Honda
Fireblade 954RR2
This the the bike and colour both Bulby and Asti have owned and both loved and wished they hadn’t sold. The 954RR2/3 is the last of the blades to be designed by the founder of the blade Tadoa Baba. With 150bhp delivered in a real linear way this blade was fast but never intimidating, with a comfortable seating position this really is a lovely bike to own with information passed to the rider via a combination of Analogue and digital gauges. The bike came in four colours, Red, Blue, Yellow and white with the white in our opinion being the one to go for and being one of the best paint schemes from Honda for a very long time.
Pro’s – Easy to ride 1000cc sports bike, in white and blue fantastic paint scheme, last of the blades designed by the founder of the Blade
Cons – 2nd hand prices, finding a good one, some would say a little boring to ride
Rating – 8.5/10
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Fireblade 1000rr (2015)
Honda have always had a reputation of building good quality, well put together bikes that in recent years aren’t particularly exciting to ride and this version of the Fireblade is just what you’d expect from them. Ok to look at with this red and white paint scheme being the pick of the colours at the time (unless you like black bikes) the blade has some nice touches to it (the LCD instruments and indicators in the mirrors being some of them) but compared to the competition it’s a tad boring. Think Yamaha’s R1 big bang with it unique sounding engine, Kawasaki’s super fast and WSB conquering ZX1000 and Suzuki’s hooligan GSXR100 and without adding the likes of the BMW or Ducati you soon get the picture.
From the early days of the 90’s where the blade discovered this category of litre sports bikes to the last of the great blades the 954 it has been on a journey of slowly getting left behind. Make no mistake, this isn’t a bad bike, it’s just been left behind by the opposition so if you hadn’t ridden or seen any of the others you could own and ride this bike and be very happy knowing that you have a sports bike that goes very fast and is built very well.
Pro’s – Build quality, LCD instruments
Cons – Not the SP version, linear and easy to ride make it feel boring in comparison to the opposition, been left behind by others either in looks, power or how it rides
Rating – 7/10
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VFR800 VTEC (2007)
The VFR800 was when it was introduced arguably the best sports tourer you could buy. With the in line four increased from the original 750 to 800cc and with Honda’s very clever V-tec system. The only downside of this system is that it changes at in or around the UK motorway speed limit. With luggage systems available this is really a great bike for getting across Europe and then when you get to your destination you can scratch around and have hours of fun
Pro’s – Great two up sports tourer. Honda build quality and reliability
Cons – V-tec kicks in at Motorway speeds
Rating – 8/10
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CBR600FT (1996)
Bulbys first venture into a bigger sports bike was the with this 96 reg CBR 600F and he loved it, Easy to ride, light and nimble the FT was quicker than a friends SRAD 600 of the same era. With better build quality and ergonomics the bike was comfortable to ride all day. Never considered a hooligan machine like the SRAD and Ninja’s of the day this bike truly was a wolf in sheep’s clothing as it could mix it with the best
Pro’s – Quick, easy to ride
Cons – obtaining parts now, finding a good one
Rating – 8/10
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MTS 125 (Grom Mk1)
The ‘Grom’ Honda mini bike for the 20 teens has turned into something of a cult machine, it’s funny how cult status happens, look at Suzuki’s B-King. Here was a bike that on launch really divided opinion, called the naked Hayabusa at the time as that was the bike it’s engine came from it was berated for it’s looks, now go look today, bikes are changing hands for strong money and there is a Kudos to owning one and a similar thing has happened with the Grom. Built by Honda as a 125cc single cylinder leaner/town bike its 3/4 size and quirky looks has really gave it an appeal with tuners taking up the challenge of what could be done with it (one has a Ducati Panigale engine fitted) and you can now find loads of parts to make the bike your own from exhausts to carbon. It really is a fun little bike to ride ( unless doing long distances on very busy roads) as it’s got enough power for it’s size to wheelie and is very light and flickable to ride. SO why’s this bike got a cult following, it’s just great fun and you can’t get off it without smiling that’s why.
Pro’s – brings out the inner Hooligan in you (private road of course) turning circle, great for towns and city, has character
Cons – lacks top end speed, small so can feel vulnerable around large vehicles’
Rating – 8/10
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