Wanna Buy a Firestrom - What should I look for

[adstar]

Hello,

I am an ex-ZX6R rider (following and unhappy incident with a car) and have decided that for my next bike a firestorm is the way to go.

So what should I be looking for. I have about £2500 to spend and would ideally like the following:

Firstorm with
upgrade front springs
new rear shock
some loud but street legal cans (pref high level).

So - are there things that I should really be looking for already fitted, stuff I want to avoid (i don't like polished rims ) etc

And what are the weak areas to be extra careful when buying second hand so I don't get a bad'un???

Cheers for any advice you can offer.

P.S. I am in Bath/Brsitol are so if anyone knows of a nice 'storm for sale pls let me know

thanks!

Adam

[yellafella]

Typical woman eh ? After that lengthy post the bottom line is that you said welcome.
This is how its done Kaz :


Welcome aboard mate. Check out ebay and search on here for info.

[yellafella]

Does he read all your posts like Kaz ?

[RAINMAKER]

just as well he don't read em, otherwise I'd have two black eyes and a fat lip. and prob a couple of broken legs

[yellafella]

Wouldnt worry ! He'll never catch ya ! He's only got a Kwaka !!!!

[sparky750]

Welcome adstar have a mooch through the site loads of info on here not long bought a storm myself cant recomend them enough had all the super bikes etc but find the storm great fun to ride and comfy enough to stay out on for more than a few hours happy hunting if you can save a bit more money there are loads of decent ones going for 3k mark

[Pete.L]

Hi Adam,Welcome on board

If it's got a full service history thats a bonus.
Mainly I would have a good listen to the engine, if it sounds sweet it probably is.
Wheel and head bearings are a favorite week point but not expensive to replace( good bargining point )
Check everywhere for signs of crash damage and get a ride on it to see if goes in a straight line. At the same time check the breaks out,don't want to have to put new discs on straight away.
Electrics are pretty good, occasional regulator failure on some but not much else.
The rest is up to you ie cosmetics.
In my opinion if it looks tattie it probably hasn't been looked after which to me meens it probably hasn't been maintained properly either

Happy Hunting
Pete.l

[adstar]

Thanks guys...

So some general questions:

ave miles on a tank (the older ones?) - Is 100 miles normal to reserve light, more, less?
How many miles out of back tyres. I'm a fan of Bridgestone 020s - can you get about 6k miles out of them on a firestorm?


And i'm sure you guys will have some other 'pearls of wisdom'

[Pete.L]

Adstar

P.S. I am in Bath/Brsitol are so if anyone knows of a nice 'storm for sale pls let me know

Just noticed. I'm from BRSITOL too but we must spell it differently on my side of town


Mileage about right depending how you ride it, maybe 4.5-5.5k on the tyres I'd guess.
I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I see any local ones going.

Pete.l

[RAINMAKER]

i'VE GOT 6,000 MILES ON REAR 010 AND ITS ONLY 1/4 WORN SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET REAL GOOD MILEAGE IF YOUR TRYING TO BE GENTLE, OF COURSE YOU CAN GET AS LITTLE AS 2,000.

[Robbe]

Thanks guys...

So some general questions:

ave miles on a tank (the older ones?) - Is 100 miles normal to reserve light, more, less?
How many miles out of back tyres. I'm a fan of Bridgestone 020s - can you get about 6k miles out of them on a firestorm?


And i'm sure you guys will have some other 'pearls of wisdom'

I used to get about 120-130 miles out of a 16l tank in winter, dropping to around 90miles in summer. hmm, wonder why that was?
Dont know about tyre wear, but mine came with Macrapam M90's on and they didnt wear at all, didnt inspire confidence either. Got junked for 207RR's which seemed to suit the storm, though a bit twitchy at high speed.
Had the front and back rogered which made a huge difference to the handling.
She was fun for the 3 1/2 years i had her, now been replaced by an NC30


Robb

[Bryn Davies]

Hi Adam,

Firestorm is a roadbike and its midrange characteristics mean its 100 odd
ponies are more useable more of the time. You really do have to ride one to get just how different they are.

I'm a bit out of your area (Congleton), but mine will be appearing on e-bay soon. A reluctant sale, but 'am moving to Holland..

Mine is A1 and has what I considered the essential mods: Forks by Maxton Engineering, fender extender, Scotoiler(fed to front sprocket) and some ally. mirror extenders from the States.

As has been said before, if you join this club, you won't regret it and you won't go back to a 4 cylinder.

[adstar]

Thanks for your answers guys!

I test rode one last week and definitely like them and really do fancy a change from the inline 4 thing.

Hopefully will get insurance cheque this weekend so can go bike shopping!

Thanks,

Adam

[yellafella]

Tell em you'll do a straight swap for your mille !!!!