All Storm Swappers
My two penneth worth.
Had goes on a Triumph Tiger 900, VFR750 and a Fazer 1000 recently.
I've got to say that although all of them would out-handle and most would out-gun the Storm, none of them had the mid-range stomp that the Storm has and the feeling that you're going faster than you actually are.
Everyone who got off the Storm (mine's pretty standard) had a big grin on their face and raved about the engine but disliked the riding position and the front end. The guy with the VFR suggested: "my bike with your engine".
There aren't a lot of Storm's about, they sound great with anything other than stock exhausts, are a little quirky and are generally reliable old dogs so are pretty cheap to run.
Had goes on a Triumph Tiger 900, VFR750 and a Fazer 1000 recently.
I've got to say that although all of them would out-handle and most would out-gun the Storm, none of them had the mid-range stomp that the Storm has and the feeling that you're going faster than you actually are.
Everyone who got off the Storm (mine's pretty standard) had a big grin on their face and raved about the engine but disliked the riding position and the front end. The guy with the VFR suggested: "my bike with your engine".
There aren't a lot of Storm's about, they sound great with anything other than stock exhausts, are a little quirky and are generally reliable old dogs so are pretty cheap to run.
It's all a big joke until you have somebody's eye out...
Well I clocked up about 150 miles on my new 'blade today. It's still very new to me, and I am bedding in with it.
In comparison to the SP1:
1) Brakes: The Fireblade brakes are nothing short of awesome. Even though I had fitted a radial M/C to the SP1, the 'blade's are considerable better. There is more power (and the SP1's were pretty damn good), and a LOT more feel and finesse.
2) Engine: One word: MEGA. There is more torque and BHP at all points in the rev-range in comparison to my old SP1, but when the 'blade hits 7500RPM, the horizon suddenly starts approaching at a rate of knots. This is by the mark 1 butt dyno, but I have seen dyno maps where a guy has run a 'blade and a SP1 on the smae dyno....the blade is stonger everywhere.
The engine on mine is still tight (only had 222 miles on it when I picked it up), so I have not really bothered the redline that much. The fuelling is superb, pulling cleanly from 2K revs (I have done the "flapper" mod, which cleans up the low down fuelling).
Throttle response is incredibly crisp, with none of the low-down fluffiness of the SP1 (and I had a Power Commander on it).
The induction roar at 4500 is addictive (even better with the flapper mod), and it is very addictive the way it picks up power. There is enough power to lift the front in 1st and 2nd (without trying to wheelie).
3) Handling: The 'blade is a lot lighter, which makes a big difference (claimed 167Kd dry weight v 200Kg for the SP1). As a result, it can appear a little more "skittish" over bumpy stuff, especially when cranked over. The steering is very neutral on the 'blade (I keep weighting the inside bar, which is probably as a result of the SP1 wanting to run a little wide).
As standard the 'blade is very firm....I will need to set the static sag, and probably back off the rear pre-load.
4) Seating/comfort: Surprisingly good. There is a fair bit of weight on the wrists (I need to rotate the clutch on the clipons to improve things). The bike is physically quite narrow for an IL4 (the SP1 had a WIDE tank), but I miss the deep tank indents that the SP1 had....it feels harder to get "locked" into the 'blade.
In comparison to the SP1:
1) Brakes: The Fireblade brakes are nothing short of awesome. Even though I had fitted a radial M/C to the SP1, the 'blade's are considerable better. There is more power (and the SP1's were pretty damn good), and a LOT more feel and finesse.
2) Engine: One word: MEGA. There is more torque and BHP at all points in the rev-range in comparison to my old SP1, but when the 'blade hits 7500RPM, the horizon suddenly starts approaching at a rate of knots. This is by the mark 1 butt dyno, but I have seen dyno maps where a guy has run a 'blade and a SP1 on the smae dyno....the blade is stonger everywhere.
The engine on mine is still tight (only had 222 miles on it when I picked it up), so I have not really bothered the redline that much. The fuelling is superb, pulling cleanly from 2K revs (I have done the "flapper" mod, which cleans up the low down fuelling).
Throttle response is incredibly crisp, with none of the low-down fluffiness of the SP1 (and I had a Power Commander on it).
The induction roar at 4500 is addictive (even better with the flapper mod), and it is very addictive the way it picks up power. There is enough power to lift the front in 1st and 2nd (without trying to wheelie).
3) Handling: The 'blade is a lot lighter, which makes a big difference (claimed 167Kd dry weight v 200Kg for the SP1). As a result, it can appear a little more "skittish" over bumpy stuff, especially when cranked over. The steering is very neutral on the 'blade (I keep weighting the inside bar, which is probably as a result of the SP1 wanting to run a little wide).
As standard the 'blade is very firm....I will need to set the static sag, and probably back off the rear pre-load.
4) Seating/comfort: Surprisingly good. There is a fair bit of weight on the wrists (I need to rotate the clutch on the clipons to improve things). The bike is physically quite narrow for an IL4 (the SP1 had a WIDE tank), but I miss the deep tank indents that the SP1 had....it feels harder to get "locked" into the 'blade.
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
Me? Biased? I resent the allegation sirDean O wrote:pah
well come on, he's hardly gonna admit to making an embarrassingly expensive mistake is he?
seriously though, nice bike zak - and a well written (if understandably slanted) review / comparison
Bad points of the CBR are that it does not have the same HRC kudos that the SP1/2 carries (along with the RC-30). It is well made, but does not have the same feeling of being incredibly well screwed together that the SP1 had. Its fair to say that the CBR is Honda's mass market machine. However, the SP1/2's were built to prove a point, and represents what Honda is capable of when it gets it's corporate pride all worked up. They say that Honda lost money on each and every SP1/2 (even when they were selling for £10K).....you can guarantee that they will have made money on each and every 'blade. Given that you can now pick up SP1s for well under £4K, I reckon that they must be the bargain of the decade.
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem