Twins rule! pls add opinions

[Beamish]

Well after a year on the Firestorm I have started looking for a possible replacment (no rush just looking). So far I have test ridden these 5 bikes.
Triumph Street Triple
GSXR 600 and 1000
Ducati 848, 749

I will give you my views on each.

Triumph street was an awesome bike, great noise, handling and power delivery but lack of wind protection and hooligan inducing adrenalin rush (wheelies for fun would have me banned in a week, thats all I wanted to do whilst riding it.....wheely for as long as the road and conditions would allow,and I am sh1t at wheelies ) .

GSXR's I tried the 600 as I thought the latest batch would have enough mid range power....... I was wrong......after the Storm it felt flat as a witches tit.
The 1000.....well...... jesus its a monster, roll on from 35 mph in third, nail it.........the front wheel rises to meet you and the rush up to 140mph is unbelievable. Yes that bike is all anyone on the road would ever need but in my opinion its too much for the road and I would die in a moment of 170mph madness.

The Dukes......the 848 is a pearler, the brakes/handling are without doubt near on perfect, the engine sings to you even with standard cans. Only faults at all are a vibe at low RPM, the mirrors are garbage and the £9600 price tag
The 749 is a razor, so stiff and accurate through the bends I was in twin heaven. The motor is sort of similar to the Firestorm so very useable on public roads.

One thing all the testing has shown me is what a peach of a bike the Honda Firestorm is, an all round great road bike. I reckon the Ducati will be the only bike to prise me off the Honda seat.

I welcome all input and opinion on all the bikes I have tested. Please feel free to disagree or say I am talking shi*, in fact that is why I have posted this thread I want your input

[fritz]

im without a bike just now, but after owning a storm for a few years and blowing the fooker up twice!!!!!!


i dont fancy going back to 4pots again!! (unless 2 are a storm and the other 2 a duke!)

[chuxsta]

well first off, dukes...... money pits..... if you got cash to flash and are handy in the garage at home then sweet.....
most italian bikes are great but are bitches to keep healthy...

the storm is my first "big" bike regarding engine size...
and also my first Vtwin..
as much as im loving the experience of this i do miss the sound of a 600 4 stroke been thrashed.. keeping the slut between my legs in the red every where i go........

the triples were my first choice but couldn't afford a new one and the only reason i got the storm was cause i have never had a v twin and always wanted one....

if your a fair weather pansy at weekends get a duke... if your a buzz monkey liking the bike squirming and knowing that your doing over a 100mph get a 600...i just feel the fun factor on a 600 is so much more than the bigger bikes..

i was really tempted with a moto bike just for sheer acceleration as well.
top speed gets you banged up or killed...
there is no law against accelerating..

[marlbororman]

The 1000.....well...... jesus its a monster, roll on from 35 mph in third, nail it.........the front wheel rises to meet you and the rush up to 140mph is unbelievable. Yes that bike is all anyone on the road would ever need but in my opinion its too much for the road and I would die in a moment of 170mph madness.

i rode one of these yesterday,when i took my mates for mot, and my opinion was ok for a quick (very) blast, but dont think i could live with it for every day to day use like the storm. And yes, its a monster:):):)

[Beamish]

The Gixxer 1000 is a fine bike and £140 service as opposed to £300+ on a Ducati but the way the Ducati makes you feel every time you climb on board is worth every penny in my book. May regret it but at some point I will own a 848 prob in 2 years after the depreciation has kicked in.

[solorider]

i do like the storm bu when i have the money i will get another blackbird,i miss my old one so much,warp speed and is a great feeling

[Big_Ham]

I had a mille for about 6 months before I got my track bike.

It's an absolutely amazing bike, but IMO for me it's waaayyy too race orientated for the road. I'm sure many people could buy it and be fine, but I was doing stupid speeds.

It's a brilliant bike aside of the crap sidestand, non existant rear brake and the fixtures and fittings corroded instantly.

The motor has much more of a kick up the butt compared to the storm and it likes to be revved(for a twin).

The front brakes were the best I've ever used on a bike so far, they were the best brakes money could buy back in 2002 and makes you wonder if radial brakes are a gimmick or not.

In a word, genius, but let down by little things.

