new Jap bike, that is exactly what I do. I am perched on top like a shag on a rock. At 6'2" the RS fits me well and I still love the styling.

The new Blades look great but I wouldn't own one for the reasons already stated.

Vlermuis · 04-14-2008

Well I spoke to a couple of '07 Bladers who rode them and were not so impressed with the handling. Also some of the mag reviews are not so hot. Personally I like the design, but can't comment on the handling.

Calliway · 04-14-2008

Ugghhhh, that 08 is hideous. I have about 3 magazines with it featured and that bloody exhaust is terrible.

Readmarx · 04-14-2008

it's not my cup of tea as a road bike, but as a track/race bike it looks good and it's WSB performance is clearly a major step forward for Honda - got to see how it gets on in BSB....

LIJ · 04-14-2008

I like the new fireblade front. Looks like a fist!