New Guy Wants Advice

[Darknomad]

Hi People i dont know if a sticky has been made for
whats Considered essential mods adaptations or Fault fix's
im no spanner monkey
in fact id have to locate a trust worthy reliable mechanic who dont mind me attempting to help by passing spanners and nodding at sage advice
and making tea while they do the work oh and i pay also

i need a list of stuff i should address now not after my bikes broke
my girls a vtr1000fv on a R plate its an import i think
theres some signs she had her right hand side down. well on the right fairing there is and all the bits are to new looking for her age
me dropping her on her right is what made me spot the repaired fairing and stuff

so number one on the list is cct how do i address this take her to woodford motorcycles or bacons and ask em to install new cct's? honda ones or manuals?
gear changing 1 to 2 is clunky rest are fine can i fix that?
theres some talk of engine braking mod? is this essential?
do i need a steering damper?
recomended tyres for average daily use i aint no rossi so dont do track days stuff. she has dunlops on atm should i keep to em?
and after market cans essential or personal preference? and what brand recommended
sorry if im going over old ground i know it must bore or irritate some of the veterans
but i feel i have to ask im not a huge forum user in general so if i cant see a relevant thread by scrolling i usually miss the important ones
cheers people

[MJONESY]

1. manual ccts best bet is to speak to "rider on a storm" on here his look quality, then if your not confident to do them yourself either take them to a local independent mechanic or post your location and ask someone local if they will help you do it.

2. they all do it, its part of the storm charm

3. engine braking mod is beyond me lol

4. going by your following comments r.e no rossi id say no need for a steering damper, but im sure others with their views will be along at some point.

5. tyres are a very personal thing imo i run michelin pilot road 2s and am very happy with them but they are top end of the price range theres a few guys on here running maxxis tyres that are bottom end of the price range, in all honesty if your happy with the ones you have on then wear them out first, if not read tyre reviews and decide what you want from your tyres (mileage, sticky, price).

6. again like tyres aftermarket cans are a personal thing, i have art cans on mine and am happy with them but fancy some high level ones, best bet is buy some second hand ones on ebay and if you dont like them stick them back on, or come to thunder in wales ride out and see what others have that tickles your fancy.

7. other thing to check is weather or not your bike has had the later finned honda regulator rectifier or the yamaha finned type put on, if not this is something to look at doing the same time as your ccts, it will fry your battery if yours goes pop

[Twinpotter]

Check the Suspension linkages - the roller bearings dry out.

http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 31&t=11809

Enjoy.

[AMCQ46]

the key changes are:

1) take away CCT failure risk.
either manuals, new std ones [but you will need to replace them regularly as nobody knows how long they will last], or best in my view, new Honda parts with the stopper mod [with this done you can run them till they fail, and they cant jump a tooth on the camchain, so no engine damage]. if you search in the workshop section you will see the instructions on how to do this.

2) swap Regulator / rectifier for a finned part, either newer Honda [costs lots, but plugs in] or R1 / R6 [costs little, but you need to remove the plug and swap some wires]

3) Next key job is to fix the suspension,
a) front first as it is the weakest. Stiffer springs, thicker oil..........or have Roger cast his magic over them which will get them revalved as well as springs and oil.
b) Rear is too hard and also under damped, but fit a 3mm shock spacer to raise the rear ride height and the bike turns better. after that get a softer spring fitted, or better still, get a better shock which has damping that works.

4) Now fit a loud exhaust, or de-baffle the stock ones.

No need for a steering damper if you fix the suspension, so spend the money on the forks.

[Darknomad]

the key changes are:

1) take away CCT failure risk.
either manuals, new std ones [but you will need to replace them regularly as nobody knows how long they will last], or best in my view, new Honda parts with the stopper mod [with this done you can run them till they fail, and they cant jump a tooth on the camchain, so no engine damage]. if you search in the workshop section you will see the instructions on how to do this.

2) swap Regulator / rectifier for a finned part, either newer Honda [costs lots, but plugs in] or R1 / R6 [costs little, but you need to remove the plug and swap some wires]

3) Next key job is to fix the suspension,
a) front first as it is the weakest. Stiffer springs, thicker oil..........or have Roger cast his magic over them which will get them revalved as well as springs and oil.
b) Rear is too hard and also under damped, but fit a 3mm shock spacer to raise the rear ride height and the bike turns better. after that get a softer spring fitted, or better still, get a better shock which has damping that works.

