Rock and a hard place

vtryorks · Post by **vtryorks** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:49 am

Hi guys,

I havent been active much on here over the winter what with one thing and another. Anyway it looks like spring is arriving and I find myself faced with an awful decision. :/

My wife and I wanted to do some light touring on the bike this year but she says she doesnt want to do it on the storm because she finds it uncomfortble to be on the back of. I've got a Renntec rail on it and standard pegs/seat but she just doesnt get along with it. Might also be due to twins not being the smoothest bikes at low speed around town.

So basically Im having to consider selling my storm

It feels pretty crap right now, just not sure what to do. I think she's wanting something where she isnt perched as high on the back so even a change of seat to maybe a gel wouldnt really help much. I dont want to sell the bike but what can I do :/

Anyone else had this problem where their wifes elbow and a Firestorm dont mix?

vtryorks · Post by **vtryorks** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:52 am

I guess I should add, if I do decide to sell it rather than purchase a second bike, I will offer it to members of this forum before anywhere else as I would definitely want it to remain in our little community.

Kev L · Post by **Kev L** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:35 pm

Sorry to hear that fella. Can't you encourage her to do her DAS and get a bike of her own? think of the advantages, she could buy a big old tourer and fit it with dressing table & wardrobes (or top box & panniers) and take all the luggage. Seems like a plan to me!
Good luck, whichever way you go.

Z28DUNC · Post by **Z28DUNC** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:53 pm

Can you afford to have two bikes? Get a old tourer of some sort of fleabay!

Porkpie · Post by **Porkpie** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:07 pm

I have a headful of 15 years experience with VFRs let me know if you want to hear some of it. I keep an old carbed one for sunny 2 up days

Decent late carbed 750, early injection 800 in the high teens Â£

Wicky · Post by **Wicky** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:39 pm

or alternatively big ol' FJ1200s are cheap & plentiful on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-1991-FJ ... 134wt_1359

AMCQ46 · Post by **AMCQ46** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:41 pm

have you thought about replacing the wife and keeping the bike?

lloydie · Post by **lloydie** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:20 pm

AMCQ46 wrote:have you thought about replacing the wife and keeping the bike?

what he said lol

Vtrkidda · Post by **Vtrkidda** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:03 pm

ye sell the missus
ebay 99p
no reserve
free p&p
no returns accepted,
Cash on collection :beer:

firestorm1997 · Post by **firestorm1997** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:17 pm

I was faced with the same problem 6+ years ago.. was looking for a trade in on the storm for another bike. When I saw how much I was being offered for the storm, it was a no brainer. kept the storm and bought second bike. Happy days as now have the best of both worlds.

jd-man · Post by **jd-man** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:29 pm

Hi mate do like me keep the bike and sell the missus :beer:

tony.mon · Post by **tony.mon** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:30 pm

But if you sell the missus who's going to polish the bike?

jd-man · Post by **jd-man** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:33 pm

tony.mon wrote:But if you sell the missus who's going to polish the bike?

The kids

MacKrell17 · Post by **MacKrell17** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 12:51 pm

Hi mate,

Had a similar problem. My other half is only 5'4" and I'm only 5'8" tall. Meant that the Storm wasn't great on long journeys as in order for her to hold on or lean on the tank she ends up sliding towards the tank and eventually really uncomfortable both ending up in the driving seat.

Solution repace the seat. Went to see an outft called smartrrrs in Yorkshire and for Â£150 they rebuilt the seat with gel but crucially reprofiled the seat as well. The seat cover is in a basket weave vinyl so less sliding about than the smooth original finish. The pillion is slightly more horizontal as well so the pillion is not forced to lean forward so much. Had gel pads in both pillion and riders seat as well. Finally the riders seat is a bit shorter and the pillion seat then becomes longer. This means more room for luggage on the back.

Done Italy, Spain and Holland on this set up so far and all good. Currently working on a customised adjustable luggage rack to take away the need for a tank bag when away for more than a couple of weeks.

Anyway the point of all that is for Â£150 you can make a massive difference to the comfort of the bike for rider and pillion. Might be worth giving it a go before ditching the Storm.

tony.mon · Post by **tony.mon** » Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:37 pm

I tried those gel pads, and sure enough I didn't end up crushing my bits on the tank, as the gel pads didn't grip the discs at all and there was no braking.

I'd stick to proper sintered ones.

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