June 13th, 2014

Well its now been a week since I started using the FireBlade as my regular ride and I have to say that its quite simply the easiest bike I've ever ridden. The journey to and from Poole on Tuesday proved that the bike is comfy at speed and over distance and a week's worth of commuting into Central London has proven the bike is a simple as you like when navigating the queues. The metal tank is a godsend as I can use my tank bag and with a flipping rear seat, my Kreiga tailback sits snug on the back too. Despite getting on really well with the bike, there are a few little things that I would like to change, which although nothing major would help the riding experience a little. The first thing I want to do is get some Stomp Grips for the sides of the tank. As I have them on the Ducati I've come to rely on the additional grip they provide and have noticed that with the 'Blade my body slides forward under breaking and I have to take more weight through my arms and hands. Not that big a deal, but helps non the less. The second is I want a louder lighter smaller end can. The original item has been likened to a popular missile launcher that was used by Iraq in the first Gulf war and is a bit of an eyesore. Its also very quiet. Yesterday I nearly hit a pedestrian who just stepped out into the road without looking and I cant help by think that if the bike was as loud as the Ducati, they would have heard me coming.
So apart from two minor changes, the FireBlade is proving to be an almost perfect bike for what I need it for. Its fast, its fun, its comfy and it's relatively economical, well as much as a 150bhp Sportsbike can be. My girlfriend even likes the colour.