Possible newbie here...

[chris vtr virgin]

Welcome mate, you will love it great bike

[sirch345]

I went from a CBR6 to the 'storm, as other say, you'll change your riding style. My pointer would be watch out for that engine braking.

On the CBR6 I would bowl up to a corner, notch it down a gear and then blast through it. Tried that on the 'storm when I first got it... It locked the back wheel up, stepped out and when I brought the power back in to try to get things back in line again it spun up the back wheel and I completed the corner speedway style... Stayed on, must have looked super brave, but I crapped myself!

So be careful in those low gear, especially on cold rubber, the engine breaking is like sticking a scaffold pole through the rear wheel! In fact you don't even need to bother changing down for the corner, there's so much torque. Just chase that apex and then open her up on the exit and try not to grin like a fool as the front end goes skywards!

Yes a very good point about the amount of engine braking. I don't give it a second thought now and don't have a problem with it, but on my test ride in 2001 I managed to lock up the back wheel twice, both times on approaching a roundabout, so take care.

Chris.

[lloydie]

And watch out for the airbox cough at low rpm when entering a bend as it can catch you out .

[templ8]

First job is to get rid of the standard camchain tensioners, they're sh1t !
The springs inside give up without warning and Will cause engine damage.

There are a couple of options, convert them to manual types, stopper mod or buy manual ones.

I'm sure you'll love it though, had mine 4 years and would only change it for an sp1 or aprilia rsv4.

Mine was stolen just before Christmas but managed to get it back, luckily not much damage, missed it like mad for the week it was gone :-o.

Welcome to the forum !

[Damo81]

welcome possible newbie .......im sure you will love the vtr.....i had a hornet 600 before my storm and it is a completely different ride which in my view put my hornet to shame.....i dont think i could ever get rid of my vtr now even if i brought a new bike id still keep this one......good luck with the test ride again im sure you will come back with a huge grin

[Murv]

Cheers all, and thanks for the warm welcome

My old CBR only sat in the garden for a Year because it had a fuel leak on the carbs. I kept having a half hearted pop at sorting them, a few Hours a Month sort of thing and finally decided to give up and take it into the shop. Nothing to do with it being a closet Yamaha
I'm actually quite a big Yamaha fan, and am fairly new to Honda's but I'll begrudgingly admit they seem to be built a bit more solidly.

Thanks for the heads up on the engine braking, that is something I will watch out for
Also, thanks for the warning about having to push the Silver ones up hills, I guess it's a lot safer than risking it looping itself under the awesome "Silver power"

Flatline, that's a beautiful machine

Cheers,

Chris

[turbo_billy]

Also, thanks for the warning about having to push the Silver ones up hills, I guess it's a lot safer than risking it looping itself under the awesome "Silver power"

I think you`ll fit in just fine here.....

[sirch345]

Thanks for the heads up on the engine braking, that is something I will watch out for


Cheers,

Chris

In my case I think what caused this to happen was the fact I was braking for a roundabout as you do, which throws a lot of the weight over the front wheel making the back wheel light. What with that and changing down in the lower gears a bit to quick.

And watch out for the airbox cough at low rpm when entering a bend as it can catch you out .

Not all Firestorms do this, but a lot do. One time this nearly caught me out (not long after just getting the bike), I was pulling away from a T junction turning left. It spit back through the carbs and stalled the bike. This means it's just like you hit the brakes, luckily enough I was able to hold the bike and bring it back up to the vertical position, but it was a close call. If I hadn't caught it in time it would have been lying on it's side in the middle of the road. So watch this to. The best way to avoid this happening is to slip the clutch a little bit more so you can keep the rev's up a bit higher than you really need if your bike is inclined to do this.


Chris.

[Murv]

Cheers mate, I'll bear that in mind too, sounds nasty!

[boz]

Cheers all

Just been down to have a quick look at it, loved it, and left my bike as a deposit
It's subject to a test ride which I'll do next week, but the only big twins I've ever ridden before I thought were awesome so it should be good.
As I've got older I appreciate torque more and more, it always felt wrong wringing the nuts off an inline four!

Best thing is it's the fastest colour of all, SILVER

Cheers,

Chris

Couldn't agree with you more fella, silver beats Yellow, White, Red etc. You'll love the bike, took me about 400 yards on my test run to decide to buy it. Welcome to a really good forum. Don't be scared to ask anything.

[tankslappa]

Just be scared of the replies!

[sirch345]

Cheers mate, I'll bear that in mind too, sounds nasty!

I've probably made it sound worse than it is I was not trying to put you off, just to beware of what could catch you out. My bike hardly spits back through the carbs at all now since fitting aftermarket can's and altering the mixture settings slightly. As I mentioned earlier not all Firestorms do this, but a lot do. It's easier to avoid if you're aware of it,

Chris.

[Murv]

Cheers guys

Test rode this morning, liked it, just going down to collect it now

(needless to say it's pishing down with rain and will be all Summer, sorry 'bout that ;) )

[Kev L]

At least it will give you something to do when you get it home mate. Give it a good clean and get used to where all the service items are.
Well done on choosing the best value smile per mile bike out there.

[Murv]

Cheers fella

And a quick pic



Quite surprised at how easy it is to ride, I've not ridden for over a Year and didn't ride much in the Year before that so was a bit nervous bringing it home in the wet.
But, it seems very laid back, and was nowhere near as scary as when I bought my R1 a few Years ago (was hammering it down with rain then too!)