Hello! New to forum. Sell VTR ownership to me!!

[mountaingoat]

Due to financial problems Ive just had to sell my TL1000s. It was an awesome bike and Im heartbroken. I will be after another bike in a month or so and if i could buy my TL back I would in a flash! I'm toying with the idea of a VTR as they are available pretty cheaply and have a big V-twin which Ive grown to love.

I'm used to tinkering, having owned the TL for nearly 3 years. What would you guys suggest?

Also, the power is way down on a fettled TL, are there any mods, short of major engine work, that give a bit more grunt?

Chers

pete (Bristol)

[Wicky]

Greetings

Look for standardish and well maintained (milage not so much an issue as engines are tough & reliable) - a bonus if it comes preloaded with tasteful & useful mods . i.e upgraded R/R and manual CCTs.

Look under the starter rubber hood for corrosion on the starter motor and check when swingers/shock linkage bearings were greased / servived.

Money can be spent on improving handling with an aftermarket shock and 'Rogered' Forks and / or

Full Moriwaki Stage 1 Engine > https://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 38&t=41560

[alanfjones1411]

Just two words say it really. Build quality.

[popkat]

How fettled was the TL ? I've ridden a few times against TL's and there's nothing in it, my Storms have all had end cans and my first one had dynojet/filter. The TL feels more instant or abrupt whichever you want to call it but both bikes performe similar regardless of what power outputs are supposed to be imo.

A rear shock and some cheap fork mods will make a Storm handle better than a TL, no rotary dampers here

As a package I think the Storm is a better all round bike and I've ridden a few TL's but not a modified one.



.

[fabiostar]

welcome along..... dont worry a storm will hold its own, get the sussies sorted and go from that.....

or you can rip the butt outa it and make them rather quick

[podman]

Go try one for yourself would be my advice, no doubt the VTR is a safer second hand bet but it doesnt have the bad boy image of the TL....Cant argue that a storm is peanuts money for a 1000cc V Twin, which is why I considered and bought one , like many others..

I thought the recent MCN article was fairly accurate.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/62q2n832zbmyg ... 1.pdf?dl=0#

[sirch345]

Welcome aboard Pete

Chris.

[mountaingoat]

How fettled was the TL ? I've ridden a few times against TL's and there's nothing in it, my Storms have all had end cans and my first one had dynojet/filter. The TL feels more instant or abrupt whichever you want to call it but both bikes performe similar regardless of what power outputs are supposed to be imo.

A rear shock and some cheap fork mods will make a Storm handle better than a TL, no rotary dampers here

As a package I think the Storm is a better all round bike and I've ridden a few TL's but not a modified one.

Hi Pop, thanks for the reply.

My TL had a full Yoshi system, Modified airbox and re-mapped ECU, Ohlins rear shock (def no rotary!) K-tech fork internals, renthall bars, amongst loads of little cosmetic stuff.

I'm sure a VTR would be comparable but on paper it's 20bhp down on a standard one.

I also prefer the smaller headlight of the TL but now Im just being picky!

I think because Id owned it for so long and done all the modifications that they need, to me it was sorted.

I will try and post some pics when i work out how!



.

[tony.mon]

So why did you sell it, sounds a great bike.

[mountaingoat]

A cash flow problem, I needed a large sum of cash immediately d=because of a 5 week delay being paid.

Utterly gutted, I had absolutely no intention of selling it but I had bills, rent, standing orders etc needed clearing. (Needless to say I am not happy with the agency that has not paid me.

Anyway, I fumed, swore and drunk too much for 4 days and now I must move on, hence why Im here.

I'd done all the jobs that improve/tweak the TLs so it was, in my opinion, awesome! (but im biased)

The forum tlzone.net was superb too. Ive joined several in the past with various bikes Ive owned but nothing compares. Really well attended, theres dozens of new posts every day. And a lot of very knowledgable and helpful folk that have submitted guides on absolutely everything.

So guys, keep trying to sell the VTR to me!

[MacV2]

They are great bikes I have 5 of them at the moment.

Fit & finish is brill, typical of Hondas of the era...

With a few choice mods they make a fine all round bike.

They bounce well unlike me...

Whats not to like ? apart from teal ones & blue ones in general...

