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hi , i am picking my 1999 firestorm up on saturday
it's in hrc colours recently painted by dream machine, fully faired and with remus high level exhausts, its like new !
just got to book it in to get the cct changed now !

welcome dude same paint as mine

thanks guys, cant wait to get it as its my first big bike, just passed my test !
i was origionally looking for a 600cc sports bike e.g zx6r, cbr600 but when i saw this firestorm i had to have it !!

i was looking for a zx6r when i got mine lol

welcome to the jungle friend.

Cant say i was brave enough to jump on a thou after passing, take it easy ride safe man and enjoy the v-twin rumble.

john'o

Welcome & Enjoy....

Ditto to what Veety said....Take it easy and treat her with respect...It can bite

Make sure you have a video camera to record your expression when you first give it a healthy twist of throttle (preferably NOT in first gear to start with)

Its that rare moment of "holy crapola!" followed by a sphincter pucker, then a huge grin. And thats it. You're now hooked. Withdrawl symptoms include sitting in a dark room in your riding kit, rocking gently and gibbering till the next ride.

thanks again guys, how does the firestorm compare to a zx6r in terms of speed and handling ?

welcome aboard hrc dude..my first one was hrc ..luved it

Hi Newbie2,

Like Veetyr & Widfire said - Treat her with respect at all times!

Especially since you've just passed your test - It's a big bike with far more grunt than a lot of people can handle.

Don't ride her like a 4 cylinder beast, breaking hard into corners, learn to use the torque and keep her in a mid gear, rolling off the throttle in and back on out of corners - it far smoother, safer and more economical !

And what's more you'll enjoy your riding more

Look forward to picks and tales of your expolits!

Graeme.

*

The ZX6 and firestorm are completly different beasts.

As Kaz said you have to wring the neck of the 6 like you would any other four, it is lighter and will go round bends quicker than a standard storm.
In a straight line the storm is prob quicker up to speed , tho the six will have a faster top end i suspect.

That said, if good rider on a storm can stay with the 6 thru the bends the zx will struggle to keep up coming out the other side, its all about torque. see?

Having ridden modern IL4's i think they are pretty clinical, the engines feel well contained within the boundaries of the chassis.

I dont know how others would describe the engine on their storm but i would liken it to having a "hand Grenade" in your right hand. Or even like poking a tiger in the eye with a stick and then jumping on its back and saying "c'mon giddy up".
Riding slowly on it feels like you have it caged up snarling to be let out , and when you do let it out, boy does it like to run (albeit not very far with the minute tank range hahaha)

Couple of words of advice.........

If you have the extra cash get the front end reworked(prefferably by roger ditchfield).

For peace of mind change the CCT's or have em converted to manual( essential really ) .

But the main thing is treat it with respect to start with bro, explore the bike carefully while you are gaining valuable riding experience and dont go cracking the throttle open in first straight away unless u wanna good look at the sky or end up on your back.

If you take the time to do this then you will find your storm is a great bike to ride . Gel with it first and it will reward you every time you go out on it.

Enjoy, and welcome to the world of the big twin.


John'o

Yeah im going to take it easy and i probably wont be riding it much anyway until next year when the winter has gone.
im used to driving cars that are faster than the firestorm on the 1/4 mile curcuit, i used to have a 450bhp pulsar which could do the quarter in high 10 seconds ! but the firestorm will be more of a handfull so ill have to concentrate alot more.

Welcome aboard Newbie2 No point in me repeating some of the good advice already given Take care out there

Chris.

i used to use a 6r for track i find the storm courners with less effort