New Blackbird

[Slartibartfast]

...I think that both of those new bikes are far and away better than the OLD XX in every category.

Agreed, they are better, and rightly so. The question I ask is: how much better? I have no trouble keeping up with those bikes on my lightly modded XX and my total investment is less than half of theirs. I can't justify the extra outlay for such little overall gain. Does that mean I wouldn't be at the front of the line if a 13 or 14 hundred cc Blackbird hit the market? Not at all. I would probably leave my wife, primed and ready in bed, to put my deposit down.    I don't want to start a(nother) flame war as this is just my own personal opinion, but I simply can't make myself like the aesthetics of either the Hayabusa or the ZX-14, so unless the difference is enough to blow my mind the way the Blackbird did when I stepped to it from my old CB750F (which I don't think it is), there is no incentive for me to upgrade.

Ah crap. Did I just babble on comparing the Blackbird to the ZX and Hayabusa?   Okay, go ahead an insert the bitchslap icon in your reply.

What would I like to see in a NEW 1300XX? Everything the 1100 has plus:
 
- Updated suspension, fully adjustable, preferably from riding position.
- High output reliable charging system with some cockpit mounted power points for heated gear and accessories.
- A decent seat.
- Electronic speed control
- Hard points for factory panniers and maybe a small aux fuel tank, since I'm dreaming anyway.
- 25 more horses and 10 - 12 lbs more torque.
- How about a gyro-stabilized HID main beam, a nasty, retina-frying high beam, and LED running lights?
- Rear hugger.

Lightly freshen up the aesthetics, keep the LBS and add ABS as an option.

[ndivita]

Only the manliest of men bought Blackbirds....most of you people couldn't handle one.  Stick with your FJR's...know your limits.

Or. as I do, you can own the FJR and the Blackbird.  I've had the FJR since 2005, bought a 2001 Blackbird in 2008 and sold her in 2009.  I then realized how much that bike spoke to me, and I just bought an '03 Blackbird with all of 3173 miles on it.  I love both bikes.  No disrespect to the ST1300 or Concours or BMW crowd, but these two machines do it for me....

With the engineering on modern motorcycles, newer is not necessarily better.  It is, however, necessarily more expensive.  

[Will_Munny]

I read somewhere that Honda got pretty far in developing a Blackbird replacement but it wasn't deemed a worthy successor and they killed the project.

[Rodan]

Agreed, they are better, and rightly so. The question I ask is: how much better? I have no trouble keeping up with those bikes on my lightly modded XX and my total investment is less than half of theirs. I can't justify the extra outlay for such little overall gain.

IMHO, this argument is losing steam as both 'Busas and ZX's are becoming available in the used market at pretty reasonable prices; and meanwhile the XX's are getting older.  Who can get down the road faster is 95% rider anyway, so for me it's about whether the bike delivers what I'm expecting for the price I pay.

BTW, even if Honda does come out with a "new" XX, they'll screw it up somehow...  

[Hoss350]

I agree with the above poster,  I can't see spending sick money on something that's a little better!! I like the fact that there isn't alot of birds around.  Not to mention I paid 3000 for mine It's still stinkin fast and handles just about good enough for me without launching my butt over the edge!  Not to mention everyone and their mother has a busa or a zx14.  I'll stick with my Birdy.  

Hoss