newbie needs help

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:37 pm

i have just bought a firestorm,it is a 2000 model,the bike has art cans on it and i have a running pronblem,while youe are cruising at constan throttle the bike backfires through the air filter and seems to hold back,the bike does this upto 100mph,it seems ok usingt full throttle and the exhaust pos on the over run,i dont know the mileage of the engine as it was replaced with a second hand unit at 46k miles,the bike has 56k miles at the moment

the other problem i have is when you are cornering at slow speeds it feels like there is a warped wheel,it wont track true,in a straight line there is no problem with no vibrations

any help would be appreciated to fix my new buy

LotusSevenMan · Post by **LotusSevenMan** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 12:15 am

Solorider; welcome!
Backfire. Could be a lot of things from mixture to ignition. Suggest the systematic route. New plugs first.

Could the head bearings being dry/notchy/knackered? Might give you the syptoms you state.

Stratman · Post by **Stratman** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:58 am

Won't be a warped wheel if there is no vibration in a straight line etc.

Before trying to fix faults, firstly, try to get everything set back to stock settings. For example, if the rear preload has been taken down and too much on the front, she will run wide etc.

Similarly, if the bike has had new cans, she might have needed to be re-jetted. On the other hand, the carbs could be completely out of balance/wrong mixture.

So, I'd get everything set as stock as possible then go from there. As standard they all run wide, but raisng the rear/dropping the front usually cures this, but there is no point in doing this if you have, as LSM man says, knackered head bearings. At 56k they will be shot I would say - replacement is fairly easy and cheap if you are handy with the spanners.

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 3:04 pm

the bike had new steering head bearings at 41k miles

do you know what the stock settings areso i can start from scratch

the bike is not only running wide but it is the wheel was warped but it isnt

Stratman · Post by **Stratman** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:19 pm

the bike is not only running wide but it is the wheel was warped but it isnt

no, you've lost me there!

May I humbly suggest a Haynes Manual, or there are downloads on here available for all settings. I can't help much as I don't have standard forks and have a different shock.

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:22 pm

solorider wrote:the bike had new steering head bearings at 41k miles

do you know what the stock settings areso i can start from scratch

the bike is not only running wide but it is the wheel was warped but it isnt

what i meant to say it is as if the wheel is warped but it isnt,bike is stable up to high speeds

as to suspension i did buy a manual,got it for Â£10 from halfords and it does have the suspension settings,rear shock is on the lowest(softest)setting,havnt checked the other settings yet

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:25 pm

solorider wrote:i have just bought a firestorm,it is a 2000 model,the bike has art cans on it and i have a running pronblem,while youe are cruising at constan throttle the bike backfires through the air filter and seems to hold back,the bike does this upto 100mph,it seems ok usingt full throttle and the exhaust pos on the over run,i dont know the mileage of the engine as it was replaced with a second hand unit at 46k miles,the bike has 56k miles at the moment

the "holding" back problem only seems to happen when the engine is hot,and only at constant throttle,open the bike and it goes very well,it is like fuel starvation but not at full throttle which is odd

clayderman · Post by **clayderman** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:42 am

has it been on a rolling road at any point? just wondering if the primary jets have been changed at any point and now are not suitable. I would also want to be checking the feed to the coils at the problem revs and making sure they have enough juice getting to them.

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:51 am

clayderman wrote:has it been on a rolling road at any point? just wondering if the primary jets have been changed at any point and now are not suitable. I would also want to be checking the feed to the coils at the problem revs and making sure they have enough juice getting to them.

apart from the exhausts i dont know what has been to this bike,i know the engine is a replacement unit 4 years ago,i have some history but no mention of jetting or anything similar,im going to remove the tank and carbs to see if there is anything wrong

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 1:58 am

found out the bike has a k&n filter fitted,it seems like the bike is running rich but due to a rounded off screw i need to drill the head off so i can get the air filter off,it says in the haynes manual that you have to drain the coolant to remove the carbs,is this true or is there a way around that?
im going to put the bike back to as near as standard that i can and go from there

the forks have been raised by 5mm,does this quicken the steering?

Post by **sirch345** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:36 pm

solorider wrote:found out the bike has a k&n filter fitted,it seems like the bike is running rich but due to a rounded off screw i need to drill the head off so i can get the air filter off,it says in the haynes manual that you have to drain the coolant to remove the carbs,is this true or is there a way around that?
im going to put the bike back to as near as standard that i can and go from there

the forks have been raised by 5mm,does this quicken the steering?

No, you don't have to drain the coolant to remove the carbs, although if you plan to pull the carbs apart you may find it easier to remove the thin coolant hose attached to the carbs, but you will only lose a small amount of coolant if you do

You really need to know if the bike has been rejetted, because if it hasn't a K & N filter will be worse than a standard filter. K & N filters and after market cans only really give the best results when set up properly on a Dyno

Chris.

PS. Just a thought on the handling problem, have you checked (with a long straight edge) that the back wheel is in-line with the front

Don't rely on the marks on the swingarm.

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:56 am

im going to take the carbs off to check the jet sizes,bike is running rich though.
i havnt checked wheel allignment yet but it may be the steering is quicker than im used to,the forks are raised by 5mm at the top,does this quicken the steering? if so i may put back to standard

Post by **sirch345** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:58 am

solorider wrote:im going to take the carbs off to check the jet sizes,bike is running rich though.
i havnt checked wheel allignment yet but it may be the steering is quicker than im used to,the forks are raised by 5mm at the top,does this quicken the steering? if so i may put back to standard

A good point, as that 5mm will quicken the steering

The same as a spacer on top of the rear shock mounting will do

Chris.

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:20 pm

checked jets and they are standard,carb is clean and floats and needle jets are ok and working as they should
i have had a look at the front cct and there is nothing wrong with it but i have 2 new ones coming anyway
im going to have a look at the plugs to see what colour they are and how the bike is running

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:24 pm

spark plugs are a light tan in colour,so bike is not running rich despite exhaust pipe colour and the smell from the exhaust

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