I'm seriously thinking of buying one of these.

[The Doctor 46]

Well, as the title says, I'm getting the urge to tick off one of the things on my bucket list. For the money it's hard to think of a reason why not. I'm too busy to use it much this year so I'm going to wait until next year and if my feelings are the same then I'm going to have one, maybe only for a year but what a fun filled year it could be.
Could someone please try to talk me out of it..... Please!

I do like to go fast so for me this could be a licence looser but there are autobahns where anything goes. 

[crump]

You say talk you out of it, so here goes.
They are a great bike and an absolute bargain  atm, if you've got the cash buy it... buy it now. You only live once.
Oh wait a minute, not sure that's what you want to hear......I'm rubbish at this😃

[2112]

They are a great bargain at the moment and prices will only go one way soon enough. They ride great but they are not the most spacious of bikes and I find them a bit cramped at 6'2". My mate had one of the first of the fuel injected models and it was soooo smooth but my ZZR1100 was quicker... Much harder to ride mind.

[nigel s]

The Thunderace would  be  my choice  for an old school bruiser but I have a thing for the  20 valve engines

[FragglePete]

I had a Blackbird for about a year - it was supposed to be the next step up from my VFR750 at the time.  But, overall, I was a bit disappointed with it which is why I only kept if for a year.

What I liked:
Turbine like engine incredibly smooth
Very Fast. 
Great Handling.

What I didn't like:
Cramped riding position for a Sports Tourer. 
Couldn't see much out of the mirrors.
Did have bar risers on it, I took these off to see if it would make it better for me.  It didn't.
Heavy of fuel... for a Sports Tourer.  36mpg on a good day.
Lot of heat came off the engine - very noticeable in Town Riding
Cumbersome to handle in Town Riding
Very Fast - the old cliche... I'm going to kill myself on it (or loose my licence)

I did that Isle of Mann on it - and managed to get a lap on the circuit.  I remember coming around the Goose Neck and thinking, right, this is the only time you can do this so I opened it up.  Went past a number of 'sports' bikes like they were standing still and saw the needle wind up so quick it scared me a little.
The ride home from the Liverpool docks down to Wiltshire in the very early hours was very quick, smooth and the bike didn't miss a beat, but I had to re-fuel in three times on the trip home.

I also found other Blackbird riders to be, erm, not the nicest of people compared to you lovely lot here on V-Strom.  Sold it, didn't really loose anything except the cost of a service in the time I had it.

But - I guess, get it out of your system.  But, you'll be disappointed in it in the long run.

Just my opinion.

Pete

[nigel s]

I tried one when I was looking for more power after owning two cbr600s for 100,000 miles.
The handlebars were very narrow and the engine feel was dislocated from the speedo,yes you were doing "X"mph ,but  as to what was actually going on ....it was too isolating from the riding experience for me.
A pity.. as I was a non car licence then and was looking for the next step up in reliable two wheel transport, it should in theory have filled my needs.
I ended up with a gen 1 fazer 1000 .
A whole different story.

[Brockett]

As my old footer used to say:-
Look at the clock and calendar,
it'll never be now again.
So whatever you want to do, do it.
Just as fast as you possibly can.