VTR1000.ORG

Well I went from a VTR to a Hayabusa. The diference is HUGE. so much more power everywhere, torque, top end, everywhere.

Yup it's 300cc bigger but had a dyno run on mine and it's kicking out 182bhp (PC, Tre, 4into1) against 110 on the storm. As far as handling goes I am happier. It leans just as far and pulls out of corners so much harder. It's very comfy but it doesn't wheelie anywhere near as well.

Fuel consupmtion is a different league. I just did 1400 miles in 9 days, two up and fully loaded- tank bag, paniers, wife and the busa did 54mpg over the trip, cruising at 90 + all the time, I wouldn't have wanted to try that on the 'storm.

I still have a soft spot for the 'storm it's a good bike but things have moved on, if you go for a blade you will see what i mean (try a 959 or RR and the difference is even bigger)

This will get a slating but the 'storms not been updated since inception, piss poor fuel range and chocolate CCT's are not clever and should have been dealt with years ago.

Now an SP2 ............hmmm that's different


*stands back and waits for the flack*

You won't get any flack from me, I've ridden an Hayabusa and I would agree it's a fantastic bike very good for the passenger which is more than can be said for most modern rocketships of today that was one of the main reason's my brother purchased his. You forgot to mention how the Busa can eat back tyres for breakfast but that of course depends on how you use the go stick. Enjoy it mate, life's to short

Personally I prefer a big V/twin, there's something about a big V/twin that you do not get with any inline four

Chris.

IMHO this all depends on where you riding most. At Var or Cot d'Azur mountain area Busa is just as useless as ZX12R, Blackbird (this one still kinda OK) or ( my apologies for bringing it on) GoldWing. Just because of roads. But you will see loads of lightweight supersports, some Beemers GS enduros and Pan Europeans ( those go on bigger roads). 3 times I were there on Hornet 600 it was best ever choice for bike there. This year Storm did great (well, my suspension is all-singing aftermarket, before it was horrid). 20 more kilos and 15 more mm wheelbase would have made it way difficult. That's what stopping me from going over magic 185 kg dry weight my Storm got now...
When I hear people going on about 200 bhp etc. it always reminds me of guy on old Beemer nearby Canyon de Verdon. Nobody, I mean - nobody were able to catch him on any of mentioned bikes. He'd just grind engine heads in each corner....leaving my mates on Blackbirds and CBRs in despair...
Bikes are different, and application is different. I saw loads of Busa's on US roads but I have never seen one on D908 in High Alps in France.
I saw a loads of Gixxers and Blades in Midlands, but I never saw one in Norway on Nord Cap.
There is no such thing as "best bike", it is "different bike". Good example is my friend wh lives in Britanny (is that correct name?) in France. He rides VFR750 RC24, and I only saw once a guy, who been able to stay on his tail. BTW - that guy was from Germany and rode old beemer "sportbike".

Best bike for Belgium IMO will be 500 cc supermotard thou cameras everywhere, petrol at 1,4 euro per liter and horrible roads with 90 degrees turn...

Did you ever wandered why "poor guys" riding 600 Bandits still alive and not dead from lust after R1?


Oh, it's soo good sitting next to my Storm in garage in my favourite chair drinkin....what was it....

Totally agree, it's horses for courses, buy the bike you want for your roads and riding style.

Horsepower, truth be known we don't realy need more 70 or 80 BUT it's nice to have for the occasional time you want it, that's one of the reasons we all bang on about it. Verdon George is a stunning run and local knowledge is so usefull, but remember all the bikes we ride are more capable than any of us and if we admited it we would all ride Beemers anyway.

As regards tyres on the busa, I've done 5500 miles since March this year The pilot sports were "newish" when i bought the bike, i replaced them with the same and the rear still has 2000 left in it. so 3500 miles a set isn't bad, It's surprised me and at £145 a pair that's ok too.

People tell me of busas going through a rear in 750 -1000 miles but the only one I know that does that is a 350 bhp turbo!

I'm not knocking the 'storm it's still a far better bike than I'm a rider but there are choices out there and a lot of fun had trying out "different" machines

Pipstorm wrote: chocolate CCT's are not clever and should have been dealt with years ago.

