Hi All,
Newbie here from Kent. I've just joined the ranks of Firestorm owners with a high mile 2004 red version, that frankly is a bit of a dog. But it was bought as a light project for when my current 1200 GS completes it's last European trip in August and is sold on.
I've read on here about the well known issues with CCTs and Reg/Rec, do you think I should I be looking to change these out as a matter of course?
My other question is, the rear mudguard/undertray has been subject to the usual chopping (badly), and I would like to return to stock. Are these as hard to replace as it seems. I cannot find a single intact unit on ebay and one I found online was up for over £300.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
1st time stormer
Re: 1st time stormer
Hi, Mikey, thanks for dropping in.
Yes re CCT's, they're a well-known weak spot and the damage they caused when they let go is worse with these bikes than most Hondas.
With the reg/rec; if it fails it can take the battery with it, and that's not so bad. You can mitigate by fitting a voltmeter- keep an eye on it and stop if it surges.
Unchopped rear mudguards are rare, and therefore expensive, and Honda doesn't make them any more. But IMHO the original looks ugly. More efficient, but ugly, hence most people cutting them down.
Firestorms aren't collectable (unless you have one with very low mileage), so there's not much point doing a full concourse rebuild back to standard.
Yes re CCT's, they're a well-known weak spot and the damage they caused when they let go is worse with these bikes than most Hondas.
With the reg/rec; if it fails it can take the battery with it, and that's not so bad. You can mitigate by fitting a voltmeter- keep an eye on it and stop if it surges.
Unchopped rear mudguards are rare, and therefore expensive, and Honda doesn't make them any more. But IMHO the original looks ugly. More efficient, but ugly, hence most people cutting them down.
Firestorms aren't collectable (unless you have one with very low mileage), so there's not much point doing a full concourse rebuild back to standard.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
Re: 1st time stormer
Hi Mikey, welcome aboard 
The two weak spots on a well serviced Firestorm are the CCT's and the Rectifier, so worth sorting those out before they let you down, although your 2004 model should already have a rectifier with cooling fins which is better than the earlier models that had no cooling fins. Fitting a MOSFIT Rectifier/voltage regulator is the way to go though for piece of mind, although fitting a voltage meter to your bike (as Tony Mon suggests) is a good idea, I fitted one to mine.
High mileage isn’t really a problem for these bikes so long as oil and filter service times are not ignored, 100,000 miles is not unheard of. Valve clearance checks are meant to be every 16,000 miles,
Chris.
The two weak spots on a well serviced Firestorm are the CCT's and the Rectifier, so worth sorting those out before they let you down, although your 2004 model should already have a rectifier with cooling fins which is better than the earlier models that had no cooling fins. Fitting a MOSFIT Rectifier/voltage regulator is the way to go though for piece of mind, although fitting a voltage meter to your bike (as Tony Mon suggests) is a good idea, I fitted one to mine.
High mileage isn’t really a problem for these bikes so long as oil and filter service times are not ignored, 100,000 miles is not unheard of. Valve clearance checks are meant to be every 16,000 miles,
Chris.
Re: 1st time stormer
Welcome along sir, as the others have said a MUST do is the ccts especially if its been sitting around for a while. loads of help and info on the site here
the older i get,the faster i was 
