VTR1000.ORG

ok then a little about myself.called the smoker due to my love of yamaha aircooled rd's,i am based just north of birmingham have owned various big bikes such as streetfighters,race reps ect.never owned a big twin so looked on ebay to see what was going,came across a 97 black firestorm with 26k on the clocks.went to see the bike sounded great and looked the nuts,happy parted with my £1200 and rode the bike home. after a 45 mile ride 1 mile from home i got a couple of big clutch snatches,then just after a big smell of a stink bomb from the bike.would say the smell is from the battery cooking due to a faulty r/r or something but the clutch well that may be a strip down thinking a nut/bolt as come loose.so now i am thinking have i thrown away £1200 love the look of the bike but these 2 issues after 50 miles have made me think this way.any help from you guru's would be an help.i hope in the near future to meet up with any members in the west midlands or beyond.

all the very best.THE SMOKER

Morning Mr Smoker and welcome to the group . As a fellow 2 stroke addict I can relate to the habit of mixing oil in petrol and fouling plugs....I have 4 bikes and 3 are 2-strokes !

but sounds like you have not had the best of starts to your VTR ownership experience!!!! 45 miles till it fails would have me calling the seller and making a fuss.

same strange that you get 2 faults, that are not connected, but if you can give more info we can try and help.

The R/R is a know weakness, so if the Battery is boiling you have correctly diagnosed that one, the fix is easy, fit an alternative part with bigger heatsink, most use R6 / R1 / Diversion parts. if it has cooked, you also need to check that the connectors arnt burnt out as well.

on the clutch grab you will need to tell us what conditions this happens under so we can give a better dignosis, but if it occurs when slipping the cluch for a fast getaway [slips normally to strat with then as you add more power a screach noise then the clutch locks], then this is a known problem on these bikes that is not the sign of a failing clutch.

My bike has this problem for the last 5 yrs, and I can ride round it using the torque of the twin.........just remember to fully engage clutch before giving it lots of throttle

thanks for your reply,regarding the clutch problem it happens when i pull away if i rev it then slip the clutch.

the smoker wrote:thanks for your reply,regarding the clutch problem it happens when i pull away if i rev it then slip the clutch.

OK, that is the same as my bike and many others, and most noticable if you cone to the VTR from other bikes that needs lost of revs to get moving

There is a thread about the R/R change to the Yami R1/R6 R/R giving detailed instructions on how to do it.

As for the clutch. Sounds to me like your just being a bit enthusiastic on pull away. As above said, they dont need much to get them going revwise. Thats V Twins for you im afraid. You'll get used to it.

Since your new to the Twin life a couple more things to help ease your mind when they happen, because they will happen and all of which can be a little un nerving but is a natural part of owning the Storm.

With the bike in neutral the bike will knock and thud a little, that will stop when you pull the clutch in.
The gear box is clunky. Between N and 1st and 1st and second it will clunk. Now and then you can change to 2nd with low revs and its smooth but for the most part its a clunky lump.
Airbox farts. Now and then the airbox will thud or pop. It'll scare the pants off you because you're never expecting it and you can feel it between your knees and hear it.
High rev runoff. When slowing down through the gears from high revs she will backfire, fart and burp down the road.

All of the above have been noticed by several users in the short while I have been here, including myself. Its all part of the character of this wonderful machine. And possibly part of the reason why owners tend to keep them for years.

thanks pinky for your reply and yes i agree i must get to know the bike being my first big twin.i have read the r1 r/r mod but have got a replacement later ribbed r/r from off ebay.what should a multimeter be reading at the battery when bike is ticking over.thanks again for your replies i am now not such a lost soul swimming in a fish bowl

AMCQ46 wrote:

the smoker wrote:thanks for your reply,regarding the clutch problem it happens when i pull away if i rev it then slip the clutch.

OK, that is the same as my bike and many others, and most noticable if you cone to the VTR from other bikes that needs lost of revs to get moving

cheers buddy,i think it's a case of getting some miles on the bike to get a good feel of it.at the moment like all bikes i buy i am stripping it down to see whats what and if there are any more issues to find.

AMCQ46 wrote:Morning Mr Smoker and welcome to the group . As a fellow 2 stroke addict I can relate to the habit of mixing oil in petrol and fouling plugs....I have 4 bikes and 3 are 2-strokes !

but sounds like you have not had the best of starts to your VTR ownership experience!!!! 45 miles till it fails would have me calling the seller and making a fuss.

same strange that you get 2 faults, that are not connected, but if you can give more info we can try and help.

The R/R is a know weakness, so if the Battery is boiling you have correctly diagnosed that one, the fix is easy, fit an alternative part with bigger heatsink, most use R6 / R1 / Diversion parts. if it has cooked, you also need to check that the connectors arnt burnt out as well.

on the clutch grab you will need to tell us what conditions this happens under so we can give a better dignosis, but if it occurs when slipping the cluch for a fast getaway [slips normally to strat with then as you add more power a screach noise then the clutch locks], then this is a known problem on these bikes that is not the sign of a failing clutch.

My bike has this problem for the last 5 yrs, and I can ride round it using the torque of the twin.........just remember to fully engage clutch before giving it lots of throttle

what smokers have you got

Hi there fella nice that you could join us at last

bazza696 wrote:Hi there fella nice that you could join us at last

no probs Bazzzzzzzzzzz,seems a good place to be.great to hear from you.

the smoker wrote: what smokers have you got

well my history was Suzuki x5, then RD350LC before I went road racing with a home tuned MZ250 [1 make race series] then green laning with various semi competition bikes [KDX200, Alfer250, CR250] and that takes me to my present collection with a GasGas 200 enduro bike, a GasGas 250 Trials bike and pride of place is a fully restored 1976 Kawasaki KH125

whats in your shed?

AMCQ46 wrote:

the smoker wrote: what smokers have you got

well my history was Suzuki x5, then RD350LC before I went road racing with a home tuned MZ250 [1 make race series] then green laning with various semi competition bikes [KDX200, Alfer250, CR250] and that takes me to my present collection with a GasGas 200 enduro bike, a GasGas 250 Trials bike and pride of place is a fully restored 1976 Kawasaki KH125

whats in your shed?[/quote

not a bad collection there mate,
lurking in my shed are
1981 rd400f
1979 rd250d
1980 rd250e
1991 550 zephyr
and now my 1997 storm]

bloody hell how big are your sheds??????????????

bigspanishmarty wrote:bloody hell how big are your sheds??????????????

wish they were bigger

the smoker wrote:

AMCQ46 wrote:

the smoker wrote: what smokers have you got

well my history was Suzuki x5, then RD350LC before I went road racing with a home tuned MZ250 [1 make race series] then green laning with various semi competition bikes [KDX200, Alfer250, CR250] and that takes me to my present collection with a GasGas 200 enduro bike, a GasGas 250 Trials bike and pride of place is a fully restored 1976 Kawasaki KH125

whats in your shed?[/quote

not a bad collection there mate,
lurking in my shed are
1981 rd400f
1979 rd250d
1980 rd250e
1991 550 zephyr
and now my 1997 storm]

just a little sad story about a kh125
back in the day my mates pride and joy was a kh125.he was a complete nut case on it.one day he went for a blast down the country lanes pulled up for a fag and somehow he got hit by a tractor and killed him.