Like I said before, its a bloody good job they aint calling it a blackbird cos some of you guys would really have something to moan about!!
I can't quite understand some of the thinking behind the huge downers on the looks. The Bird, as wonderfull as it is, is really starting to show its age with its bulbous, almost jelly mould styling.
Now if Honda had just come up with another midly altered lookalike, wouldn't you all be moaning that they haven't really changed anything so why bother?
Personally i like the look. Its taken a while to grow on me, but its fresh, modern, and still manages to be stylish without being bland. As a comparison, (only for the looks) compare it to the S1000RR. What a mishmash of aweful lines that thing is, looks like one of those photoshopped pics of 4 or 5 bikes cobbled together to advertise some bike show.
I get the feeling that for some the fact that it isn't faster than everything else, more powerfull than everything else means that you'll be percieved to be less of a man for owning one. Admittedly it'll be hard to bragg about it down the pub, cos there ain't much that it will be better than on paper. But it isn't always about having the biggest numbers. The Blade outsold just about all other sportsbikes in the 90's, yet was rarely the fastest, or most powerful. But it was the best all round machine, and offered the best ride in the real world. But for a couple of pretty major flaws this one has the hallmarks of a similar story.
I have seen it in the flesh, both a red and a grey one. Being a Redbird owner i love the red finish, personally I think it speaks volumes that they decided to return to the best colour. But i will say the Grey bike looks more balanced as the lack of any red on the back half of the red one, kind of makes it look front heavy. I've sat on it as well. It would suit me, having gilles bars on my bird the riding position is very similar, pegs are a bit higher maybe. The seat is firm, but with my weight again it suits me well. But if you bear in mind how many posts there are on here about bars, seats, pegs and screens etc, the Bird doesn't suit everybody anyway.
Oh, and the screen, that works fine for me as well........but I'm not allowed to say anymore till after the launch.:-0)
Will I be buying one, NO. Two major flaws for me. Price and that stupid peanut fuel tank. Now if they sort the fuel tank, then in a few years maybe a nice second hand one would be a possibility, but until then I'll be sticking with my Bird.