Anyone had a Fireblade ('99) ?

[soho]

And, perversely, am now fancying something like an xr125 do it all economical work horse.

Don't.
I bought an almost new one off eBay for 1500 notes. Fantastic little thing, but if you have other bikes available it'll never get used once the novelty wears off.

[garyboy]

And, perversely, am now fancying something like an xr125 do it all economical work horse.

Don't.
I bought an almost new one off eBay for 1500 notes. Fantastic little thing, but if you have other bikes available it'll never get used once the novelty wears off.

.. why is that? .. too wimpy?
Any suggestions?

[dodursley]

I brought a 1992 Fireblade, last run 2012 and hardly used since 2008, street fighter-ed years ago, probably in the 1990s judging by some of the bits on it,
WHY!
It was local, cheap and looked an interesting project, looked like I could use bits I had around.
Got it running after untangling the wiring and fuel feeds started almost straight away with new fuel (what was in the tank was probably 8 years old), well its a Honda.
I fitted a silencer off my Transalp it was originally off a Benelli, mirrors off a XBR, bars off a Varadero, indicators & lights off?
I was surprised how simple it was, the technology no more complex than the Transalp (more cylinders & carbs).
Probably never ride it I nearly do my back in getting my leg over the rear fairing and the riding position will probably not help either.

Honda 92 CBR900RR.jpg (123.11 KiB) Viewed 2562 times

[soho]

.. why is that? .. too wimpy?
Any suggestions?
[/quote]

Not at all, and there is a good place for little bikes in this world (see the very mellow Godspeed's thread - viewtopic.php?f=23&t=47487.)

Although I love little bikes for many various reasons.
I found it sitting unused for too long given the choice of bikes I have at hand and the kind of riding I mostly do. Actually I'd love a Grom, but I know from experience that'd be another waste of money for me. I bought a miniature Kubota Tractor years ago, still got it but probably only ever done 200 yards on it, I should have learnt a lesson from that, but I always was a dick.

So I suggest............ only get one if you need one, or if you don't need one but love Lorry fumes , says I

HOW the f*** did this thread lose 750cc's ?

[daveuprite]

Thanx all,
It's a straight bike from a mate who's had it from new ( known him 20 years and I never knew he owned one til now !).
Price is mentally good but It'll have to pass the ULEZ Nox test if I'm to use it. I'll check it over next weekend.
Looks like all I'll be needing is a 17 in the front...............I wish it was black though. ................Now the effin' Buell is playing up !
Nothing ever goes to plan does it.

Happy Daze.

Have a good ride on nice quality modern new tyres, Soho - and you might find you don't feel the need to get a 17 inch front wheel. Tyre wear makes a big difference to old blades of this era. The main virtue of going 17 inch is that you get a much wider and cheaper choice of tyres. But if you like and get used to the 16 front feel then I wouldn't bother. Don't confuse worn old tyres giving a vague or tucking-in front feel for the fact that it's a 16 inch wheel - change the tyres first for some fresh modern ones and then decide.

Quite a few people mixed brands to get it right:

Read this maybe: http://www.cambriantyres.co.uk/sport-to ... -cbr900rr/

[boboneleg]

Cheers Bob, ain't spoken to him for ages !

I was across the top of Bristol both Thursday and Yesterday to Cardiff again. I remember what you said about meeting up, but with the Pandemic I couldn't afford to catch your accent. I think it's still 14 days quarantine for that in London ?

[Bart1]

I bought a 99 Blade new and still have it 70k miles later, it has taken me around Europe many many times with absolutely no issues. Over the years I've tweeked the bike a bit to make it more usable every day with Heli Bars(a bit higher and closer), slightly lower pegs, CBR600 mirrors(they have longer stalks), a 17" VFR 750 front wheel to widen tyre choice and a Ohlins shock.
A couple of valves needed adjusting at 32k but none since, the thermostat was sticking around that time as well so was replaced. Last year I replaced the R/R and stator but that has been it. They are pretty easy to work on, especially compared to modern stuff.
It is still a great bike to ride and brings a big smile to the party.
Despite having more expensive bikes in the stable, if there was ever a fire the old Blade would come out first.

[soho]

Thanks Bart . Pegs ,bars , mirrors all worth knowing about to make life more comfy ! ...........Ohllins too of course,but that's a lot for a cheap buy.

[daveuprite]

if there was ever a fire the old Blade would come out first.

That says it all really. You can't go too far wrong with a blade.

I remember them coming out in 92. We'd had the GSXR750 for a while so light and nimble were not new ideas, but combining a mass production bike which had the weight of a 750 and the power of a 1000 (of that time - e.g. FZR) in one really centralised package was a revelation. I particularly liked the way you could see right through the bike. There was fresh air everywhere, where on other bikes you got a mass of pipework and panels. It was minimal.

It still looks fresh today. Of course the trend over the last 15 years has been to almost eradicate the rear end of sports bikes (think Aprilia RSV4 etc), and that makes the early blades look dated now, but otherwise those lines still look great IMO. And with the up-to-RRY bikes you get that brilliant cubby hole under the pillion seat that holds a lot for a sports bike. You can't even get a packet of fags anywhere on a new CBR1000RR.

[Scott_rider]

In 1994 I bought a FireBlade with the fox eye headlights. I had a Micron can on it and a Stage 3 Dyno jet kit. It was fast as fcuk... (but that's all relative now compared to modern stuff obviously).
I traded up from a GSXR750 and the difference was phenomenal. The first bike that you could easily get on the wrong side of 150... .
I did 20k miles on it...wish I never sold it.