I just remembered the Hayabusa had CCT problems as well, the only difference was that Suzuki accepted there was a problem and did something about it, unlike Honda

Agree with all said. Me, after the BM I wanted to go back to a sports bike and will always have a soft spot for the vtr............cct's put me off another though can't aford a big bang. SP2 fantastic, blade awsome, got GSXR still don't know why I chose it though cos I'll never use all that power or handling. Just bought my first full leathers and I feel a twit, going to get knee sliders cos thats just part of the costume, only way I'll scrape them is if I fall off..............maybe I should have got Royal Enfield.............now theres a real bike.

RAINMAKER wrote:Agree with all said. Me, after the BM I wanted to go back to a sports bike and will always have a soft spot for the vtr............cct's put me off another though can't aford a big bang. SP2 fantastic, blade awsome, got GSXR still don't know why I chose it though cos I'll never use all that power or handling. Just bought my first full leathers and I feel a twit, going to get knee sliders cos thats just part of the costume, only way I'll scrape them is if I fall off..............maybe I should have got Royal Enfield.............now theres a real bike.

Paul very well put I say if it's the GSXR1000 that shakes your tree then you enjoy it mate life to short

piss poor fuel range and chocolate CCT's are not clever and should have been dealt with years ago.

at the same time the Hayabusa's subframes kept breaking perhaps?

I have NEVER been outrun on twisties by Blades or anything else. If they want to come past at 120/130/150/180? mph on the straighs then that's fine by me; not awfully skillful to twist the right wrist on a straight road I don't think.

Stratman wrote:

piss poor fuel range and chocolate CCT's are not clever and should have been dealt with years ago.

at the same time the Hayabusa's subframes kept breaking perhaps?

I have NEVER been outrun on twisties by Blades or anything else. If they want to come past at 120/130/150/180? mph on the straighs then that's fine by me; not awfully skillful to twist the right wrist on a straight road I don't think.

My VTR is a wobbly, bouncy thing that really doesn't feel confidence inspiring at all. Not even a little bit. Prolly largely down to knackered old tyres, but not wholly I'm sure.

Now, the old "It's as fast as you can use and nobodys ever got past me before". Well, don't go 100% on the road (says me with sticky out shoulder...), but I would be circuating twisty roads faster on my old GSXR because, well, it handled better. Better feedback, more confidence.

I've got a VTR and I love it. But to tar everyone with a Blade etc as the only go fast in a straight line type is a bit harsh.

Come to think of it, I've never been overtaken in my Citreon Picasso on the twisties...

BTW - open the throttle at 2500 - 3000 rpm ish and look down at your front axle (while concentrating on the traffic of course) and see how it wobbles back and forth with the engine vibes!

MrMastodon wrote:

Stratman wrote:

piss poor fuel range and chocolate CCT's are not clever and should have been dealt with years ago.

at the same time the Hayabusa's subframes kept breaking perhaps?

I have NEVER been outrun on twisties by Blades or anything else. If they want to come past at 120/130/150/180? mph on the straighs then that's fine by me; not awfully skillful to twist the right wrist on a straight road I don't think.

My VTR is a wobbly, bouncy thing that really doesn't feel confidence inspiring at all. Not even a little bit. Prolly largely down to knackered old tyres, but not wholly I'm sure.

Now, the old "It's as fast as you can use and nobodys ever got past me before". Well, don't go 100% on the road (says me with sticky out shoulder...), but I would be circuating twisty roads faster on my old GSXR because, well, it handled better. Better feedback, more confidence.

I've got a VTR and I love it. But to tar everyone with a Blade etc as the only go fast in a straight line type is a bit harsh.

Come back when you've fitted new tyres, as you said they are knackered and old and especially as the front is a D204 You're never going to gain any confidence on the bike if it needs new tyres Addmittedly it's not going to be as razor sharp as the GSXR it was never designed to be

Chris.

I wasn't tarring every Blade?R1/GSXR rider with the same brush, but we all see the shny new leather brigade wobbling along to and from race meets on such machines when they (some) would be a lot happier on more upright and forgiving machinery. That's why you see two year old examples for sale with 2,500 miles on the clocks - carbon fibre everything, power commanders, Akrapovic systems etc.

My humble opinion is that if you only do those sort of miles, you haven't developed/maintained much riding skill and you don't know your machine.

In stock form the Storm's handling and braking leaves much to be desired. Spend some money (not a lot) on the forks, get a new shock (mine is a Hagon - perfectly satisfactory) upgrade the pads and brake lines, drop the yokes 5mm or so, spend £20 on a larger rear sprocket and you have a bike that will cover ground as quickly as anything else on real roads.

