98 Fireblade (918cc)

[dern]

Anyone has/had one of these? I know that they're not as sharp as the R1 of the time but this version was supposed to be lighter and more powerful than previous years. They're not as desirable as the very early bikes but as a Sunday bike proposition for going out for a play would they still make a good bike?

Never had a original shape fireblade and have always really liked them.

Thanks.

[KungFooBob]

I had one for 16 years.

By the time I'd finished it had WP rear shock, K-Tech revalved forks, PFM discs, Remus pipe/K&N/DJkit, 17 inch front wheel, lots of other cosmetic stuff.

Made 120BHP DIN at the rear wheel. Handled and stopped alright.

I still think the R6 it replaced was a quicker point to point bike. The Blade was just bigger, roomier and more comfortable.

That pic is when I was fixing it up after an off at Cadwell.

[KungFooBob]

Some people say the 16 inch front wheel makes them handle wrong. It doesn't unless you're No.63. I only fitted the 17 for a better selection of (cheaper) tyres.

I did 26k miles without major issue, but most people have the usual 90's Honda Reg/Rec problems.

Check the edges of the rad, I caught mine early and repainted it, just before the alloy started dissolving.

[dern]

From what I've read there's a better selection of tyres for it now. If the 16" front makes it less stable than the superduke I'll be genuinely impressed.

[KungFooBob]

Mine was super stable on both sizes of wheels, never felt the need for a steering damper.

At the time the reviewers were used to the earlier Blade that were a bit more flighty. The R6 I had before flapped all over the shop, which was much more 'involving' to ride.

Without the DJ kit there was a whopping great hole at 5-6krpm, with the DJ kit it was only a large hole.

[Noggin]

I had one and, once I got used to the handling, I really liked it. Very different after a Blackbird!!!

It just hurt my back and TBF, I didn't give it enough time to get used to it before changing for a TLs

[dern]

I had one and, once I got used to the handling, I really liked it. Very different after a Blackbird!!!

Good to know, I hated my Blackbird

[Noggin]

I had one and, once I got used to the handling, I really liked it. Very different after a Blackbird!!!

Good to know, I hated my Blackbird

Why. I've hardly met anyone that disliked the BB!!! LOL

[weeksy]

I had one for 16 years.

By the time I'd finished it had WP rear shock, K-Tech revalved forks, PFM discs, Remus pipe/K&N/DJkit, 17 inch front wheel, lots of other cosmetic stuff.

Made 120BHP DIN at the rear wheel. Handled and stopped alright.

I still think the R6 it replaced was a quicker point to point bike. The Blade was just bigger, roomier and more comfortable.

That pic is when I was fixing it up after an off at Cadwell.

I had the exact same scheme as that until i stuff it racing.... it then got a top 30 at the TT with the new owner.

[dern]

I had one and, once I got used to the handling, I really liked it. Very different after a Blackbird!!!

Good to know, I hated my Blackbird

Why. I've hardly met anyone that disliked the BB!!! LOL

It was too long and barge like for a sporty bike and too stretched out for a tourer. Raised the back, dropped the front, still handled like a barge with me wrapped over the top of it. Didn't click at all. Good engine though.

[Noggin]

Good to know, I hated my Blackbird

Why. I've hardly met anyone that disliked the BB!!! LOL

It was too long and barge like for a sporty bike and too stretched out for a tourer. Raised the back, dropped the front, still handled like a barge with me wrapped over the top of it. Didn't click at all. Good engine though.

Fair enough.

I raised the back and dropped the front and wore patches on the side fairings where it kept touching the road on certain corners!! - although actually, hte wear on the fairings was pre changes!! I only realised when I took the fairings off to do a serious clean and was pretty shocked/horrified at the white scraped bits on the custom paint job!!

I never had handling issues, but then I essentially learnt to ride on it - so had nothing sporty to compare it with.

[dern]

I raised the back and dropped the front and wore patches on the side fairings where it kept touching the road on certain corners!! - although actually, hte wear on the fairings was pre changes!! I only realised when I took the fairings off to do a serious clean and was pretty shocked/horrified at the white scraped bits on the custom paint job!!

Fair play, I didn't get anywhere near that.

[dern]

I'm off to see the bike in Swindon tomorrow. It's not cheap by any stretch at £4695 but it does look in very good order.

blade.jpeg (527.82 KiB) Viewed 273 times

[weeksy]

Epic! Drop in if you get it, I'd love a bit of a nostalgic look see

[Dodgy69]

I had one, black and silver. Rattled a bit but big and comfy. Not sure I'd go back to one unless it was mint, proper looked after. Shit pic but all I've got.

[asmethurst99]

I have a 95 - got S21 tyres on it (original front wheel) at FWR - I mentioned it had 10 previous owners and Bob said “they all have “
Love mine

[Noggin]

I raised the back and dropped the front and wore patches on the side fairings where it kept touching the road on certain corners!! - although actually, hte wear on the fairings was pre changes!! I only realised when I took the fairings off to do a serious clean and was pretty shocked/horrified at the white scraped bits on the custom paint job!!

Fair play, I didn't get anywhere near that.

I'll be honest, I didn't know I was doing that! And never did on track! But spent most of my road riding 'outings' following things like a 916SPS ridden by an ex racer and locally I only had sports bike rider friends. Didn't know blackbirds were lardy or didn't go around corners, so I just followed them

I'm off to see the bike in Swindon tomorrow. It's not cheap by any stretch at £4695 but it does look in very good order.

Awesome. Hope it's lovely

[A_morti]

Lovely bikes, and very comfortable for a Sportsbike.

They are fast, but keep in mind they're an evolution of a 1992 design, and are not really in the same performance league as the litre bikes which followed just a few years later.

No real foibles except the regrec. I've had one catch fire on a '98 Blade, it melted the fairing a bit. Anything with fins is better, MOSFETs are betterer.

[Count Steer]

I'm off to see the bike in Swindon tomorrow. It's not cheap by any stretch at £4695 but it does look in very good order.


blade.jpeg

I had a look at it on their web site. Looks v smart for the age. I like the description of 'unmolested'.

It's averaged about 1k miles a year!

[A_morti]

They have rebound, compression, and preload settings at both ends. Probably worth the effort to get someone who knows what they're doing to set up that mess. The damping adjusters on the forks can tend to seize in place (brass and aluminium makes a battery). Try gently persuading it to move, maybe a bit of penetrating oil. But if they won't move don't get violent. There's no need, as the brass screw heads are very delicate, but you get decent sized flats to work with on the back when you take it apart.