There's been an interesting little development in my world since my last post on this topic...
On Tuesday morning I took my Honda in for its 8,000 mile service. Before jumping on the courtesy bike to head into London, I reckon I had about an hour to spare. So I walked round to the bike showroom and asked to take the Fireblade SP out for a spin. Any idea where this is going yet?
I was absolutely blown away by that bike. It soaks up the bumps on our terrible British roads like a sports tourer. The engine is so smooth and refined that it could almost be a gas turbine. It's quiet around town, which is what I love about Zeros, but has a real bark when you open it up. The handling is sublime, the quick shifter and blipper work even better than on my CB1000R. It accelerates like a rocket ship. The breaks are just the nuts, and so on...
I returned to the dealership on Wednesday morning to pick up my bike and I placed an order for the SP. £17,000 versus £18,500 for the SRF. They are both £20k bikes. The UK government contributes £1,500 by way of a subsidy. Honda contribute £3,000 by way of discounts so they can clear their stock in preparation for next year's model. In fact Honda UK are sold out already and I was just very lucky that my dealer still had one in their showroom.
Insurance seems to be cheaper than for the SRF. My best quote is £728 and I have a lot of companies to choose from.
So basically I'm getting a much better bike for less money and a lot less hassle and inconvenience. Or the same money with over 10,000 miles of fuel thrown in.
I'll keep my 2014DS for cheap miles when it finally gets back on the road. It must be a month now since the charger failed and as usual I'm suffering the usual mixture of dealership incompetence and poor service from Zero. I still don't have a concrete date as to when the new chargers will be shipped from the European distribution centre. They were ordered about two weeks ago. That's with a competent dealer involved. I gave up on my local dealer when they didn't even manage to contact Zero in the two weeks since I reported the issue to them. I had to go via the UK manager to get anywhere...
It probably goes without saying that the Fireblade will give me a lot more freedom than the Zero. The thought of having to stop for 90 minutes to charge every 60 miles on the motorway just put me right off. I'll be able to go proper distances on the Fireblade and much quicker than on the SRF.
I'm sorry to say that, as usual with EVs, it has come down to cost and range as the main complaints for the SRF. It's a lovely bike and I really, really wanted one. I just happened to find another one that I like even more!
The good news is that demand for the SRF is high here in the UK. My SRF order was quickly handed down to the next person on the list.
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Topic: SR/F complaints (Read 5807 times)