Way of the twin

[strachg]

Hi Folks picking my bike up later this week and having never ridden a twin before (unless you count 20 mins) i was wondering if you have any advice on geting the best from the firestorm engine. Do i need to change my riding style from the Zed 750, will be doing sunday blasts plus commuting during the week.

cheers

Graham

[benny hedges]

Do i need to change my riding style from the Zed 750

er yes m8, don't give it 7500 rpm when taking off unless you have a wheel on the back of your lid!

[MJONESY]

haha good point that both my brothers jumped on my storm wanged the throttle open picked the front wheel up and s*** themselves

the thing i noticed compared to my old yzf750 is that its not so forgiving on the throttle, open it hard and it will pick the front wheel up shut it off hard and it slows down incredibly quickly (by comparison to my old yzf) only had mine a few weeks so maybe not the best person to be offering advice.

good luck with the bike btw

[strachg]

yeah thats what i was thinking. the zed didnt lift the front wheel even on full whack.

[Jbrebel]

You'll be fine with the VTR-it just takes a bit of getting used to after an IL4 thats all. Its the best big VTwin to start on imo-very easy to ride and very forgiving.

Just use the torque much more satifying than revving the balls off a 4 imo

Oh, then theres the noise

[bluesman]

I think there is a good point. Vtwin riding is way different than il4 and I came through quite slow moving back to twins from il4 and my speed and quality of riding definitely suffered until I got hang of it.
Basically my friend who rides monos got me "back on feet", so I will pass what he told me back then and then better and more prepared fellow Fstormers can correct me.
First of all he told me not to attempt to carry max. speed until last moment and then "brake it off" but "stretch" my entering into corner, e.g. try do it fully on engine braking first. \
Second while still leaned over and quite earlier than normal "opening up" point for il4 you can start opening throttle on firestorm but in a smooth motion. God, my English fails me....what I am trying to say that Firestorm engine pulses give you loads of warning before rear slipping out anyway, but to start with it does not slip out as easy as on il4. You may carry more speed before braking it off entering corner on il4, but with 90 degrees twin you can more momentum and speed on way out of corner because you can start accelerating earlier (a lot) instead of typical il4 way

Basically I found that in Alps if I just go down to 3rd - 4th and stop using brakes practically completely I can go much, much faster than I ever did on my previous bike (il4) because I do not get "sudden" reactions, all is more-less controllable and engine braking is so much I do not need brakes to enter corner. And between 5 and 8000 rpms going purely "on trottle" makes Fstorm REAL fast because engine jumps on rpms quicker but of course you won't be really saving fuel
Perhaps someone can explain it better.

[benny hedges]

yeah thats what i was thinking. the zed didnt lift the front wheel even on full whack.

my cbx750 is the same - with stock gearing it's almost impossible to wheelie, though it's good for close on 140 on top.
big heavy lump!
when i changed the engine i couldnt believe how heavy it was.
another plus for the v twin - or should say L twin really as it's a 90 degree twin, the weight of the motor is more evenly distributed with half of it toward the back rather than all stuffed up the front.
on the move it feels so much lighter as well and cornering is an absolute joy - you will love it
just keep your eye on the speedo for a bit tho when you first get it - they are deceptively quick and the motor is so lazy it's hard to judge the speed!
you might find as well that it's a bit of a labour in congested traffic at crawling speed - if this bothers you get a 15 tooth front cog from http://www.intobikes.co.uk
i stuck a 14 on mine and it's almost terrifying to ride lol - very spirited bike!!!

[strachg]

cheers lads, thats informative so what your saying is with the twin i can start feeding power in a bit earlier and try to use engine braking to control the entry to a corner.

[bikerpiker]

Timbo ,Cupasoop ,and any other IL4 riders, ffs where are you ,i'm getting ..err ...urges i'm finding hard to control ,.....i demand this thread to be closed

[cupasoop]

I'm staying well away from you if you're having urges

[Jbrebel]

Timbo ,Cupasoop ,and any other IL4 riders, ffs where are you ,i'm getting ..err ...urges i'm finding hard to control ,.....i demand this thread to be closed

1000+ IL4's are a slightly differnt kettle BP Especially the new 1000 IL4's and big retro's with plenty of grunt

I still prefer 2 cylinder power delivery though Each to there own I suppose I've tried to go back to 4's twice now. Complete fail

[Pete.L]

Best advice I can give is don't labour the engine around town and don't rev the nuts off it to go fast
Ease your way into it and enjoy

Pete.l

[Jazzscot]

You may have to adjust your chin strap on your helmet mate, this will accomodate the huge grin you will have on your face.

Jazz

[bazza696]

Best advice I can give is ease your way into it and enjoy M8) Pete.l

OOhh errr, thats the type of advice given if you start dating a 17 girl.

[strachg]

yeah looking forward to it cheers