firestorm

[saint gaz]

Still trying to choose my first bike. Looked at a zzr600 and a sv650 so far. nearly bought the sv but changed my mind at the last minute. Do like the sound of a twin tho.

I'm going to look at a vtr 1000 on Saturday, are they good bikes fire a newbie? It's a 2002 with 7k on the clock. Looks Ok on the pics but apparently the paint work is a bit rough in places due to it falling over off its stand.

Struggling to find THE bike for me. Doesn't seem to be much choice or there at the minute. Looking at spending 2k ish and Need to go trade as I'm trading in my ybr.
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Mid life crisis has started,
Let the fun begin.
Honda VTR 1000 Firestorm

[stevo as b4]

You would pick up a total minter of a Firestorm for <£2k.

They have plenty of good and bad points, but overall if your looking at an SV650 or SV1000 then id say they are a better more sporty bike than either! The early models with 16L tanks could annoy you if your do touring/long distance daily commutes, as you can have a 100mile tank range when ridden hard. They are not great on fuel 35mpg at best, but with aftermarket pipes they sound like the Devil himself, and sound wise better than a Suzuki TLS1000 IMO.

They are a bike that really benefits from some basic suspension and braking upgrades, and if you are a quick rider and do trackdays etc, you will want aftermarket rearsets for better ground clearance.

Simple exhaust/carb jetting/filter mods show up about 105-107bhp r/w.

rear shock is cheap and not great quality and the exhaust heat kills them quickly, so a nice upgrade is an ideal early mod once all the usual worn consumables like the cush drive rubbers and CCT are replaced.

If I wanted a decent and characterful 1000cc bike and especially a 2cyl bike, then at £2k I would be very keen on buying a Storm or a TL1000S as an alternative.

[Furrybiker]

A 2002 bike would have a 19ltr tank, also they have an LCD screen as part of the clocks, the earlier 16ltr tank bikes have all circular clocks . Camchain tensioners are a known weak point. On most bikes this is not a major problem but on a storm it is, it trashes the front cylinder valves. Fix is either a "stopper" mod to the original items or replace with manuals. They then go on to silly mileages.

I have had mine for almost 4 years, I think its great but any big V-twin gets my vote. As a bike for a newbie, well although there is quite a bit of grunt it is very docile at the bottom of the rev range, say below 3-4k. With loud pipes the sound is addictive, although my neighbours might disagree....

For more info www.vtr1000.org

[P.]

2K would get you the far superior TL1000S/R

[stevo as b4]

All I can say is that it's a bloody good job Hetzer doesn't ride a Firestorm with cut down race cans and rich carburation, as he'd be breaking his neighbours windows while sat waiting for his automatic gates to open!

[Slacker24seve...]

[G]

A firestorm will make it easy to go fairly fast in a straight line.

Personally, I find it pretty boring - a similar age sports 600 will be pretty much as fast, but only when you're trying. It will also have better handling and much better ground clearance.

Because you have to work for it, it may mean you're less likely to get yourself into trouble without thinking - ie twist the throttle a bit, then workout you're doing 120mph and there's a corner coming up!

If you can control your right hand and are happy to get your thrills from the speed alone, not working for it, should be a good enough bike.

It's basically like a bigger SV in most ways - so on steveo comment of 'characterful', I'd suggest it's got all the character of a maths test!

[stevo as b4]

Lol!

G I do see where your coming from with that. I had a J1 ZX6R and my dad had a VTR. I've ridden both and found that yes it's definitely easier to go fast on the VTR on a straight road at least. Overtakes are quicker and easier on the VTR if your not riding along on the ZX6R where the power is (7-8000rpm>).

I agree that ultimately the ZX6R is and would be the fastest bike of the two on top speed and certainely on a track with a decent rider aboard.

I also think your comment is true about because you have to work the 600 harder to get to silly speeds that your less likely to come out of a long corner and roll on the throttle down the next straight to 110mph without noticing it happen as much.

And as for character well I think my J1 had some character in the classic Kawasaki engine sound department. i.e a bag of spanners low rpm feel and a rough gruff less than silky midrange, and lots of airbox roar and a decent top end rush too.

But the storm has a nice sound and a lazy feel and being a carb fed 2pot litre bike it makes louder pops and bangs than the TL1000S and is a stronger feeling engine below say 7000rpm as well. But I would accept that unlike the TLS and more so the TLR it doesn't have a massive top end and also has less character than a boomy 996 Ducati. It's a better more exciting engine than a TRX850 for example though!

[G]

How much have you ridden a TRX?

