Anyone tracked a Firestorm ...

[robbie.111]

Hi All ...

Has anyone here ever tracked a Firestorm ?
If so , what did you think of it in terms of performance /corner speed etc ..
I`ve tracked an R1,gsxr750 K1,zx6r,zx7r, and a fireblade ....

I must admit I do like the way it turns in on the road (the front end and the rear are Maxton) , so I reackon it would handle very nice on the track , just not too sure about its overal performance ...

Any comments would be appreciated......

Cheers
Rob

[Stormin Ben]

Where to start??

Yep I've done a few on mine and have left with more work to do each time

Problems encountered
1. ground clearance problems -fit high level exhausts
2. ground clearance problems -replace footpegs with M&P tapered ones
3. ground clearance problems -fit 6mm spacer under rear shock
4. ground clearance problems & horrible flippy up footrests nearly dump me on my butt at Oulton -modify M&P tapered ones to fit as fixed by removing flippy bracket and therefore making pegs shorter shorter
5. ground clearance problems -kick exhaust header over a bit and hang off even more in right handers

See a pattern emerging

On the plus side changing the wheels over is now a really quick job (with Fireblade forks & non-captive mudguard) 3.5 mins to do both wheels

VERY good in the wet (maybe the Pirelli race wets helped here )


But ultimately it is much more compromised that any of the bikes you've mentioned. It weighs quite a bit more and therefore will get out-accelerated by everything you've mentioned in your list, including the ZX6

Still, that makes it that much more satisfying when you do catch and pass the 1000's

[robbie.111]

Hello Ben .....

REALLY , your reply was interesting to say the least, and with what you have said that really does surprise me ......
I would say out of the bikes I have tracked , only the R1 and the fireblade(97 RRT) would leave it out of the corners assuming you was in the power band !
The zx7r although a great bike , corners like its on rails, was found wanting sometimes until it got its tail up , it was superb going round the outside of other bikes on the corners , but didn`t really have the drive out of the corners ..
And the zx6r ,well that was a waste of time to be honest , down the straights everything passed it ,got embarassing at times .......

I really thought that the storm would score well in the torque department , thus it would have the drop and the drive on a lot of other bikes out of corners...

Maybe I will have to re-think tracking it now , and keep the CBR600 FI ...,haven`t had the chance to try this one out yet , but something tells me its not for me . after having tracked the blade zx7r and the R1 ...the 600 is gonna lack big time .....!!

cheers
Rob

[Stormin Ben]

Robbie,
It surprised me too!!

TBH its only been the once that I've struggled with a 600 and it wasn't down to riding ability

The story
I caught up to a green ZX after a few laps at cadwell
Then struggled to pass him coz I didn't want to resort to a late braking do-or-die move
What really peed me off was hanging back into charlies (right handers before park straight) and getting a good run on him out of the corner
By the exit I was level with him on his inside with the bike upright and the throttle pinned
He just pulled away from me at a walking pace & there was nowt I could do about it

Went over to chat to him after the session assuming it was a ZX10 and only then found out it was a ZX636!!

The reason for the difference I put down to power to weight ratio
He was a Loris Capirossi alike (70kg), I'm 13st + gear (90kg)
His bike weighs 164kg (dry) mine weighs 192kg -claimed
His bike makes 134bhp, mine makes 110bhp

Therefore his power/weight is 0.57bhp/kg
Mine is 0.39bhp/kg


What it boils down to is the Storm is great on the road coz it pulls from pretty much anywhere so being in the right gear isn't that essential for fast progress but on the track where you CAN keep a high revving 600 in the powerband, the 600 will walk it
Also, due to the popularity of 600 racing there are LOADS of track parts available whereas the Storm is very limited


As for track bikes, as soon as I get the money to buy a dedicated one it gonna be a 250 2-stroke. On slicks
For me the thrill is catching and passing people using riding skill, rather than just blasting past them down the straights. And lean angles & corner speed to make your nose bleed
Or a 916

[robbie.111]

BEN , you have said it all mate , ZX636R !!!!!!
Those bloody things are WOLFS With the "biggest gnashing teeth" you ever did see in sheeps clothing ....

I know this because my mate has got one and I have ridden it a few times. ....

I do all my riding and track days with my 30 year old son,and my mate Dan, (Yeah I`m no youngster anymore) 52 actually and lucky to still be here ,had a big heart attack last year (almost popped my clogs) .....

Well at the beginning of the year my boy had a 03 plate R1 the fuel injection one, he`s now got a ZX10R, its mental !.....

We all went out for a blast one sunday morning ,and as you do ,pulled up at a set of traffic lights ,well you know what happened when they turned green ?
Yeah we all let rip, I had a 99 Fireblade RRW at the time, as I was being dropped like a bad habit , my son was ringing the neck of his R1 trying to lose my mate dan on his 636, it was futile , the 636 was right there with him all the way .....
Well we stopped and me and my boy both said" ******* hell "that thing is amazing !.....
And just to see if it was a fluke, my boy and dan dragged it again and again , but my boy just could not shake off the 636........

So mate , save ya pennies and buy one for the track , you won`t look back , coz there will be nothing to look at !!!.......

Cheers
Rob

[robbie.111]

Meant to say , we did Cadwell this year, its a great track but really narrow in places !
We were a bit disappointed with the lack of facilities , ie no power for the tyre warmers and kettle etc, but the track made up for that !

Have you done the indy at (Brands) ?....

