All I did with my front forks was add heavier fork oil and a 10mm spacer (washer) which sorted all the front weakness and dive out for me. And I've done 80000 miles on it now. Been thinking of getting some aftermarket fork caps that have the adjustment built in which will give you extra preload, but I never felt the need to with the fork oil and spacer. As for the power, I've scraped the fairing riding like an arse and ridden 2 up around Europe without giving the wife whiplash. That's the beauty of the engine and it's power delivery. Low down, it's a friendly labrador puppy that just wants to be your friend and accellerates and slows nice and linear. Then as the revs rise, it gets nastier until it is quite viscious at the top, but it will do whatever you want it to, be a hooligan or cruise quickly all day. It's deceptive though. My license is always at risk because you just go faster than you think you are going, until you look down in panic when you pass a speed camera. I have all the luggage but the SWMotec racks mean there's no great big girders on it once I take the bags off, and it looks so much nicer. It was comfy for the trip back from France to the midlands with only a couple of stop for fuel. I love that mile crushing ability, and when you want to have fun, you crank the bugger over, the long wheelbase and fatness of the bike mean it is settled and sure footed when riding over crappy british roads without being flighty, and short of hitting a wall, will stick to the line you pick. I'm a big fat sod so don't have any issue muscling the bike over to go around corners. Might be a work out for smaller, lighter people but fat old guys like me is no issue. My wife loves the bike, and when 2 up and fully luggaged, the extra weight makes virtually no difference to the bike other than sitting a little lower. It goes quickly, turns corners nicely is planted and will cruise all day at 100mph without protest. And I mean, full tank to empty at 100+mph. And mine is an old carb model. And I love my bike, as you can probably tell.
@@Arryhall love your monologue, I agree with every word beauty and the beast / jeckal and Hyde what a joy it is to have one. I,m an old man mountain Twisties rider and the blackbird loves it to the tyre edge in the mountain magic.
@cloudbasenirvana oops! I was on the computer and got carried away with my typing! It's coz I love my bird and like you I've gone off the edge of the tyre and scraped the fairing and it's STILL been stable. A big fat bike for a big fat rider. The R1 feels like I'm being given a wedgie in comparison.
I tried one a long time ago, probably late 90’s early 2000’s, can’t remember exactly. Nice bike, very Honda, nothing really took my breath away so I bought a Hayabusa, later I had ZZR1400’s. TBH I don’t think bikes have really come on that much over the years, not really, it’s the tech and added nonsense that’s grown. This Blackbird gave you a powerful motor with no restrictions, today they have 200+ bhp but are electronically held back to make them rideable. Mad really.
Love reliving the memories. Had a 98 I got very lightly used in 99. Loved it! So powerful, so smooth! Put 80k+ miles on it till 2008. Here in the US, 97 and 98 carbed, 99 RAM FI, then a few changes Guages etc till last year 2003 which got cat converters and a bit less power. I'm now 60 yrs old and riding a 75 hp 92 750 Nighthawk. Managed to not kill myself in the younger years with 3 different monster bikes.
I owned a 2006 Blackbird for 3 years, and I thought it was a great bike. Traded it in for a ZZR 1400 gen 2 and can honestly say I haven't looked back. ZZR seems better in every way, and after 3 years, I still love it and dont plan to get rid of it anytime soon.
I think you'll find the first carburettored & EFI models built prior to 2001were the quickest. They were advertised to have had 164 HP opposed to the 152 HP the 2001 and onward models had due to the Inception of catalytic converters stuffed down their exhaust pipes. I owned both new 1996 and 1999 model and now have a low km 2007 model. My favourite by far was the 99 EFI model as its fueling was refined getting rid of minor flat spot the carbed models had at low RPM. Oh not forgetting their great looking analogue dashboards. XX😂
I have carb'd 97' Blackbird and it fits my needs perfectly. Just the right amount of overkill. ❤ Pleasent, stable allrounder with no big faults. Most of the riding happens below 4000rpm where the bike is very docile and beginner friendly. Flat spot around 4500rpm. Torgue peak at 7200rpm is where the fun happens and peripheral vision disappears. Someone else here in YT commented that the bike is like a butler with SAS training. I think it's fitting description. If I ever wanted to part with it, I would consider BMW K1300S as its spiritual successor.
I had a black carb one. Smooth, effortless but felt boring but at that time as my second bike was a gen1 zx10r. I had to jack up the rear end with the shim mod and it helped. Overall is it quickish, smooth, reliable, comfortable, mile muncher. I loved the looks too especially in black.
I had both a zzr1100 and super blackbird back in the 90s, there was little in it in outright performance, the zzr did have better roll on performance. The main difference was the blackbird felt very smooth and modern, plus it was more nimble. The cammy rush in the second half of the rev range felt pretty good, but the usability was the standout of the blackbird.
own the last year model 2007 - dont think i'll ever sell it , want a newer bike,but dont think i'll ever part whit my blackbird, have dome some tinkering whit it and mine puts out 166 hp on the wheel now, funny thing about the bird, competley stock it can go from about 40 km/ to 300 in one gear
I have had mine for just over 2 years they are amazing bikes I had Michelin road 5s from the pervious owner and it felt a very slow bus with those tryes I have dunlop Roadsmart 4s on her now they have turned her into a bigger version of my cbr 600f4i very nibble for a big bike. You mentioned about her fuel range if you ride sensible you can get 200 miles out of her on a fuel tank
I just picked up a 2002 model 1 owner with 9,000k's (5,500 miles) Absolute sledge hammer of a bike but behaves very well if you want to behave. You're going to wear out that cancel indicator switch bro! OCD is real.
