Wanna Buy a Firestrom - What should I look for
Wanna Buy a Firestrom - What should I look for
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
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
- Posts: 1276
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:58 am
- Location: Middlesbrough
- yellafella
- Posts: 1276
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:58 am
- Location: Middlesbrough
- yellafella
- Posts: 1276
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:58 am
- Location: Middlesbrough
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
The voices made me do it
- Pete.L
- Forum Health And Safety Officer
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- Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2003 5:09 pm
- Location: Bristol
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
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
buying advie
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'
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
- Forum Health And Safety Officer
- Posts: 7228
- Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2003 5:09 pm
- Location: Bristol
Adstar
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
Just noticed. I'm from BRSITOL too but we must spell it differently on my side of townP.S. I am in Bath/Brsitol are so if anyone knows of a nice 'storm for sale pls let me know
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
Re: buying advie
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?adstar wrote: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'
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
-
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:30 am
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.
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.
- yellafella
- Posts: 1276
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:58 am
- Location: Middlesbrough