Fireblade Buying Advice?

[gallopingclothespeg]

I'm looking at changing the bike and currently like the looks of the 2012 'Blade.
The bike's a reasonable price from a dealer, full history, no obvious crash damage etc.

Is there anything in particular to look out for on these?

[trickywoo]

That generation of ‘blade had quite a few issues around excessive oil use. 2008 were worse for it so you may be ok with a ‘12 but worth looking at.

[PTF]

Had a 2014 blade from new for 2 yrs.

Never needed anything other than normal servicing.

Very fast.
Silly long first gear (95mph).
Surprisingly economical (55mpg on a run).
Small and cramped.

I still want another. I sold it because TBH i was riding like a tt. I put it down to being uncomfortable and wanting to get to my destination as quickly as possible.

Had a 929 and 954 blade since and both were better road bikes. Gearing shorter, not the same headline power, but still fast enough. More comfy and physically bigger too.

[Triaguar]

I have a late 2011 Blade it goes through oil like a crazy thing ...1 litre per 1000 miles ..not an issue for local riding cos its like a constant dynamic oil change LOL it is however an issue when I am touring it can sometimes be a faff trying to find a bike oil in a Spanish or French rural location.

Also issues with the ABS the lever sometimes appears to lose pressure ..it is well documented...it has never caused me a problem but a lot don't like it... try the Fireblade forum lots if good info on there. As a package I absolutely love mine. It is a great do it all sports bike. It's comfy handles well and whilst not the fastest by current standards it will never ever be embarrassed on the road by anything. Track may be different

[five50]

I had one from that general model era (2009) having previously had a 954 etc.
I don’t fully recognise the comments re comfort - the 09 wasn’t quite as easy as the 954 but it is much more comfortable than most 1000cc sports bikes - certainly the R1.
I only had my 09 for a short period of time before it was stolen (this was a few yrs back).
I think they used lower clip ons after a mid life refresh on the facelift model’s life span (maybe 2013/14 after the facelift was introd in 2011/12) which made it more of a stretch to the bars - but am sure the earlier clip ons would fit.
After my 09 went I did take a 2010 for a test ride the same day as an early bmw s1000rr - the bmw seemed a bit more serious with a gruffer exhaust note (the Honda seemed a bit Michael Jackson in comparison) but the Honda seemed better to ride and much less of a stretch to the bars - although so easy to ride I found myself going surprisingly quickly in a few places… (my 09 came with an arrow can which I thought quite cool at the time - but was actually very noisy and probably artificially kept my speed down and I wouldn’t go for again).
Great bikes imho…
Am not an expert but have read some less than complementary comments about the abs option - which also adds about 10kg to the standard bike.

[five50]

yep. you get a box under the seat / above the rear wheel where the computing stuff goes.

Edited by five50 on Saturday 5th February 15:31

[Battlecat]

I have a 2009 Fireblade and have owned it since 2010. The oil consumption wasn’t excessive for the first few years, but it has increased to c.3/4 lt over 1000 miles. But it’s now done 76,000 miles so I’d expect as much!

For background, it started off as the “garage queen” bike for weekends, trips, and track days but since c.2015 it’s been used for commuting - hence the high mileage.

[MGZTV8]

Battlecat said:

I have a 2009 Fireblade and have owned it since 2010. The oil consumption wasn’t excessive for the first few years, but it has increased to c.3/4 lt over 1000 miles. But it’s now done 76,000 miles so I’d expect as much!

For background, it started off as the “garage queen” bike for weekends, trips, and track days but since c.2015 it’s been used for commuting - hence the high mileage.

How’s it holding up apart from the oil consumption?

[Battlecat]

Really well. Been through the expected consumables (eg chains, sprockets, discs, bearings) but more recently needed to replace stuff like the brake master cylinder, fork tubes, and radiator (rad for the 2nd time). Otherwise it’s still reliable (famous last words) and going strong.

[trickywoo]

Battlecat said:

and radiator (rad for the 2nd time)

What happened to need two rads?

[Rene Souffle]

Don’t forget as well that if its ABS and you plan on having it serviced at a dealer. They will charge 2hrs to do a brake fluid change. They have to be bled in a very specific way to avoid getting air in the system.

[Battlecat]

trickywoo said:

What happened to need two rads?

Clogged up with dirt, flies, etc from daily use, which must be restricting air getting through. Not actually failed or caused overheating, so call it preventative maintenance.