I get it’s muscle memory but Bro how many times do you need to press your indicator button 😅 I counted 32 times while in a straight no corners at all. You’re going to wear these out so much faster but probably be an issue for people down the line when sold on
Kinda disappointed with the ninja 1100sx that's coming out. The fact they made that engine that revs as high and has the same displacement as this almost 30 year old design. Which horsepower = torque x rpm ÷5252 means that you'd think these engines should generate similar power. I got the new ninja 1100 that was made from an engine choked by strict emissions, resulting in less aggressive cams in the addition of using an identical long block as the versys 1100... but 160 horsepower woulda been nice from the new ninja 1100.
You often refer to the bike being dated. 2002 is not dated. The black bird is a real world bike its not about the 0-60 (a majority of motorcycles do 0-60 in under 3 seconds which is well fast enough in the real world -on British roads. ) or the top end that no one will ever touch unless on the auto barn. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fastest_production_motorcycles_by_acceleration.The carbed version is said to be faster. People love the blackbird because it can do it all in style. I have ridden the ZZR 1300. It felt twitchy in comparison, not as user friendly. I much prefer the bird as a real world motorcycle.
I was the very happy owner of a 1998 model. Been through a few bikes and this is the bike I miss the most. Brilliant machines.
All I did with my front forks was add heavier fork oil and a 10mm spacer (washer) which sorted all the front weakness and dive out for me. And I've done 80000 miles on it now. Been thinking of getting some aftermarket fork caps that have the adjustment built in which will give you extra preload, but I never felt the need to with the fork oil and spacer.
As for the power, I've scraped the fairing riding like an arse and ridden 2 up around Europe without giving the wife whiplash. That's the beauty of the engine and it's power delivery. Low down, it's a friendly labrador puppy that just wants to be your friend and accellerates and slows nice and linear. Then as the revs rise, it gets nastier until it is quite viscious at the top, but it will do whatever you want it to, be a hooligan or cruise quickly all day. It's deceptive though. My license is always at risk because you just go faster than you think you are going, until you look down in panic when you pass a speed camera.
I have all the luggage but the SWMotec racks mean there's no great big girders on it once I take the bags off, and it looks so much nicer. It was comfy for the trip back from France to the midlands with only a couple of stop for fuel. I love that mile crushing ability, and when you want to have fun, you crank the bugger over, the long wheelbase and fatness of the bike mean it is settled and sure footed when riding over crappy british roads without being flighty, and short of hitting a wall, will stick to the line you pick. I'm a big fat sod so don't have any issue muscling the bike over to go around corners. Might be a work out for smaller, lighter people but fat old guys like me is no issue. My wife loves the bike, and when 2 up and fully luggaged, the extra weight makes virtually no difference to the bike other than sitting a little lower. It goes quickly, turns corners nicely is planted and will cruise all day at 100mph without protest. And I mean, full tank to empty at 100+mph.
And mine is an old carb model. And I love my bike, as you can probably tell.
@@Arryhall love your monologue, I agree with every word beauty and the beast / jeckal and Hyde what a joy it is to have one. I,m an old man mountain Twisties rider and the blackbird loves it to the tyre edge in the mountain magic.
@cloudbasenirvana oops! I was on the computer and got carried away with my typing! It's coz I love my bird and like you I've gone off the edge of the tyre and scraped the fairing and it's STILL been stable. A big fat bike for a big fat rider. The R1 feels like I'm being given a wedgie in comparison.
I tried one a long time ago, probably late 90’s early 2000’s, can’t remember exactly. Nice bike, very Honda, nothing really took my breath away so I bought a Hayabusa, later I had ZZR1400’s. TBH I don’t think bikes have really come on that much over the years, not really, it’s the tech and added nonsense that’s grown. This Blackbird gave you a powerful motor with no restrictions, today they have 200+ bhp but are electronically held back to make them rideable. Mad really.
Love reliving the memories. Had a 98 I got very lightly used in 99. Loved it! So powerful, so smooth! Put 80k+ miles on it till 2008. Here in the US, 97 and 98 carbed, 99 RAM FI, then a few changes Guages etc till last year 2003 which got cat converters and a bit less power. I'm now 60 yrs old and riding a 75 hp 92 750 Nighthawk. Managed to not kill myself in the younger years with 3 different monster bikes.
I owned a 2006 Blackbird for 3 years, and I thought it was a great bike. Traded it in for a ZZR 1400 gen 2 and can honestly say I haven't looked back. ZZR seems better in every way, and after 3 years, I still love it and dont plan to get rid of it anytime soon.
