As the title suggests I’m in a bit of a quandary and need some advice from this of you with trackday experience.
As you may or may not know I have been rebuilding a VTR Firestorm for the last couple of months after it was chucked down the road (not by me)
Anyway my plan was to Fighter it but having been on here a couple of months now I’m wondering if i should change plans and turn it into a track bike and do a few trackdays.
I have an FZR400 trackbike which has laid unloved for a couple of years after I built it and found it was too slow for my substantial frame
So… My question is… Would my Storm make a half reasonable track tool bearing in mind I have an Ohlins shock and some trick forks for it?
Go for it Chunky! If you’re thinking of trackdaying this will be a seriously cheaper option than using your usual road bike, one crash on that could easily cost a fortune.
You’ll probably have more fun, relax more and not worry so much about binning it.
Stick the decent suspension on though and get it properly set up, this will make a big difference (look no further)
As I said to AfroR1 last week at Borough I haven’t done a trackday on my TL as I’ve had it from new, It’s a minter and if i was to bin it I would be suicidal…lol
Apart from that its blooming hard work to lug around…lol
I make you right, if my 'Storm has a few battle scars then I might be a bit more relaxed and enjoy it a bit more.
B, We will have to have a chat about sorting me susies out
I owned a VTR for about a year, but as an all round package I was a bit disappointed with it so sold it. It could be a great track bike but there are several things I would have had to have done to it to get it to that point. Instead of chucking money at it I thought it best just to get something more focused straight out the box like a modern 600 for little if any extra cash. The thing with the VTR you have to remember is it is getting long in the tooth, 10+ years old.
First the suspension was just wrong. Soft at the front, hard at the rear. I know on the VTR forum a lot of people were recommending fork rebuilds from a place that used to race them (I forget where) for about £200. Then a decent rear shock too, but you say you already have that sorted, which is a bonus.
The pegs were very low. Rearsets would be a must.
Then there were the standard cans. It didn’t take much to get the headers to touch down. I’d go for a set of high level cans. Cors this is just me, because I like to carry a bit of lean angle.
All this is going to cost squids, so you might as well get an R6 or similar, but if you want to be a bit different then go for it. If the bike is a bit battle scared you are not going to get a whole load or cash for it anyway. I sold mine when it was mint and only lost a few hundred quid.
Beautiful sounding machines though. Oh yeah, almost forgot, the engine would need to be set up properly on a dyno with a Dynojet kit. I rode one that had been tweaked and was really impressed by the way it pulled out the corners. Great bike if you want to go the whole hog and spend the time and money on them. But then that is why Honda brought out the SP1, its a track version. Not so good to live with in the real world but better suspension, engine tweaks etc. Firestorm = sport tourer/roadbike.
Most of my bits I can use on the track version ie. Ohlins Shock and Steering Damper, Wavy Disc, RC45 M/Cyl etc.
What I shall be getting shot of is a new pair of black renthal bars, a s/h pair of silver renthal bars. An LSL top yolk for a Firestorm, extended braided hoses (Y configuration), Pair of handlebar clamps.
Cheers Chunky, I’m gona start rebuilding me Fighter when I get back from Spain, but most of them bits I already have. Adam will prob be intrested in some cause he’s starting his next fighter project
I’m only quoting MCN and Parkers. you may be right.
VTR1000F Model History
1997: Honda VTR1000F Firestorm launched.
1999: Honda VTR1000F Firestorm gets new, silver wheels.
2001: An overhaul increased Honda VTR1000F Firestorm’s fuel capacity to 19 litres, raised the bars for a more upright riding position and installed a new HISS security system. There were also minor tweaks with both suspension and carb/ignition settings plus the dash was redesigned and new, smaller indicators installed. Black wheels.
2005: Honda VTR1000F Firestorm discontinued.