The engine gives the impression that it's pretty flat, but when you put it through it's paces, a standard one at least is actually quite revvy - you really need to be over half revs and keep it there to make proper progress (that being 4k, of course.)

Had you considered you might just have fallen asleep and been having a dream about flying a jet fighter or something while riding the 'storm - it's definitely a bit better than counting sheep for that at least .

[stevo as b4]

I've done less than 20miles on a TRX to be honest, but from what I remember it did feel quite flat, but did move fairly well for what it was. I think the Firestorm was more fun and more characterful in the 4000-7000rpm range however.

And I'm pretty sure that it was before I started taking my funny pills when I rode the VTR last!

But then again I think the simple carb fed VTR engine would be a good bet in a factory bobber style bike or even in a lightweight more serious enduro bike like those Highland V-twins or similar.

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

This my not be the case for you but I would have found going to a large capacity V-twin a bit awkward at first, compared to a smaller twin or inline 4.

Litre twins can be quite unforgiving with gear selection, ironically for all their 'low down' torque around town. Then when you do push on they can be quite brutal. I'd personally stick to an inline 4 or SV type bike (also consider the Cagiva Raptor 650 here. They use the Suzuki engine and go for silly prices, saw one in MCN for less than £1500!).

Contrary to stevo I found my J1 ZX6R to be quite a useable. Mine was downgeared and very well sorted with jets etc. Definately felt more useable overall than any V-twin ive ridden.
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[Im-a-Ridah]

I'd go with the 600 or 650 if you want to have fun on it, for much the same reasons as G. A 1000 really limits what you can do on the road since cranking it right open risks your licence. If you want to do more long distance stuff though, bigger capacity bikes have more space, which is IMO their main advantage.

[G]

Firestorm gears can be a little clunky if I remember, but as it's not going for the sporty end, it's not quite so lumpy low down.

TRX is definitely an acquired taste and it took me a little bit to work it out.
If you just hold the throttle open and note what the bike's doing you'll find it that it does decent take off at 4k rpm - and certainly pulling away from lights etc it needs a decent bit of clutch work to get it into the zone for proper go versus being a bit lethargic.
Seen it suggested it may be related to it's 5 valve head.

[P.]

[MarJay]

I personally wouldn't recommend a 1000cc bike as a first big bike. I'd suggest an SV650, Hornet 600, Fazer 600 etc etc first.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Walloper]

[Blau Zedong]

GSXR1100K or Mk1 Fireblade. If you survive then you are obviously talented enough to be worthy of owning a bike. If you die then it's a glorious death.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[jjdugen]

God, don't get me started on Firestorms......

Designed by AMERICAN Honda.... so make of that what you will.

As mentioned,CCT's are a dramatic fail item, if the engine is still on the Honda auto CCT's change them immediately or become familiar with your bent valve gear.
Fuel consumption is ridiculous and the tank capacity is far too small.
Ugly as sin.
Cheap suspension.

One little foible that hasn't been mentioned is that the clutches can lock solid when moving off. Some do it (quite a few actually), some are perfectly normal. It makes taking off from a standstill quite interesting, especially in heavy traffic. Lots of things tried to cure it, non seem to be definitive. And, it does it occasionally, not all the time. A bit like playing Russian roulette.

A bitch to get to the carbs for mixture setting, the overflow water tank sits right where you need to get too.

Not at all 'fast' for a thou.

Honda dropped them from the range remarkably quickly, even the SP1 /2's where only built to challenge Ducati in WSB, as soon as that title was won, they divested their range of any sports V twins.
Honda, it seems, came to the same conclusion as any right thinking person would, big V twins are a ramshackle idea that has no place in modern society.
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[saint gaz]

cheers guys, its now clear as mud
____________________
Mid life crisis has started,
Let the fun begin.
Honda VTR 1000 Firestorm

[Walloper]

[Dalemac]

What you really want is a sl1000 falco. you can pick up a mint one for around 2k. Mine has a few scrapes here and there and i bought it for £1450.
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YBR125 -> GPZ500S -> SL1000

[P.]

What you don't want is an Italian twin...

[Dalemac]

[P.]

Does it shit its electrical system leaving you thudding on 1 cylinder till you have £1k spare...

Nope.

Can I get new parts from my manufacturer is less than 3 months...

Yes

Nah thanks, I'll keep the slitty eyed twin

Falco:

Engine size - 997 cc
Power - 118 bhp
Top speed - 156 mph

TLS:

Engine size - 996 cc
Power - 125 bhp
Top speed - 165 mph

Shit dawg, you got 1cc on me, I give.

[Dalemac]