I tested this theory on the GSXR 1000 I was thinking of buying. Of course its sharper out of the crate and stupendously fast, but I wasn't able to cover ground on B roads any quicker than I could on the Storm. On the track I'd maybe have been blown away, but I don't do tracks. In addition, I am quite happy trying to perfect riding on smaller twisty roads, on a Blade etc, with all that power, I would want to be on sweeping A roads doing 130 plus, simply because I could. Bye bye licence and livelihood.

Interestingly a friend of mine just changed his CBR600RR for a FJR1300 as he wanted a tourere for the year. He did a track day at Snetterton and did quite well (very good rider). The fastest thing on the track was an old TDM850 with tricked up suspension - apparently virtually everyone wnet past on the straights but the lean angles and cornering were amazing.

"TODAY I RODE A BLADE"

I HOPE YOU CUT YOURSELF...........

I think Stratman summed it up nicely. Interesting tread it became

Let me just add something about "wobbly and bouncy". IMHO - I disagree. SO wobbly and bouncy Firestorm means nothing else than it is not in good state (tyres, bearings, correct springs, oil, rear linckage and settings) and missing few simple upgrades. Whith bike for 2000 quid I would not think twice to spend 500 quid to get suspension to entirely new level.
I have ridden Storm really hard in excellent twisty conditions of D-roads High Alps and along German border and in Bretagne. This is what I am going there for. I never saw front axle twitching or felt discomfort from flex in the frame. I must admit, that stock suspension is not up to job to get you through 3700-4000 km a week with comfort I want, but with upgrade it was perfect. Rear shock fully transofrmed ride and springs/oil sorted front.
OK, new sportbikes are well equipped from factory, so no need to spend money on upgrade of bike that costs 10 000+ Euros- wow, that's suprise If I'd need upgrade on top of such price I'd be angry

Did you ever heard massive complaints about VFR "wobbling"? I never. It's suspension exactly as simple as Storm's, virtually same components, but since unlike Storm VFR is named "sporttourer" I never heard it's being slagged for poor handling!

cant call myself a full on rider, longest I had one bike was 4 years (Ducati 851) did 750 miles (nightshift killer)
had the original blade '95 or '96 purple/white thing. after the cbr1000 it handled brilliant (for a racer) but wouldnt top 120, the cbr was great touring or racing to mallory for marshalling at bike races (100mile trip each way) so much so that 2 day meetings I used to ride up and down both days.
never used to stretch chains (wheelie) take chances (too many friends killed, or maimed) but whatever your needs are getthe best suited bike, I must admit with a dodgy hip and wrists the Storm is just ok , the blade would be sold inside a week and heaps of money lost..

Stratman wrote:I wasn't tarring every Blade?R1/GSXR rider with the same brush, but we all see the shny new leather brigade wobbling along to and from race meets on such machines when they (some) would be a lot happier on more upright and forgiving machinery. That's why you see two year old examples for sale with 2,500 miles on the clocks - carbon fibre everything, power commanders, Akrapovic systems etc.

My humble opinion is that if you only do those sort of miles, you haven't developed/maintained much riding skill and you don't know your machine.

In stock form the Storm's handling and braking leaves much to be desired. Spend some money (not a lot) on the forks, get a new shock (mine is a Hagon - perfectly satisfactory) upgrade the pads and brake lines, drop the yokes 5mm or so, spend £20 on a larger rear sprocket and you have a bike that will cover ground as quickly as anything else on real roads.

I tested this theory on the GSXR 1000 I was thinking of buying. Of course its sharper out of the crate and stupendously fast, but I wasn't able to cover ground on B roads any quicker than I could on the Storm. On the track I'd maybe have been blown away, but I don't do tracks. In addition, I am quite happy trying to perfect riding on smaller twisty roads, on a Blade etc, with all that power, I would want to be on sweeping A roads doing 130 plus, simply because I could. Bye bye licence and livelihood.

Interestingly a friend of mine just changed his CBR600RR for a FJR1300 as he wanted a tourere for the year. He did a track day at Snetterton and did quite well (very good rider). The fastest thing on the track was an old TDM850 with tricked up suspension - apparently virtually everyone wnet past on the straights but the lean angles and cornering were amazing.

I'm with Stratman all the way on that well put together Paul
and imo so true