Its awesome ben, the drop as you go round paddock hill bend is something that everyone who rides a bike must do before they give up riding !!!

And coming out of clearways wringing the life out the engine ,cranked well over is something else !....
We have done it twice this year and will go back for another one before its time to put the bikes away for the winter,and hit the dirt on the DRZ .......

Rob

[Fireman on a Storm]

Meant to say , we did Cadwell this year, its a great track but really narrow in places !
We were a bit disappointed with the lack of facilities , ie no power for the tyre warmers and kettle etc, but the track made up for that !

Have you done the indy at (Brands) ?....

Its awesome ben, the drop as you go round paddock hill bend is something that everyone who rides a bike must do before they give up riding !!!

And coming out of clearways wringing the life out the engine ,cranked well over is something else !....
We have done it twice this year and will go back for another one before its time to put the bikes away for the winter,and hit the dirt on the DRZ .......

Rob

I did the indi at brands.Great fun!
Padock Hill!!!!! Wow!!!!! Couldn't believe how second hand my new rear tyre looked after and evening session!

[Stormin Ben]

I've never been inspired to try Brands, for 2 reasons really

1. The full circuit is ludicrously expensive

2. The indy circuit doesn't look to have much to it

The same reason why I've never done Mallory. Sure Gerrards is a superb corner but the rest of the track is nothing special and there's only a handful of other corners

Nah, give me Cadwell or Oulton any day of the week
Or the Nurburgring
Or the B4098 - Hurley road - B4116 triangle

[robbie.111]

BEN .......
Trust me , the indy circuit is bloody amazing and as good as cadwell !! , ok its a smaller crcuit , but nothing on the indy is easy !
After you have **** yourself going round paddock hill bend , and I was doing that with the knee well planted at 90 mph, you then feel like the world is trying to push you through the tarmac in the dip of paddock hill...the bike loads up BIG time ...
Then going up the hill to druids ,you say to yourself , ok where is it ?.arrrrr they it is ..

I could talk you round the whole indy circuit , and believe me its not easy !
Now snett is a walk in the park , Rockingham a little more technical , but if you took the mountain out of cadwell ,then maybe that would then be a so-so circuit .......apert from the goose neck , I didn`t think anything else was a problem ...
BUT , the indy keeps you thinking constantly ,with not a lot of room left for error !
Ben , try it, and if you can say to me it was easy !!, I`ll wash and polish your storm for a week, and also hail you as the new Rossi !!......

I know of no one who hasn`t been blown away by the indy circuit !


Rob

[Stormin Ben]

Fairy nuff mate, I'm prepared to be converted

Now all they've got to do is move it a couple of hundred miles further north and I'd make it my home circuit

[Stormin Ben]

, Rockingham a little more technical ,

As in turn right a lot - then turn left a lot - then go round a hairpin and repeat until you get bored (3 laps max!!)

but if you took the mountain out of cadwell ,then maybe that would then be a so-so circuit .......apert from the goose neck , I didn`t think anything else was a problem

Did you do the full circuit of the club circuit?
I'm guessing the club circuit coz the full circuit offers you

The mountain
Hall bends leading into the 'oh my god how do I stop while cresting the rise, leaning from right to left, oh my god how close is that tyre wall' old hairpin
Coppice -5th gear left hander up the hill ( I really love that corner)
and
Charlies 1&2 -blind crest in the middle followed by 'where's the effin track gone?' second apex

[robbie.111]

Hello ben ..

I have done the Indy circuit twice mate !
The GP circuit is one that I will try but thats about £250 for the day , its something that you do once or more if you have the dosh !......

You must try it mate !

Rob

[dkt1376]

i aggree with the brans indi curcuit, i went up there a few weeks ago on my vtr, paddock hill is like dropping of the edge of the world the first time you go round it, i had a freind of mine with me on a mv agusta, its the first time he had done a track day and he did end up in the gravel at paddock hill, luckily there was no damage.

im not a super fast rider but no one passed me all day in the inter group, and the only person who was close to me was a bloke on a sv1000.

brans was worth every penny(althouth it was a free bee) and i would do it again in a heart beat, and i live 250 miles from the track.

just out of intrest i managed a 1.03 lap time. not very fast but i was well chuffed.

[robin1000]

I raced my Storm for 2 seasons at varying tracks, including Brands Indy.
Favourite track: Oulton, before the chicane. Brands Indy: Apart from Paddock, pretty boring imo.

It's the best bike I've raced. It isn't the quickest twin out there, but mine handled really well, Parky front end and Penske rear, and the deep throb of a twin is the best sound on the track!

I ran Michelin Pilots, a brilliant DRY weather tyre, but very suspect when it gets damp. The front end can be modded in many ways, most already mentioned, and the rear DESPARATELY needs a replacement shock.

The gearing is crucial. Although it pulls in any gear, if you want to be first out of a corner you need to get it right.

The only problem I had with ground clearance was the belly pan, had to repair holes after every meeting! I was running with Harris rearsets.

I would DEFINITELY track a Storm. I love the look and the way they handle when sorted. Spares are pretty bountiful, especially on here, and the engine is bulletproof if you get the cct's done and change the oil after every meet. The only downside is the lack of protection for the engine if it goes down. NRC cases or carbon covers both sides and decent crash mushrooms!!

[Squiffythewombat]

lol i just posted on the other thread and found this, thatll teach me for working down the threads!

Anybody planing to do a winter day at brands any time soon? i cant wait to try it, i have the cash waiting to pay for it, just have to get the old girl back on the road!