Firestorm v SP1 suspension

[Martyjuk]

Have realised just how poor the standard suspension setup is on the Storm.

After a fried breakfast at the Bikers cafe in Sandwich this morning I had the pleasure of following a mate on his SP1 back via the 'Wingham Bends'.
(Approx 5 miles of country lanes, mostly good surface, good visibility through corners, mainly national speed limit, etc....)
Maintaining a good 70 was easy, however, I could see that his bike was steady as a rock through the bends whilst mine was like a bucking bronco in
comparison !!

Have already dropped the forks by 10mm and raised the rear shock by 4mm; using the Performance Bike recommended settings, think thats about all I can do with
my standard setup. Guess a fork rebuild is my next priority !

Anyone know of a decent suspension tuner in the East Kent area? (willing to pay up to £250-300 to get this sorted !)

[MacV2]

Welcome to the world of Storm ownership, you will soon learn that if you are keeping it long term then the wallet needs to kept close at hand....Fix one thing & something else will need sorting.

There are things that need to be done as a priority, then maintenance, then improvement, then personalisation (bling it up ) the list is as long as you want or can afford to make it.

First off you have to realise that Storms were built to a budget & therefore have shite suppies front and rear, front soft rear hard.

New springs & oil in the front, prices vary I bought Hyperpro which were about £116 IIRC.

Rear shock is quite long so shocks from other bikes don't fit, your options are, new weight related spring or a new shock. Cheapest you'll get is a Hagon unit around £300 new all the way up to a £900 for a new Ohlins job. They do come up 2nd hand now & again but as they are sought after the prices are high & you need to factor in a rebuild.

If your going for a spring only you may as well have the shock fettled as well & will that be cheaper than a new Hagon unit ?

If your on a budget go for new fork springs & a weight related spring & revamp on the rear & then start to look at things like head bearings & shock linkage bearings as well, If the linkage is shagged your shock wont be operating at it's best anyway.

Plough through the workshop section (knowledge base ) reading what other peeps have done re suspension & have a very good read regarding the shock linkage it's an area that needs good maintenance as it gets hot from the rear downpipes & all the shite off the road.

Have fun reading up & prepare your wallet for a good bashing.


http://www.themotorbikerepair.co.uk/sus ... tone/kent/

Not used these myself but there in Kent like you asked.


http://www.hmracing.co.uk/

Mr Mons gets his dyno work done here & recommends them highly......Then I recommend Mr Mons highly as he did my forks & head bearings, excellent workmanship, terrible humour, good rates.

[Martyjuk]

Thanks MacV2.....Thought I had done the essentials, Finned Reg/rec fitted and a set of ROAS manual ccts....
See what you mean about keeping your wallet handy !!

Not being put off though, much prefer the power characteristics of the V Twin to a straight 4...will be keeping this one for a while !
......although really did like my mates SP1 ? !!!

[MacV2]

Thanks MacV2.....Thought I had done the essentials, Finned Reg/rec fitted and a set of ROAS manual ccts....
See what you mean about keeping your wallet handy !!

That's a good start here's a pic of my neglected & knackard linkage from when I finally got round to checking mine in April 2011.

The bolt at the bottom end of the shock was seized solid & had no movement at all, in the end it took a grinder to cut it off.....

[seb421]

For that price mate you could get some beefier blade forks on ebay if you have patience and get them serviced too

Sent from the Bat Cave via Cup and String

[Image]

My mates put steering dampers on his storm and it made a hell of a difference. The front still dips but it makes no difference to steering or traction anymore!