Anyone done long distance on their Firestorm?

[AMCQ46]

37mph average required!!! if you dont stop for fuel, piss, eat!

take out 2 hrs for all kinds of stops and you have to average 40mph
need to avoid towns and rush hour, and make "good progress" when you are on open road

thats a tough target

[agentpineapple]

a quick question, at what speed would the storm return decent mpg on a long journey, i don't want to go to slow, and i know it depends on gearing and how heavy handed a person is. i wanna do a bit of touring this year, assen the burg and maybe barcelona, i've got a 19ltr tank, and amcq how legal is that petrol can on the pillion seat?

[AMCQ46]

amcq how legal is that petrol can on the pillion seat?

Good question, my view was that as long as it was well secured, I could talk my way ot of it, but I was concerned on the ferry that they might view it as a risk, but what is the difference to a motorbike with a plastic petrol tank?

[Stratman]

amcq how legal is that petrol can on the pillion seat?

Good question, my view was that as long as it was well secured, I could talk my way ot of it, but I was concerned on the ferry that they might view it as a risk, but what is the difference to a motorbike with a plastic petrol tank?

I used to carry one in the topbox when I had hard luggage on and was out with other bikes. I would have thought a 4.5 l can could fit in a tailpack and not be noticed?

Most I've done in a day was about 450.

[tony.mon]

Did Valencia moto gp three years ago, two days down, three days back (it snowed in Andorra, and rained all the rest of the way!) A week in between to soak up a bit of sun, in between showers.
About 1200 miles each way.
They'll hold 100 mph all day.
A fuel stop every hour means you don't get a sore butt.

[Image]

Been on the phone to someone who's ridden halfway around the world and back and he gave an interesting tip. He said to wear cycling shorts under my leathers saying cyclists have worse seats than us bikers and cyclist shorts clamp all the muscles together stopping butt fatigue. Interesting!

[Wicky]

There's cycling shorts and there's cycling shorts. Does he mean cycling shorts with butt/crotch padding or lycra bace layer shorts sans padding, as a small contact area bicycle saddle and a relatively more plush motorcycle saddle are different fish. Tight fitting gear AFAIK are primarily worn by cyclists for aerodynamic/drag reasons and for warmth/cooling effects on working thigh muscles - Not seen any evidence of their worth worn under leathers.

Unpadded base layer

http://www.marksandspencer.com/Pack-Spo ... ed-items-3

or Alien elbow hugger shorts

[Stratman]

On the subject of undergarments - don't wear briefs but instead wear the sort which go down your thigh. That way the seam isn't pressing into your elbow on the seat which also causes leg ache. Someone told me this only a couple of years ago and it makes a big difference. TBH I've never found the Storm seat uncomfortable though and get more butt ache on the TDM which is more upright.

[lloydie]

On the subject of undergarments - don't wear briefs but instead wear the sort which go down your thigh. That way the seam isn't pressing into your elbow on the seat which also causes leg ache. Someone told me this only a couple of years ago and it makes a big difference. TBH I've never found the Storm seat uncomfortable though and get more butt ache on the TDM which is more upright.

best tip for long distance by far


Sorry officer
The voices made me do it

[Image]

The storm does seem to have a decent seat. I did JOG to LE on a GPZ900R over 2 days and its hard seat crippled me. I had to take painkillers to keep me going. Now the storms seat is better but there'll be shorter stops on this trip because of the timescale so who knows!

[bazza696]

a quick question, at what speed would the storm return decent mpg on a long journey, i don't want to go to slow, and i know it depends on gearing and how heavy handed a person is. i wanna do a bit of touring this year, assen the burg and maybe barcelona, i've got a 19ltr tank, and amcq how legal is that petrol can on the pillion seat?

I found with the storm if keeping the revs over 4k then they give consistant mileage, if you are up and down the revs then thats when the become poor on fuel. Follow a group of storms and you can tell when a bend is coming cause of the smell of fuel when they let off for the bend.

Once the tank if brimmed, I can get 130 before the light comes on. My dyno graph shows that my air/ fuel is bang on with a bog standard setup.

and becuase everyone fills there tank up to different levels, also K and N filters larger jets, imbalanced carbs all could contribute alot with everyones difference in range.

[turbo_billy]

A few years ago my mate and I did a trip down to and around London and the surrounding areas. About 350 mile round trip. I borrowed a ZX9R for the day and after about 20 miles my butt was getting cut in half by the "seat" (I use the word loosely, more like razor blade ) As the day wore on, the pain got worse. On the M4 on the way home in the dark (at slightly more than legal speed) the first thing that went through my head was "what if an animal runs out in front of the bike and I hit it?", the second thought was "bring it on, anything to get off this bl**dy bike" )Pulled into the services at Swindon for a break and had to roll off the bike, the pain was so bad. Got home eventually and for two days after, well, you know when you go to the zoo and the baboons walk around with their bright red arses.........
Good luck with your ride Image. My one word of advice is.......padding, padding and more padding

[Image]

Point noted Turbo Billy

[mattster]

I took my Thundercat to the South of France in 2010 for a 10 day break. It has a similar seat to the storm - nice and roomy to move about, but not the best padding. I used one of those blow up seat cushions that BikerPiker recommended - it was an absolute godsend! Only thing that bothered me was nappy rash... simply due to sweaty butt syndrome from riding in over 25 degree heat!!

That trip also contained the biggest mileage i've covered in a day - Rouen > Prestwick. 700-odd miles, interrupted by frequent petrol/butt relief/red bull breaks (including a puncture!) till I got home, half hallucinating at 4am.

That's still my favourite biking day so far... Hope I can do it again soon!

[Image]

Funnily enough I read a review on the airpads and it mentioned sweating. Best thing I've come across is butt buffer (link below) which is made of the same stuff they use on hospital beds for patients who can't move. Expensive though. Wish I'd not sold my last one on ebay

http://www.buttbuffer.com/