[mountaingoat]

One thing I have noticed from watching several on-line videos is the exhaust note. Regardless of what system was fitted they just didn't sound as growly and angry as a TL. Its definately the sound of a v-twin but with no oomph! I could see this becoming an issue now I'm used to the TL with yoshi system.

(I think owning 5 at once is more a reflection on your mental stability than the quality of the bike )

[popkat]

Your bias toward the TL but here we're kind of all bias toward the Storm

The exhaust note on the Storm is imo the best V-twin sound, video clips don't reflect the true sound with crappy mobile microphones.

They wheelie loads better than a TL, takes a bit of balls to get them right up but then you can stay there for ages, lovely carbs make for good control and smooth throttle response.

I've ridden on track against TL's and never had one get near me.

Am I selling it to you yet

Bikes like these often have good forums and this one is no exception, it's not as busy as it used to be due to Facebook, I'm sure the TLZone has suffered in the same way over the last few years.

If you want a really quick Storm there's a fresh built Stage one engine for sale on here, it'll make your old TL seem slow not cheap but with that, a cheap bike, some suspension mods you could have a hell of a good and one of the fastest storms for about £4k... sounds a bargain.


If you buy a standard Storm consider it a starting point and make it good from there, like the TL they are all old now so suspension and stuff may be tired, the Storm was available up to 2005 but not many sold in the last 2 or 3 years. I have an early one with 16 litre tank, late ones had 19 litre and pair system fitted, I feel the early ones are a bit fitter to start with.. They do come up for sale with some useful mods, look for fork work, rear shock, manual CCT's, finned reg/rec.


.

[mountaingoat]

Thanks for the reply Pop. Of course Im biased I had it for 3 years and Im trying to make a good first impression here by stirring things up a bit! #

I bought the TL from a friend for £500 (it had been stood in a garage for 2 years but already had the ohlins, yoshi pipes and fork stuff done!)so i guess Ive been spoilt a bit! Everything Ive read suggests that even with pipes, carb tune etc it's hard to get any sig power increases out of the vtr motor, but Ive only been studying for one day.

I may be wrong but I would be very surprised if any VTR, unless it had had 1000's spent on it would have come near my TL with all the mods done, it was an absolutr animal and took off like a 2-stroke at 6500. (and that's my opinion and im going to stick to it"!)

When or if i buy one I'll go for a cheap and cheerful one as I enjoy tinkering with new bikes as it teaches you a lot and Im a boring old fart who loves my shed.

My TL with the Ohlins and K-tech suspension handled sweet but obviously any bike thats got the standard 20 yr old stuff on is going to be hideous to ride and if it hadn't been done thats one thing id do straight away.

Your idea about the sound quality on a video being an issue may be true. I posted the same question on tlzone, so we'll see how the answers compare. VTR rose tinted specs or TL.

Thanks again. Im sure i'll be back soon with more annoying questions and comments!

[sirch345]

Thanks for the reply Pop. Of course Im biased I had it for 3 years and Im trying to make a good first impression here by stirring things up a bit! #

I bought the TL from a friend for £500 (it had been stood in a garage for 2 years but already had the ohlins, yoshi pipes and fork stuff done!)so i guess Ive been spoilt a bit! Everything Ive read suggests that even with pipes, carb tune etc it's hard to get any sig power increases out of the vtr motor, but Ive only been studying for one day.

I may be wrong but I would be very surprised if any VTR, unless it had had 1000's spent on it would have come near my TL with all the mods done, it was an absolutr animal and took off like a 2-stroke at 6500. (and that's my opinion and im going to stick to it"!)

When or if i buy one I'll go for a cheap and cheerful one as I enjoy tinkering with new bikes as it teaches you a lot and Im a boring old fart who loves my shed.

My TL with the Ohlins and K-tech suspension handled sweet but obviously any bike thats got the standard 20 yr old stuff on is going to be hideous to ride and if it hadn't been done thats one thing id do straight away.

Your idea about the sound quality on a video being an issue may be true. I posted the same question on tlzone, so we'll see how the answers compare. VTR rose tinted specs or TL.

Thanks again. Im sure i'll be back soon with more annoying questions and comments!

you should fit in here very well

I know I didn't see your TL when you bought it from your friend, so I wouldn't know what condition it was in after being stood for two years in a garage. Even so I think you had a bit of a bargain there

Chris.