Anyone given this a watch? It’s a long one at over an hour but covers RSV4, R1M, 2020 V4S, Fireblade SP and S1000RR in detail. Interesting to hear their take on how the changes to the V4 have improved lap times simply by making it easier to ride.
Seems like the Honda has bags of potential, even though it may not be there just yet. It will be interesting to see how that platform evolves at the start of its life cycle, when as the RSV4 is at the other end of this cycle. BMW seemed to be the convincing winner (on road and track). No doubt it is a great bike but they did gloss over their opinions last year, that expressed it didn’t feel super special (a view mirrored by other journalists). I was also surprised how well the Yamaha did.
Yeah it’s just hearing it in basic terms - not sure how much of it is the ride height / anti squat vs the electronics / tuning, but as most of these these things can be achieved by tweaking things on an existing bike I find it interesting. I slightly lengthened the rear shock and dropped the forks through the yokes on my 959 in line with the tweaks made to the V2 but due to lack of experience I have no benchmark to really understand whether these changes have any marked effect. There’s lots of blurb about how tiny changes make such a difference to how a bike handles but at the moment I’m of the opinion that until you start pushing things you can’t really tell. Journalists are in a very rarified position of being able to ride different bikes back to back, and looking at the times they are quick enough to expose the weaknesses in each bike. I reckon I would ride any one of these bikes and just think they were all great - would I even notice the ‘weak’ brakes on an R1M? Doubt it - so I rely on these kind of reviews to colour future choices.
Ducati’s have always been tricky to ride tbh. But that’s part of the thrill and reason why people like them also. You wouldn’t want a bland bike now would you... but bland is often fast. The Honda in stock trim, with that gearing is horrific. But easily remedied and as been proven with very little testing is causing a fair old stir in the racing game. Top end of bsb superbike and superstock. And just won LeMans 24 moto. Do remember that Chris from 44T is in bed with Bahnstormer.. and is a proper bmw fan boy. But I digress. Out of that lot, it probably is technically ‘the best’ all things considered.
I remember buying the 954 blade in 2003 and thinking how bland and sanitised it was, yet at the same time composed and ballistically quick. Boredom won and it was gone again by the end of the season.
I think I would have to have the BMW as I know I can actually reach the floor on this one (which helps when waiting in the pit lane when my Pit Bitch has given me a leg up). @bradders But I have not tried the Honda for size but I think it’s doable. So big H for me.
With shit brakes.... Talk to any quick guy in a pit garage. They all say the brakes go off. I guess better fluid, braided hoses and Z04’s will improve things. But out the crate, they’re shite. Perfectly adequate for the road I dare say....
rsv4 wins just for the sound. then R1. bmw and sports bikes, for me do not belong in the same sentence. Ducati is ugly. Honda looks like an NSR125
I reckon riding any or all of these bikes is great. After riding my trusty old Monster and even older Suzuki I would likely find the brakes amazing -probably because they are, and I'm not! LOL. So I rely on these vids for some light entertainment as the tech stuff in regards to bike purchases is irrelevant to me.
I’ve had a 2018 RSV4RF as a track bike and bloody love it. All I’ve done to it is add rear sets, crash protection, track fairings, brake pads and slicks. I’ve serviced it every 3 track days and not one thing has ever gone wrong with it. If I was a bit shorter I’d keep hold of it but I do ache a fair bit after every session on track and that’s the only reason I’m selling it and getting a V4S.
[ I’m sure something was said about Suzuki and Kawasaki in the video but it’s that long I can’t bring myself to go looking! The September issue of Fast Bikes has their ultimate sportsbike 2020 test and they include the Panigale V2, GSXR1000R, ZX10RR, and Triumph Daytona 765 As well as the above 5. They chose the BMW, Aprilia and Honda as their top 3 to take to the final round. The general conclusion was that all of the bikes are great - but in an ultra competitive sector the electronics on the older bikes let them down. They also criticised the R1M brakes.
How are you ever going to get a true reasoned comparison....a waste of time as the spawn free loading journalists will never truly criticise the hand that feeds them.......heres a free BMW to "evaluate" .... oh yeah its shite! Would they get another?
It’s a very fair point Andy. Personally I don’t take any real notice of what journo’s say as their opinions are just that.. an opinion and are often ‘noisy’ opinions at that. By that I mean there’s other factors involved in their decision makings. All modern bikes are so good these days realistically it’s just whatever flavour you like isn’t it. Just because one may even be ‘technically’ the best it doesn’t mean it’ll be the best for you either. people are very easily led though
