Potential VTR buyers read this first - I wish I had!

[firestorm_al]

Granty,

As you say it looks like you bought a lemon if all of the above applies to your bike. You can tell from the replies that there is a lot of passion for the FireStorm, hell that's why I set up this forum in the first place!

I did 24k miles on my Storm and apart from replacing parts due to general wear and tear that would affect any bike the only major problem I had was when the front cam chain tensioner failed whilst I was riding it. In the end the only reason I sold the bike was because of the scare I got when the tensioner failed.

I would agree that the FireStorm does take a bit of time to get used to when switching from other cutting edge machinery that any fool can ride. Yes, again as with most bikes, the Storm does benifit from having the suspension sorted. Hell, I reworked the forks on my current bike ( 600Bandit ) within 6 months of buying it and it has less than 200 miles on the clock when I got it.

Like any bike, when ridden hard the storm will go through rear tyres. One of the sets of tyres I had on my Storm were Pirelli GTS touring tyres. I used to get around 4k miles out of a rear. At the same time a friend was running the same tyres on a Yamaha thundercat and got less than 2k miles out of his rear!

As for the chain life, look after it and it will look after you!

One of the things that make the Firestorm such a bargain bike, especially in the UK, is the fact that it has an insurance rating of group 14 which puts it along side most 600 sports bikes and for the same insurance premium I know which bike I'd rather have! The savings in premiums I made were worth a few of sets of tyres a year compared to insuring any other large capacity sports bike.

In my opinion, as a road bike, it is one of the most underrated bikes on the market ( along side my humbe 600 Bandit of course ).

Guess I should get back to my day job now!

Al.

[essexbloke]

i've had my storm since june 2002, bought it with 2k miles on it, it's now done best part of 22k miles, (yup that's 20k miles in some 16 months), and the only expensive bits that have gone wrong are a chain, sprocket, discs and 3 sets of rear tyres.....otherwise it's only been regular servicing and tlc....

Ok so it drinks like it's going out of fashion.........

but hey.......to sum it up..........

What price do you put on fun.........

cos that's what every minute on the storm is.........(well it is on mine anyway)

[stevieVTR]

This is very reassuring as I did 22000 miles in 22 months on my ZX6R and I expect to do the same on the Storm. Where I expect to pay more for fuel I will save on the servicing (I hope!) as the Ninja needed valves doing every 8000. (£500 at 16000). As I read it in the MCN review it sems like a solid bike and one bad review doesn`t represent every bike on the road or the experiences of real riders!!

[simon t]

Am I missing something here? My understanding from reviews of the Storm is that it is considered a bargain-priced, user-friendly, reliable (unlike the Italians) introduction to V-twinning.

The criticisms? Soft forks, which can be sorted for about 200 notes (although the front/rear ride height can be altered for nuffin') and soft brakes (100 quid for braided hoses).

You may also have noted the editorials which suggest that the 1000cc fours are now too much for yer average Joe to enjoy (and keep his licence) and that the 600s are so revvy that you'll wear your left boot out with all the gear changing.

So it drinks fuel and can eat tyres if you thrash it. Well you knew that there'd be something to pay for all that performance - if not, get a CB500.

I'm new to my Storm and still learning the ropes (if anyone can advise the best approach to downchanges without locking up the rear, I'd be grateful). However, looking at the alternatives, I really don't know what else would give me the power, flexibility and character of the Storm - and all for 5 grand. Bargain, I say.

[firestorm996]

I'm on me second storm now, getting along very nicely with it.

Some stats from me first storm:

- Sold with at least 40k on the clock, shortly after I had a valve replaced due to the clearances never being checked!
- First set of tyres (michelin macadams) lasted 11,000 miles, yes 11
- Same set of tyres managed a 2 minute burnout outside Asda and still didn't go pop
- BT56s...nah they square off to easily...I ran pirelli dragon super corsas, sticky as hell, the best wet weather tyre that I've ever used bar none, and still lasted 3k + a trackday. Me motard goes through a sticky rear tyre in 2 trackdays or 600-1000 miles. Even a Busa struggles to do that.
- Chain (not sprockets) was replaced at 38k, cos Del-boy got me one cheap...otherwise I wouldn't have bothered
- Cush drives were knackered but not the worst that I've seen, easily fixed by packing em out with plastic from an ice-cream carton. Seriously.
- Fuel consumption ain't the problem, it's the tank capacity that's the problem. I can almost fit as much fuel into my XR650 motard as I can in the storm, yet the storm manages about 40 miles per tank more.
- I got the head bearings replaced at 35k due to too many botched wheelie attempts, it steered like a supermarket trolley
- Had to get the carbs balanced twice
- Only persistent problem was the battery, not a fault of the bike, more neglect from the owner (me)

Admittedly I did give the storm an easy life for the first year or so as I was relatively new to bikes, then it got more and more stick, trackdays, nurburgring etc towards the last couple of years I had it.

Aside from minor stuff, the only persistent problems storms seem to suffer from are the CCTs and certain bikes seem to need the carbs balancing more often than others.

The best brake fix seems to be SP1/2 master cylinder, braided hoses optional.

[kingster]

as I think I said in an earlier post Granty, you need to compalin to the dealer about yer carb problems. Other than that, I can't help but agree with what everyone else has said.

I fekin love my storm. (convert from 20 years of 4's).

Chris

[CHUGNUT]

i picked up my brand new (and first) firestorm last friday and i have to admit she was blowing back through the carbs quite a lot and it was starting to bother me,
i looked in the owners manual and it said to try different petrol, i started to use that low sulphur high octane super unleaded stuff, it immediately cured the problem and now i have probably the most rewarding and exciting bike i have ever ridden (in my 15yrs motorcycling).
i don't spend much time reading reviews that slag it off, this is my bike that iv'e lusted after for years. surely that's what biking is all about?
i can put up with her little quirks cos she's so gorgeous...............


dino

[speedfreek]

The 'hawk is a great bike. Probably the best commuter ride
Ive ever had. And I've had lots of bikes..

TJ

[DD]

Granty
I can't remember is your bike new (03) or is it used, if so whats the milage? What out of your list of problems have you suffered? If its new then I would think none (fuel maybe) so its a little early to bitch. If its a used bike then depending on the milage it very well may have been miss treated and thats just bad luck I guess.
Would you not have brought the bike if you had read that right up fist?
sh1t I'm used to using a Moto Guzzi forum, now theres a forum with a lot of problems but it still did'ent stop me from buying a MG 1100i sport. Ya fix it then you go ride it some more