Oops, I just bought a firestorm. What do I tell the missus?

[snowstorm]

Hello all,

Just thought I'd introduce myself. Made an impulse purchase of a 98 yellow firestorm, on the cheap. Had a Yamaha MT-03 before which was embarrassing to drive, I kept getting overtaken by cars when I tried to accelerate on A roads. Have been really enjoying the firestorm so far.

Unfortunately I only noticed after the test drive on the way home that the clutch is grabbing at higher revs, that's a bit scary :-S I've seen a few posts with similar issues, I just hope I can get it sorted.

Luckily it's got 12 months parts and labour warranty, though the garage keep trying to fix rather than replace it. So far they have replaced the springs and cleaned out the basket, but it's still grabbing (intermittently now). Other than that it seems in OK condition, though the forks might give trouble later I suspect.

Good to see such an active community!

[Pete.L]

Welcome Aboard
I've heard good things about them yellow ones Good choice

I wouldn't tell the Mrs nothing, just wait and see if she notices and then deny everything

Pete.l

[marravtr]

welcome in matey, good choice yella ones are defo the fastest! my mrs dont go in the garage so im safe

[trigger]

you's all know my red one is the fastest storm out there!
my clucth was grabbing at high rev's taking off from lights etc but i changed the oil and touch wood havent seen the problem since could be a fluke but worth a try i think i put partly sen in it

[AMCQ46]

First thing............welcome onboard.

Second thing..........your wife will only notice the colour, so tell her you had your old bike painted to match the new curtains in the livingroom, and that it oly cost £50. Remember that she is doing the same when you ask her if that is a new handbag / shoes / coat etc

third thing...........your clutch grabbing. I have the same issue, but it only ever shows when I am doing a realy fast getawy and there is a lot of torque or revs involved.
Lazy bugger that I am , I just ride round it and try to remember not to get into any drag races. You will be surprised how little you need to use high rev getaways on a Firestorm.
Oh and I was told by a honda mechanic not to use fully synthetic oil as that is bad for the Firestorm clutch, so I use Semi Synthetic now.

There are some threads on here about improving it by filing the edges of the basket to remove the indentations where the tangs on the edge of the friction plates have worn slight ridges onto what should be a flat surface. The theory is that these ridges stop the plates moving in a predictable maner under high torque.

Tony.mon also had a bearing go and his replacement engine was much better, you may want to read that thread.

[snowstorm]

Lazy bugger that I am , I just ride round it and try to remember not to get into any drag races. You will be surprised how little you need to use high rev getaways on a Firestorm.

You'd be surprised how often I use high revs to getaway, I think I'm just a natural born hooligan :-)

Thanks for the tips. I do hope I can get the clutch sorted as it's very annoying. I've noticed a 2nd clutch on ebay for £65 buyout. Maybe it's worth just trying it as cheapo option? I have no idea how much a new clutch would cost.

Cheers for the support :-)

[Jbrebel]

Welcome to the forum

Enjoy the bike

[sirch345]

Welcome aboard Snowstorm

Chris.

[ChrisC]

Don't say anything to your missus.......just so long as you know where the nearest A&E Dept is
Good luck mate and welcome to the forum.

[pariah]

Welcome.
Just tell the missus it,s the fastest vibrator around and she,s gonna love you for ever.

[Beamish]

Welcome mate, sod the missus. How often do you hop on her and she makes you laugh out loud into your helmet

[tony.mon]

Yes, I had that problem, and tried two other clutches.
Still got 'em, so if you want to try one you can.

Filing the tangs didn't help either, used that trick before.

If it's the same as mine,. you get a funny mechanical "yelp" as the clutch locks solid.

I also tried a new clutch centre bearing and the little top hat bearing on the clutch end of the pushrod. No difference.

But the replacement engine doesn't do it at all. Launches just like any other bike.

The big bearing behind the clutch, set in the crankcases, was the one that failed, but I'd been running it for three and a half years, including drag strips, so if the bearing had really been on its way out all that time, I'd be surprised.

But stranger things have happened.....

[snowstorm]

Update:

Much to my surprise and delight, the place I bought it from (Centro London - used to be Slocombes) has replaced the clutch under warranty no quibbles. I really expected a bit of a fight but they've been really, really good. They also lent me a CB600F too (god it's boring) while they did the repairs as they felt so bad for selling me a turkey.

I'm so pleased this hasn't been some protracted epic tale of continually taking the bike back for repair, by the look of what most people have said on these forums the clutch grabbing problem is not a straight forward problem to resolve.

Hopefully getting it back tomorrow! I can't wait...

[marravtr]

result then matey

[snowstorm]

Damn, was supposed to get it back today but guess what? The new clutch is grabbing too.



Although they've now noticed it only happens when the engine is warm, doesn't do it when it's cold apparently.

Not actually sure what they're trying next as the guy fixing it is out warming up the engine at the moment but hope to get the next installment of news tomorrow.

Dear lord, I can't take the suspense...