[sirch345]

IMO I think you either luv a V twin or you don't end of story

Chris.

[RedStormV]

Nicked from a US Honda site :

As flickable and sharp-handling as it is muscular, the Super Hawk's perfect blend of lightweight, race-bred chassis componentry, 996cc of liquid-cooled, 90-V-twin torque and comfortable, all-day ergonomics. In other words, the ultimate V-twin sport bike for the real world.

[EDIT] Comfortable all day ergonomics? compared with what? [EDIT]



=



Deff Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies

When I'm on the Firestorm I love the sound, the feel, the whole experience, especially on roads where breaking the speed limit would take a seasoned pro.
Rolling off the throttle into bends and powering out again is just an awesome feeling. I feel at one with the bike and hope this feeling never goes.

[EDIT] As someone has already mentioned, I can forgive the numb elbow from the seat, white finger from the vibrations & occaisional aches from the wrists just to experience the sheer joy of riding my Storm. [EDIT]

I have ridden, do ride and will own and ride other bikes but the Storm will be a permanent fixture.

You've only to read some of the recent posts to see how much people regret parting with them.

I LOVE 'EM

[Beamish]

Good answer and I think you are spot on, will add to the stable rather than trade in the red baron.

[Beamish]

Even the guy at Italia Moto (Ducati dealers) loved the sound of my Storm sporting the race cans. Said it was Bellisimo (scuse the spelling).

[stevevtr1]

And all that for next to bugger all money ,IMO.
Had a bloke at Squires walk over the other week,raving about the sound of my bike ,had the baffles in too .
He was n't on his bike but i think he said he had a ZRX same as yours Timbo,& when i said you could pick a decent one up for 2 Grand,he was sold said he would even keep his Kwack at that price.
Lot of machine for the money.
Cheers
Steve

[Captain Shapeless]

There are times when I ride my Storm and think, why the hell have I got this?

The tank range is sh*te
The fuel consumption is sh*te
The seat is a plank
The pegs are on the high side (I'm 6'2"), and my poor old knees don't like it (too many winters spent riding a bike)
The vibes, if the bike is kept to 30mph, can send my left (but not my right!) hand to sleep. Very interesting when trying to use the clutch and/or indicators.
The mirrors are pointless
There's no fuel gauge (not on mine anyway)

But then the sun comes out, I skive off work early and go and play on the roads up around Abergavenny/Brecon/Mid Wales, I hear the bellow on the over-run as I feed it into a corner just a little too fast, but manage to save it (and feel like Fogerty in his pomp) and then blast past my mate's R1 out of a hairpin bend, grinning like an absolute loon.

I'd love a big 4 pot to use as a tourer (pref. Kawasaki - ZZR11, ZZR12 or ZZR14 please), but nothing, and I mean nothing, can make me grin like 'storm on a sunny day.

[Hankie]

It's strange but I think if I had read some of the comments on here first I might not have bought a firestorm. I just looked around for a bike to get me back on 2 wheels after many years absence, I saw a storm advertised and thought it was a great looking machine. I read the positive write-up in MCN but didn't get a test ride so effectively bought it blind. It appeared in good condition (apart from the chain) and especially for 9 years old far better nic than the 5 year-old Kawasaki I sold many years ago (all the bolts gone rusty, paint peeling from frame, alloy castings and engine covers gone crusty).

I think the storm is great, the Yoshi cans are music, the ride can be 'interesting' at times but the pull from those 2 pots always impresses. The bike is a thoroughbred and much more capable than I am as a rider, but then that's good as I can improve and the storm will still be enough. If needs be there are plenty of mods available.

I don't notice any vibration, it ticks over perfectly, it'll pull from low revs in any gear. It frightens the sh*t out of me cranked over as I'm not used to riding like that but it's the only way to get the thing round a corner at speed. Only 2 bad things for me: riding position is a bit cramped for long runs, and the fuel consumption/range is carp.

Furthest trip I've done is ~50miles so far, but Saturday I'll be taking the Storm down to Malvern and back (about 200miles). I might need splints on my wrists after that

[Big_Ham]

I find the storm super comfortable to be honest, I'm not short either.

I do think the pegs should be further back though, they are in a bit of a weird place IMO.