Hi guys and gals, i currently own a zzr600e1 which has been fab for me the past year as a general workhorse and commuter, but the time has come to get another bike and i have plumped for a vtr. could you tell me the best year for the money to go for, and if mileage is an issue with these bikes. I was gonna spend £3000 maybe £3500 for one and really need the ins and outs if i'm not to buy a lemon.
cheers
Andy
fancy getting a vtr1000 firestorm
Evening Andy. The storm has only been updated once in it's life, 2001, i think and that was really just to give it a bigger tank. 19l over 16l. You can tell coz the newer ones have crappy looking clocks with some digital crap thrown in instead of the usual twin dials. If a bigger tank floats you boat then go for one of them. Really nothing else between them. See if you can fine one with reworked suspension, prob the best mod you can do, and dont get hung up on all the other bolt on crap. (except some booming race exhausts, theres a rule somewhere thats says v twins must have loud exhausts)
Rich.
You should get a nice one for the money you are thinking of spending, you will notice a big difference in milage i would think going from an ecconomical zzr600 to a big twin, but the torque and vibration/noise will more than compensate, although the bank manager might not like you doing 70 miles per tank if you thrash it much. expect about 100 to 130 per tank and thats for the 16 or 19l tank, the extra 3 don't seem to have done anything for the milage.
cheerz
kev
kev
Welcome aboard Andy, you'll find the Firestorm a completely different bike (big vee twin) compared to an inline 4. There are some bargins out there to be had but choose carefully, as Cuppa said one with the suspension all ready up graded could save you some money, it all depends what you're after. If you've not done so already make sure you test ride one first 
there is more to it
Well, I disagree on some comments above about difference between post and pre 2001
Pre-2001, especially 97 model (first) seem to have a little bit (just a tad, like 1-2 BHP) more power and torque thatn later models. Have no idea why, but that's statistics I collected, so IMHO.
But - 97 model have 16 liter tank and low-low clipons
post-2001 model clipons are different angle and are easier on wrists. But I also hate digital clocks, so I agree that this is minus.
Another interesting thing - 16 liter 97 model with 19 liter tank from post-2001 model seem to have some more miles pert tank - like 30 or so.
But post 2001 model with 19 liter tank have just about same range as pre-2001 model with 16 liter tank. Sorry, I know it sounds mad....but this is my conclusion based on my experience. So, something must be different if 97 model runs longer on 19 liter. Still miserable range, but..
By buying 97 model you probably can save some money to do tank upgrade, suspension upgrade, buy decent cans etc - this is what I did.
Depreciation-wise Storm isn't too good - just because of image it has been given by "r1 only" type of public. Totally unfair in my view.
All this is of course IMHO.
Regarding what to look for - look at engine to see if it has been disassembled once, it is normally visible - you can see state of bolt heads, gasket etc. Check rubbers and bearings in rear wheel and linkage and bearings in steering . Really can't think about anything else without disassembling bike....Ah, one more - check what is the colors of dots on Cam Chain Tensioner unit vs. year of the bike. For example if 97 bike have CCTs with white dot - means it was not changed probably, but if you see bike of 2001 with orange-dotted CCT it might be that owner already had "CCT accident" (you can read about that VTR paranoia in this forum by searching for CCT) or might be that owner just changed them to avoid problems.
I hope any of this might be useful...sorry for boring you with long post
and welcome!
Pre-2001, especially 97 model (first) seem to have a little bit (just a tad, like 1-2 BHP) more power and torque thatn later models. Have no idea why, but that's statistics I collected, so IMHO.
But - 97 model have 16 liter tank and low-low clipons
post-2001 model clipons are different angle and are easier on wrists. But I also hate digital clocks, so I agree that this is minus.
Another interesting thing - 16 liter 97 model with 19 liter tank from post-2001 model seem to have some more miles pert tank - like 30 or so.
But post 2001 model with 19 liter tank have just about same range as pre-2001 model with 16 liter tank. Sorry, I know it sounds mad....but this is my conclusion based on my experience. So, something must be different if 97 model runs longer on 19 liter. Still miserable range, but..
By buying 97 model you probably can save some money to do tank upgrade, suspension upgrade, buy decent cans etc - this is what I did.
Depreciation-wise Storm isn't too good - just because of image it has been given by "r1 only" type of public. Totally unfair in my view.
All this is of course IMHO.
Regarding what to look for - look at engine to see if it has been disassembled once, it is normally visible - you can see state of bolt heads, gasket etc. Check rubbers and bearings in rear wheel and linkage and bearings in steering . Really can't think about anything else without disassembling bike....Ah, one more - check what is the colors of dots on Cam Chain Tensioner unit vs. year of the bike. For example if 97 bike have CCTs with white dot - means it was not changed probably, but if you see bike of 2001 with orange-dotted CCT it might be that owner already had "CCT accident" (you can read about that VTR paranoia in this forum by searching for CCT) or might be that owner just changed them to avoid problems.
I hope any of this might be useful...sorry for boring you with long post
and welcome!4 wheels moving body, 2 wheels moving soul
thanks for the warm welcoming guys. The only thing that bothers me about this bike is the cct problem. I will defo test ride one before purchasing, but will the cct noise be able to be heard at tick over ? Reading through various vtr forums I have noticed that it can be completely random, plus, was it only 2003+ that has the suspension upgrade, was the original problem that the subframe cracks ? These little niggles aren't gonna put me off buying one, but the unscrupulous honda dealers are worrying me. Does anyone know of a good dealer 50 miles outside Cumbria (Barrow-in-Furness) to be precise?
Sorry for the long post, just need answers before the begging the bank manager begins lol
Andy
Sorry for the long post, just need answers before the begging the bank manager begins lol
Andy
I've never heard of the subframe cracking before either, it was a problem with the TLs because the shock mounting plates and spacers weren't a good fit and movement put strain on the subframe.
there is a fairly new member from barrow signed up a couple of months ago, sorry your name had escaped me, look for him, and see what he's got to say to things.
there is a fairly new member from barrow signed up a couple of months ago, sorry your name had escaped me, look for him, and see what he's got to say to things.
cheerz
kev
kev
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DavieMac11
- Posts: 123
- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:36 am
- Location: Ross-shire
how rude! lol 