Blackbird
14th August 2007, 20:02
Jimmy B (Andy) and I have been suffering withdrawal symptoms, neither of us having had a decent ride for several weeks so this morning, Andy rode down from Auckland and I came up from Tokoroa to do the Coromandel Loop. The fact that it shortened the working week by a day was an additional bonus! The early morning start from Tokoroa was a bit of a trial in the low temperatures, even with good gear but as the sun got a bit higher, some feeling returned into the pinkies.:shutup:
After meeting at Kopu, it was off to the bach in Coromandel for coffee. The trip up the coast road was great fun but care was needed at that time of the day as the roads were a little greasy from condensation and a lack of sun. **A timely caution for the KB’ers this coming weekend**. There were also several groups of contractors tidying up trees from the recent big blow and we had to stop a couple of times whilst they were working. Once we hit the hills, the roads were largely dry and we were able to get into our stride.
For the Coromandel – Whitianga leg, we swapped bikes and what a revelation that was! More on that later. We saw a number of other bikes including a Ducati and Gixxer being well ridden, their owners probably wagging work too and why not on such a beautiful day! Lovely dry roads and a stop in Whitianga for an excellent pizza. From there to half way along the Kopu-Hikuai road, it was rapid transit stuff with minimal traffic. However, the rest of that leg right back to Kopu was a bit of a mission with a lot of slow trucks. Andy and I said our goodbyes at Kopu and I headed south to catch up with Scratcha at Waihou and Andy headed back to Auckland.
No dramas, wonderful weather, fantastic company and the radar detector earned it’s keep twice on the way home – what more can a guy wish for?
Now, for those of you who don’t know Andy, he rides a Honda X11, the “naked Blackbird”. They never really sold in big numbers, partially because Mr Honda released them in some fairy unsympathetic colours. Andy had his resprayed all black and I can tell you that in the flesh, it looks one big bad mutha streetfighter! So what does it go like? Well in short, I was blown away. The handling is very sharp and despite being over 200 kg, fast directional changes over the Coromandel Hill were no problem whatsoever. Andy’s bike also has an Ohlins rear shock on it and the greatest compliment I can pay is that the suspension works so well that you simply forget about it as it completely soaks up the bumps. Ergonomics are also top notch. The seat-footpeg positioning is pretty much identical to the Blackbird but with the raised flat bars, the load on the wrists is much less than on the ‘bird.
What about the engine? That was the biggest surprise of all. A re-tuned Blackbird motor for more mid-range with a 5 speed gearbox instead of 6. ‘kin hell, that thing can boogie! Dunno why they bother with a gearbox as you don’t need to worry what gear you’re in, it simply flies when you open the throttle, great big oodles of torque whenever you want it, with a top speed approaching 260 km/hr (or so I’m told)! Any disadvantages? Well, a small screen might help with fatigue at higher speeds but the angled instrument cluster does a pretty job to a fair way up the speed range.
You’ll gather that I’m bloody enthusiastic about the X11. It’s easy to ride fast from when you first climb on it and it makes a strictly average rider like me look good. Ok, the Speed Triple gets all the kudos in the streetfighter stakes but I’d suggest that if one was to meet an X11 with evenly matched riders, the X11 might just dish out a bloody nose. And it has more range and carries a passenger in comfort too! A very under-rated bike which has huge performance and I would be delighted to have one in my shed.
Thanks a million for the chance to ride it Andy!
After meeting at Kopu, it was off to the bach in Coromandel for coffee. The trip up the coast road was great fun but care was needed at that time of the day as the roads were a little greasy from condensation and a lack of sun. **A timely caution for the KB’ers this coming weekend**. There were also several groups of contractors tidying up trees from the recent big blow and we had to stop a couple of times whilst they were working. Once we hit the hills, the roads were largely dry and we were able to get into our stride.
For the Coromandel – Whitianga leg, we swapped bikes and what a revelation that was! More on that later. We saw a number of other bikes including a Ducati and Gixxer being well ridden, their owners probably wagging work too and why not on such a beautiful day! Lovely dry roads and a stop in Whitianga for an excellent pizza. From there to half way along the Kopu-Hikuai road, it was rapid transit stuff with minimal traffic. However, the rest of that leg right back to Kopu was a bit of a mission with a lot of slow trucks. Andy and I said our goodbyes at Kopu and I headed south to catch up with Scratcha at Waihou and Andy headed back to Auckland.
No dramas, wonderful weather, fantastic company and the radar detector earned it’s keep twice on the way home – what more can a guy wish for?
Now, for those of you who don’t know Andy, he rides a Honda X11, the “naked Blackbird”. They never really sold in big numbers, partially because Mr Honda released them in some fairy unsympathetic colours. Andy had his resprayed all black and I can tell you that in the flesh, it looks one big bad mutha streetfighter! So what does it go like? Well in short, I was blown away. The handling is very sharp and despite being over 200 kg, fast directional changes over the Coromandel Hill were no problem whatsoever. Andy’s bike also has an Ohlins rear shock on it and the greatest compliment I can pay is that the suspension works so well that you simply forget about it as it completely soaks up the bumps. Ergonomics are also top notch. The seat-footpeg positioning is pretty much identical to the Blackbird but with the raised flat bars, the load on the wrists is much less than on the ‘bird.
What about the engine? That was the biggest surprise of all. A re-tuned Blackbird motor for more mid-range with a 5 speed gearbox instead of 6. ‘kin hell, that thing can boogie! Dunno why they bother with a gearbox as you don’t need to worry what gear you’re in, it simply flies when you open the throttle, great big oodles of torque whenever you want it, with a top speed approaching 260 km/hr (or so I’m told)! Any disadvantages? Well, a small screen might help with fatigue at higher speeds but the angled instrument cluster does a pretty job to a fair way up the speed range.
You’ll gather that I’m bloody enthusiastic about the X11. It’s easy to ride fast from when you first climb on it and it makes a strictly average rider like me look good. Ok, the Speed Triple gets all the kudos in the streetfighter stakes but I’d suggest that if one was to meet an X11 with evenly matched riders, the X11 might just dish out a bloody nose. And it has more range and carries a passenger in comfort too! A very under-rated bike which has huge performance and I would be delighted to have one in my shed.
Thanks a million for the chance to ride it Andy!