VTR1000.ORG

Hi everyone,

Thanks for letting me join this forum. I don't yet have a Firestorm, but am planning on getting one in the very near future (late middle aged ex biker thinking of getting a bike again after about 15 years of not riding) and am interested to know what other members' who own these think of them? They seem to be a lot of bike for not that much money but the ones that are going up for sale in the price range I am looking at seem to be in the 40,000 miles plus range....is this likely to be a problem or not? I am aware that all depends on frequency and quality of servicing etc, but part of me thinks "it's a 100cc bike - that's fine" but part of me thinks "oooooh rusting frame swingarm etc and engine on the way out".....what do you guys who actually own one of these bikes think?

welcome to the forum,

yes you summed it up... a lot of bike for not much money.

40k miles is not going to hurt these bikes... mine is close to that milage and still looks & runs like it is new..... it all depends how they have been looked after.

feed it fresh oil every hear and if it is stored indoors and cleaned if it it sees the salt in winter there is no reason why you won't find a minter.
equally, if it is used as a winter hack, not washed and stored on the street there will be a bit of rust... it will be fairly obvious which type of life it has had.

good luck with the search

AMQ

welcome along sir.. well outa the 60 odd road bikes iv owned this is the one i aint gona part with....

Get one...as long as it's mechanically sound your good. Cosmetics you will end up doing something with over time anyway.

Going by your username I take it your not slim. Welcome to the forum Oh and you may want to add another 900cc to that.

(:-})

the only rust I've ever seen, is on the underside of the rear subframe, easy to clean up and protect, as it's been said, it's how it's been cared for that matters. good luck with your bike hunt fella....

Certainly the best value bike I've ever had, cost v grin ratio is awesome . Welcome aboard and good luck with your search

There great bikes, so much for the money, i may add this has to be the most useful forum I've ever been on. Theres nowt they done know about the storm. I love mine and modify it mechanically so its safe but cosmetically as i want too. Get the forks sorted and the CCT,s and it a great bike.

Hello and welcome ,
Buy the best condition low mileage one you can find/afford as if you gel with it you will keep it for years .


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agentpineapple wrote:the only rust I've ever seen, is on the underside of the rear subframe, easy to clean up and protect, as it's been said, it's how it's been cared for that matters. good luck with your bike hunt fella....

That and the oil cooler lines rust, the frame and swingarm is aluminium so that can't rust.

As others have said, 40,000mls is nothing for a Firestorm if it's been well looked after, IE regularly serviced etc as the engine is not an over stressed unit in standard build. You're right in thinking the Firestorm is a lot of bike very not a lot of money. I would say (as others have already said) keep looking as low mileage bikes are out there, you've just got to be patient. The only two weak points on the Firestorm are the rectifier and the CCT's (cam chain tensioners). The earlier versions had a rectifier fitted with no cooling fins, and had a 16ltr fuel tank. The later version had a rectifier fitted with cooling fins, so they didn't fail so quickly as the non-finned version, and had a 19ltr fuel tank. The later version has the speedo pod part digital, whereas the earlier version has an analogue speedo only pod.

Another thing that can be over looked is the rear suspension linkage and swingarm bearings. A quick check of pushing down on the seat while you or a helper holds the bike upright, should show the rear end move down and back up without any squeaks from the movement, if it doesn't move freely without any squeaks then it hasn't been regularly serviced and will need doing very soon. This is a bit extreme, but it can happen, take a look here:-
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 31&t=11809

Welcome aboard

Chris.

I don't know if you have ridden one... or just doing a spot of fancying for a
Firestorm... one ride you will be hooked,, taking the V twin through the cogs and down again,
listening to engine note on song and.. the surefooted handling of a well set up machine ..
corners are really inviting not many storm owners have chicken strips ..well mmmm
Honda created a superb motorcycle .. good luck m8tey keep us all posted

Hi there and welcome. 40K is not extreme for these machines. There are some that have surpassed 125K and still running strong. Again it is up to the servicing and maintenance. Look after it and it will look after you. If you are happy to tinker they are also easy to work on.

Welcome to the forum fell. I recently brought my first storm having never ridden one and 100% hooked! all of the above is true

Welcome aboard buddy

Had mine since 98, never been bothered to try anything else

This is still much faster than I can ride it

Where are you located?

Welcome along bud. The lads have it covered above so nothing really I can add to it

Thanks for the welcome, guys
Cybercarl, yep good spot and yeah I'm not exactly slim

Well, time has moved on and it seems that when I first though "Oooooh they look nice, I wouldn't mind one them" there were plenty about for about 1 and a half grand (I was a bit suspicious as it seems a lot of bike for the money) but time and distance (I need the wife to take me to view it if I'm gonna ride it back and she dislikes driving, and as a nurse works long/odd shifts) meant I never actually got one. And now it looks like we'll have more synchronised schedules for a while they've all disappeared Lots of SV650's around but I don't really want another Suzuki so I guess I'll just hold out til one comes along