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2008 Blade
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CBR600

Steering dampers

Honda took the criticisms of the 2005 bike to heart for the 2006/7 model. They have made the whole thing a little bit more exciting to challenge the R1 and Gixer with sharper steering and extra punch in the midrange. The motor really is excellent now, and the power just keeps coming on - it's seriously fast and although the latest round of litre bikes will doubtless be able to challenge it there's none that's gonna beat the Blade on the road.

Handling is improved, with the bike now holding its line through a bend even on the brakes, and the CBR is certainly very easy to ride, so much so that you get the feeling you could do anything with the bike and keep easy control. This is Tadao's Total Control taken to its finest degree so far.

Suspension must be good - I've been riding other bikes with WP and Ohlins kit so have got used to decent suspenders, yet not felt the need even to adjust the stock settings on the RR7 let alone change the units so they must be doing the job well. I guess it's a sign of good suspension that you don't even think about it - normally the first thing I do it fiddle with all the settings to try and get the feel I want. Hard on the gas out of bends and the rear stays planted and retains plenty of feel. The front doesn't waggle at all, although that may be down the the damper. The bike will turn deep in a bend on the brakes and doesn't run out too much exiting with lots of throttle.

Riding position is reasonably comfy, although the seat is a bit on the rock side of hard. But the bar / footpeg relationship seems spot on and you get decent legroom, not so cramped as the more knee-creaking Gixer.

The Blade retains the electronic HESD steering damper which seems to do an excellent job of keeping the steering quick yet docile. Everything stays pretty much the same in the cockpit, which is fine as there's nothing much wrong there - trip meter and clock are useful and the winker lights stand out well so you don't spent the next 5 miles indicating right. Clutch is good for a hydraulic and has span adjustment. Brakes are of course radial, and have good bite and progression. Pads are wafer thin so mileage limited, but presumably they are lighter ..

Gearchange is a bit long-throw and clunky but works well enough as long as you're positive with the shift. Rearsets can of course give you options on the throw and are worth investigating if you're going to do much track work.

Honda's Ignition Security System HISS is built in to the ignition system and has Thatcham category 2 insurance approval on 2004 on Blades. It's a great system as it gives the security of an immobiliser without the hassle of a full-on alarm system which resets itself every 5 seconds.

Storage wise, there's not much room under the pillion seat. The superheated exhaust system lives under the tail unit - looks trick but the price you pay is space. You can just squeeze the Honda toolkit in one side and a puncture outfit in the other. A small visor cleaning bottle and rag in the middle and that's about it. And everything gets gently cooked as you ride along. Hope those little compressed air canisters can handle some heat ... Would be great for sausage rolls. Not a pastie mind, that'd be too tight a squeeze.

The fuel tank is, like most of the latest bikes, not actually the tank but a plastic cover hiding the tank and airbox. The upside is reduced weight, or at least the weight is lower down, but the downside is lack of steel and therefore lack of magnetic attraction. So your old magnetic tank bag is not gonna stick and you're going to have to look at other options - the Baglux cover is one idea.

Workmanship is up to usual Honda standards, with everything seemingly coated in an extra layer of glossy lacquer.

Colours are a Honda red scheme, a black and black, feisty Repsol and a rather strange ice-cream van design which is a special limited edition paintjob - and just as well. Must admit, the Repsol scheme is good, but how soon would it be before you felt a complete twat riding it?

General consensus is that the bike is brilliant fun to ride yet retains Honda's safe easy handling, so ideal for real world road use. And it looks a bloody sight better than the Gixer or the Kwacker.

As MCN say, 'Every once in a while a sportster comes along that is just right. OK, slightly more pricey than its rivals but what price do you put on being the best?'

Techy

The differences over the 2004/5 model? The steering head angle has been reduced by 0.25 of a degree and the trail shortened by 2mm to 100mm. The swigarm's been cut by 4mm bringing the wheelbase down from 55.6 inches to 55.3 inches.

Fork springs are now have a different spring rate and preload. The rear shock spring goes from a 12.0 kg/mm to an 11.5 kg/mm rate combined with a new suspension linkage that provides a more linear rate than previously.

Engine-wise most of the changes are in the cylinder head. Intake and exhaust port shapes have been changed to improve flow and the combustion chamber volume reduced to boost the compression ratio from 11.9:1 to 12.2:1. The valve timing is altered and more lift added to the intake side, and the valves themselves are lightened by removing material around where the valves seat. The red line is up from 11,650 to 12,200 rpm. Intake valves have double springs and the the crankshaft is stronger. The over-rev has allowed Honda to add a tooth to the rear sprocket to help improve acceleration without affecting top-speed.

Bobbins

A worthwhile addition to any bike are crash bobbins. But too many are a bit feeble, often bolting directly to the engine mounts but needing long stalks to get them far enough out from the fairing, and these can snap on impact, so rather negating the whole point of bobbins.

HPS have come up with some excellent bobbins for the 06 Blade. The kit includes 2 heavyweight steel brackets which bolt to the engine mounts and offer a direct fixing for the crash bobbins. No cutting, drilling or other bodywork mods are required.

Fitting is pretty straightforward, once you have removed the Honda middle fairing panels. What nutcase thought these up? Some dozen fixings per panel, various steel screws into rubber grommets (memories of old Exups and perished grommets), and two kinds of cheapo plastic fasteners amongst them. Being used to the 6 fixings to remove the whole lower fairing of an old R1 and similar ease for the Aprilia this complicated plastic-fest from Honda is a bit of a nonsense.

Anyway, fairing off each side, remove the main engine bolts and offer up the brackets with their required spacers.You'll have to move a couple of wires to clear the mounts but nothing complicated. Once aligned, torque up to 47 ft.lb. and Bob's your auntie. Then simply screw on the actual bobbins and spend the next couple of hours idly trying to get the fairing back on.