I think you'll find the first carburettored & EFI models built prior to 2001were the quickest. They were advertised to have had 164 HP opposed to the 152 HP the 2001 and onward models had due to the Inception of catalytic converters stuffed down their exhaust pipes.
I owned both new 1996 and 1999 model and now have a low km 2007 model.
My favourite by far was the 99 EFI model as its fueling was refined getting rid of minor flat spot the carbed models had at low RPM. Oh not forgetting their great looking analogue dashboards.
XX😂
Fantastic review. I bought a 2000 BB. What a machine ❤
I have carb'd 97' Blackbird and it fits my needs perfectly. Just the right amount of overkill. ❤ Pleasent, stable allrounder with no big faults.
Most of the riding happens below 4000rpm where the bike is very docile and beginner friendly. Flat spot around 4500rpm. Torgue peak at 7200rpm is where the fun happens and peripheral vision disappears.
Someone else here in YT commented that the bike is like a butler with SAS training. I think it's fitting description.
If I ever wanted to part with it, I would consider BMW K1300S as its spiritual successor.
I had a black carb one. Smooth, effortless but felt boring but at that time as my second bike was a gen1 zx10r. I had to jack up the rear end with the shim mod and it helped. Overall is it quickish, smooth, reliable, comfortable, mile muncher. I loved the looks too especially in black.
Other than standard stator/rectifier problems,it's a great bike.Still looks sharp tho
I had both a zzr1100 and super blackbird back in the 90s, there was little in it in outright performance, the zzr did have better roll on performance. The main difference was the blackbird felt very smooth and modern, plus it was more nimble. The cammy rush in the second half of the rev range felt pretty good, but the usability was the standout of the blackbird.
Great review! 🤠 I own a Honda X11! A more retuned model based on the Blackbird, but Naked version. The X11 got 140HP and a lot of midrange tork 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
You're going to wear out that indicator button in no time if you aren't careful
I love picking up old bikes 😅
Fine as long as you don't marry them.😉
own the last year model 2007 - dont think i'll ever sell it , want a newer bike,but dont think i'll ever part whit my blackbird, have dome some tinkering whit it and mine puts out 166 hp on the wheel now, funny thing about the bird, competley stock it can go from about 40 km/ to 300 in one gear
Gorgeous looking bike. Ive hurd whispers that they may be bringing the Blackbird back next year?
o have heard rumors like that for about 15 years
The fi was refined after a couple of years after its introduction ,so the later ones do feel beter fueled.
I have a 2001. Very quick bike. Top box does effect stability at speed
I have had mine for just over 2 years they are amazing bikes I had Michelin road 5s from the pervious owner and it felt a very slow bus with those tryes I have dunlop Roadsmart 4s on her now they have turned her into a bigger version of my cbr 600f4i very nibble for a big bike. You mentioned about her fuel range if you ride sensible you can get 200 miles out of her on a fuel tank
What on earth do you keep doing with your left thumb ?
I was scrolling looking for this comment 😅. Probably a forced habit of clearing the turn signal.
It's Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Probably cancelling the indicators out of habit. I do it occasionally as do a lot of other riders, since indicators don't turn off automatically.
Insecure rider
How are the ergonomics compared to your zzr in terms of reach to tank & weight etc?
I'll make a dedicated video comparing the two in detail, but weight and reach are very similar 👍
I just picked up a 2002 model 1 owner with 9,000k's (5,500 miles) Absolute sledge hammer of a bike but behaves very well if you want to behave. You're going to wear out that cancel indicator switch bro! OCD is real.
The engine is basically a bored out fireblade motor
My Brother had 3 of them
I get it’s muscle memory but Bro how many times do you need to press your indicator button 😅 I counted 32 times while in a straight no corners at all. You’re going to wear these out so much faster but probably be an issue for people down the line when sold on
🤣🤣 Yeah it's just a habit of mine. I've been trying recently to not hit it as much, but I constantly find myself doing it without thinking. 👍
Kinda disappointed with the ninja 1100sx that's coming out. The fact they made that engine that revs as high and has the same displacement as this almost 30 year old design. Which horsepower = torque x rpm ÷5252 means that you'd think these engines should generate similar power. I got the new ninja 1100 that was made from an engine choked by strict emissions, resulting in less aggressive cams in the addition of using an identical long block as the versys 1100... but 160 horsepower woulda been nice from the new ninja 1100.
You are Lloyd Grossman and I claim my £5!
I ride a 2002 also (
It could have been written off for cosmetic reasons ,ie fairing damage .
I think 2002 CBR1100XX’s HP is 152 ps,perhaps.
👴🏻🥃WHAT IS THIS JUNK????
You often refer to the bike being dated. 2002 is not dated. The black bird is a real world bike its not about the 0-60 (a majority of motorcycles do 0-60 in under 3 seconds which is well fast enough in the real world -on British roads. ) or the top end that no one will ever touch unless on the auto barn. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fastest_production_motorcycles_by_acceleration.The carbed version is said to be faster. People love the blackbird because it can do it all in style. I have ridden the ZZR 1300. It felt twitchy in comparison, not as user friendly. I much prefer the bird as a real world motorcycle.