just got a vtr firestorm

[lanny]

Hi All,
Just picked up A 05 plate Firestorm
Having bid and won on Ebay, i did a 420 mile round trip to pick it up yesterday.
Having spoken with the guy i was led to believe it was in really nice condition and had not been used in bad weather. BULL***T Ii i had not travelled so far and laid out for the hire van , derv, deposit etc I would have walked away but i didn't and am now the new owner I dont want to go into the conversation I had with him so i will push on, think positive and start the process of tailoring it to my own taste and standard.
The bike is what seems to me to be a rare mat Black colour,8000 miles, service history, nice cans,scot oiler, armstrong wave discs and decent consumables.
I would like to make it look Mint, handle and stop well and perform well, so a few questions i need advice or guidance on are, Is all the fuss about cam chain tensioners and rectifiers failing true , if so what's the solution and is it costly/difficult ? What is recommended to get it to stop well, run well, handle well ? Are their any tips, advice or warnings you can offer or Is their anything to avoid?
Look forward to any help etc, will post some piccies soon.

[Kev L]

Well done on getting the Storm mate, even if it is'nt in the condition you hoped for. With only 8,000 miles on the clock and on an 05 you would be right to expect it to be very good nick.
The RR on yours will be the later finned version and should therefore be safe enough, although these like any other electrical component aren't infalible.
You need to take some action with regard to the CCT's, either stopper mod your stock ones or fit manuals.
If you use the search function, top right of the page, you can research all the horror stories caused by lack of any action.
There are a million and one (or is that two?) mods you can perform to improve/alter the Storm to your personal taste. Seek advice from leevtr with regard to mods (private joke, Lee is against all mods but is slowly being turned to the dark side!). Have a look at AMcQ's guide to brake updates to identify good kit for the braking performance.
I put a 954 USD Blade front end on mine, resprung with K-Tech kit, along with Blade brakes on the front and rear. You can just upgrade the springs and oil in the Storm forks with Hyperpro/Hagon springs and maybe a different shock.
Have a read through and ask questions mate.

[VTRDark]

That looked nice a nice bike on ebay. Just goes to show never judge a book by it's cover.

Some links regarding the Cam Chain Tensioners (CCT's)

CCT's can go at any time, it's a gamble!
You can either go for the stop mod http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 31&t=19416 Which is the Honda auto CCT's that are converted to a fail safe. So when it does fail, it don't send the valves crashing.
Or
You go for the full manual conversion, your options are here http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 16&t=22720

Then with regards to fitting View Topic View Topic http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8326

Welcome to the forum.

(:-})

[lloydie]

hello and welcome
mat black i anit seen one of them before so post some pics up

[lanny]

Thanks for the replies guys.
rectifier is finned so hopefully will be reliable, cam chain business sounds daunting but i wiil check it out as a must do over winter.
Next job is to trawl through the posts on here for info and get some piccies up

[AMCQ46]

Welcome tothe club

I think I saw that matt black one on e bay, it had the new coloured engine cases and looked neat. Bit of a bugger that it wasn't as clean as claimed, I don't know how people can look you in the face when they talk it up on the phone and it's not true when you stand beside them and look. Did they think you wouldn't check?

[Flatline]

Welcome aboard buddy

The first thing to decide is how much you will spend on it

After that you can start to plan and see what everyone else has done

It also depends on how you ride

[alternative_vtr]

Welcome, if just for the peace of mind I would do the CCT's that's the only one that needs doing rest is whatever you want. I would like to get my suspension done but can't afford to just yet. Lots of helpful peole here and loads of interesting posts to read. Superhawk forum in the states is worth looking at.

[chris vtr virgin]

Welcome to the club mate good luck

[lumpyv]

welcome in mate. hope you enjoy the bike. must be one of the newest storms on here?

bung some photos up please

[tasum]

welcome mate. you'll find lots of help on modding your bike to your taste.

ccts are a priority then as Flatty says decide how mcuh you want to spend. There are some cheap mods changing the stock set up and some, like the suspension that can cost a bit, but do make a massive difference.

I've learnt tons being on here, but I still know nothing. get out on it and see how you get on. do the ccts then get a ride on a few modded bikes to see the difference. Riding Flatty's bike with weight rated springs and new oil was a real eye opener, he dropped my forks, but the springs make the bike seem really planted.

I now know he's got different stacks in his airbox and has changed the front sprocket. They all add up and can totally change the way the bike handles and performs. I liked mine stockish, but now doing the forks (after a spill provided the opportunity ) and will adjust the rear shock.

I also changed the bulbs in my dials, cos it was easy

have fun

[lanny]

Thanks for the welcome and for sharing your experiences.
The mods i have planned as a priority are cct - shock poss maxton or other, some experiences of shocks and prices would be good ? - fork spring and service - chain and sprockets - brake lines - wheels painted - screen.
The bike already has armstrong wave dics and new pads, nice cans and new tyres so that saves me a few bob. Like you say i need to have some fun before i start the mods and before the weather gets worse.

[MacV2]

Welcome to the house of Storm, IMO get the CCT's sorted ASAP, ride it to get used to it then if putting away for winter...get your wallet ready!



Also worth checking is the suspension linkages, an area prone to all the road crap & often neglected.

Have fun.

[lanny]

Hmmm - forgot to mention i called at the local bike shop today and asked if they sell the manual ccts, the guy told me that the later model storm got a mod that should prevent failure and to show this mod had been done a white spot was painted on the cct housing, is this correct ? He also reckoned the manual cct mod was unofficial so would not recommend the mod.

[AMCQ46]

They all say that!


And they are wrong...they just don't know the storm well enough. There has been no proof to back it up and it's not worth the gamble