4) Now fit a loud exhaust, or de-baffle the stock ones.

No need for a steering damper if you fix the suspension, so spend the money on the forks.

what he said im no spanner monkey so i doubt i could do this without assistance
if a mechanic here can drop me a quote for this work and a parts quote also plz do
stopper mod looks inexpensive and do i type finned regulator for ebay purposes? [by it nows from 35 quid up some are smooth looking some are i guess finned]
i read some where drop a tooth on the front sprocket add two to the back i think i said that right worth doing? im not into max top end id rarely visit it

[Darknomad]

ok tried reading through everything with stopper mod in it and i think i broke a fuse in my brain

and im now worried about my bike lol

[AMCQ46]

if you can put your location into your user profile, it might help you locate someone near who can mentor you.

For the regulator search on e-bay. look for Honda VTR, but only buy if it is finned [I think other honda's of similar age will also work VFR, Blackbird etc]. OR look for Yamaha R1 / R6 and even the Thundercat I think.

post up the e-bay link if you find something, and we will tell you if you got it right.

[AMCQ46]

this is the honda version
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HONDA-REG-REC-REG ... ycle_Parts

This is what I fitted to mine
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-YZF600-YZF ... ycle_Parts

[Darknomad]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HONDA-VTR-1000-SP ... ycle_Parts
this one?

[Furrybiker]

No mate that is for an SP1 they are a rather different bike (More power, geared cams, fuel injection more focused)

The top one listed in ACMcQ's post is the one, as you can see it is in one piece and says "not sp1/2"

Good luck hope you enjoy your storm as much as I do mine!

[Darknomad]

okie to date ive stuck a replacement right rad on both front indicators replacement fairing on the right too [has cracks needs reps imo] both levers
waiting on the carbon engine covers and that frackin brake pedal [phoned them they said there waiting on the haynes manual and shipping both together. i did reply the brake lever is an essential item i need asap when i ordered it the book is not lol
new exhaust will go on when pedal arrives [or maybe the carbon cans i looking at on ebay ]

so far so good not bad some someone who aint got a clue on vtr's yet
as for cct's that scares me looks like the fuel tank needs to come of to do one of em for sure.
so will offer a drink for anyone local ish to me to sort em out
do we have a body work specialist on the forums i wouldnt mind her having reps and respray make her look shiny again
maybe match the wheels also there pitted a little and the front forks

[Darknomad]

yay good news for me located the regulator on the right hand side under the seat /pillion seat from a visual inspection it has fins
does the reg sit in a finned cradle or anything or do i in fact have a finny reg

now for the cct's is it possible to just take the accessible one of just to inspect it?
to see if the previous owner may have done a cct mod jobby on it?

there was a reference to someone called roger? who can do magic with suspension i guess front and back
if i could get some idea what he charges and should i try sourcing shocks myself?
i dont see any on ebeay and i still do not know what brands i should use

[sirch345]

yay good news for me located the regulator on the right hand side under the seat /pillion seat from a visual inspection it has fins
does the reg sit in a finned cradle or anything or do i in fact have a finny reg

now for the cct's is it possible to just take the accessible one of just to inspect it?
to see if the previous owner may have done a cct mod jobby on it?

there was a reference to someone called roger? who can do magic with suspension i guess front and back
if i could get some idea what he charges and should i try sourcing shocks myself?
i dont see any on ebeay and i still do not know what brands i should use

DN,
If it's got fin's then you have a finned rectifier/voltage regulator, so one job not to worry about.

Before removing any CCT's have a good read of these instructions first:-
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8326

It's Roger Ditchfield, he's the VTR Firestorm Guru. Give him a ring for a chat about your fork options. My forks were reworked by him and are worth every penny. You'll definitely notice the difference if you have them done. His contact details are here:-
http://www.revolutionuk.co.uk/

I'm still running my standard rear shock, but I have a weight related spring from Maxton fitted. That definitely helps and is an relatively cheaper option to a new all singing all dancing rear shock.

Chris.

[Darknomad]

i missed the cans on ebay
so im after a decent set of cans at a decent price
and i want to get my cct's looked at modded

then it the front forks then rear suspension
get the under side a good cleaning and replace the dodgy bit someone posted back there at the same time

this vtr is an ongoing upgrade hobby