Now to totally muddy the waters of this conversational thread with some comments that don't even mention the Blackbird...
The new Interceptor/VFR has some great styling cues, especially the back end. Those underseat exhausts are very cool. The front end doesn't do it for me though. It think it is the front turn signals that turn me off, so to speak.
I just got home form a local Suzuki-Yamaha-Honda dealer. They had a new Yamaha R1 in black with red flames next to a new Suzuki GSXR1000 in silver. This is the first time I got a first hand look at the new Gixxer 1000. It is cool. Very light. But... The R1 had plastics that fit it much better. And seemed to go together much better than the new Gixxer. Things lined up better around the front fairing.
These are not the sort of things that indicate there is anything wrong with either bike. But in terms of appearance and an anal-retentive attention to detail, my hat is off to Yamaha. Even the wires and cables were nicely dressed and arranged.
Down the line a bit was a new Honda CBR954RR. Another nice bike. But I didn't feel that the fit and finish of it was any better than the Gixxer1000. Though I will admit, I did not pay attention to the welds on any of these bikes.
Oh, on a side note. They had one of those 40th anniversary Orange Busas there. Very cool looking bike. Under the indoor lighting it had a burnt dark metallic hue. To those guys who have them or have them ordered: Congrats! They look great.
The new Interceptor/VFR has some great styling cues, especially the back end. Those underseat exhausts are very cool. The front end doesn't do it for me though. It think it is the front turn signals that turn me off, so to speak.
I just got home form a local Suzuki-Yamaha-Honda dealer. They had a new Yamaha R1 in black with red flames next to a new Suzuki GSXR1000 in silver. This is the first time I got a first hand look at the new Gixxer 1000. It is cool. Very light. But... The R1 had plastics that fit it much better. And seemed to go together much better than the new Gixxer. Things lined up better around the front fairing.
These are not the sort of things that indicate there is anything wrong with either bike. But in terms of appearance and an anal-retentive attention to detail, my hat is off to Yamaha. Even the wires and cables were nicely dressed and arranged.
Down the line a bit was a new Honda CBR954RR. Another nice bike. But I didn't feel that the fit and finish of it was any better than the Gixxer1000. Though I will admit, I did not pay attention to the welds on any of these bikes.
Oh, on a side note. They had one of those 40th anniversary Orange Busas there. Very cool looking bike. Under the indoor lighting it had a burnt dark metallic hue. To those guys who have them or have them ordered: Congrats! They look great.