Firestorm mods?

[ManDownUnder]

General question, what are the standard/well known mods done to Honda Firestorms?

And... what're really worth doing vs those that are just nice to have?

Cheers!
MDU

[98tls]

Suspenders front and back.

[vifferman]

There's bugger all you can do to the engine to release any significant ponies, so don't bother. (Although I've got a picture somewhere of one with a supercharger. However, the crankcases explode once you get over 125-130hp).:blank:
Braided lines are a good idea - the stupid kink over the front mudguard in the front brake lines means they're a bitch to bleed well. Braided lines may be a bit more wooden, but less squishy.
Manual camchain tensioners - Honda CCTs are shit.
Does it have aftermarket mufflers yet? No real ponies released, just a more fruity accompaniment to your rides. :niceone:
Re-upholstered seat - standard one is a little plank-like.
Fit a prettier bellypan.
Good quality tyres.
But, as 98tls said, the best mod is decent suspension. From memory, I think the front is undersprung and overdamped and the rear is the opposite. (But it might be the other way around).

[spookytooth]

my brother has a spunky blond chick on the pillion seat,really does improve the look of them

[Mort]

best mod I ever made was trading it in against a fireblade

[Boob Johnson]

best mod I ever made was trading it in against a fireblade
lol you beat me to it :clap:

Rode a near new one for the first time a few weeks ago............:oi-grr:



On the other hand if it is modded then it will stand out from the crowd at sale time for you MDU, that's always a good thing to do. I'm in the middle of pimpin my Kwaka out, partly for that reason.

[Fatjim]

Yeah, don;t bother much with the engine, but its a legal requirement to have aftermarket pipes ion it. It may need jetting, but I ran mine stock for 70k with no issue.

Front end is the bit that cries out the most for attention. Get it sprung and valved for your weight, and at the minimum get some sintered pads. As for the braded lines, the consensus is you lose feel, but they work better.

Spacers under the rear shock is another common mod, but I didn't notice much difference. I've got some spares if you want.

Decent tyres, steer clear of the macadams and the 020's.

[vifferman]

Yeah, don;t bother much with the engine, but its a legal requirement to have aftermarket pipes ion it. It may need jetting, but I ran mine stock for 70k with no issue.
Just a tweak of the idle mixture, or if it's running a bit lean after new pipes, shim the needles. It's very easy to do (I've got some spare washers the right size if you want'em).

There are other minor things you can do - check the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) setting, as that's often not right from the factory.
Are they still overgeared? I went down a tooth on the countershaft sprocket - that was the best single mod I made to mine. :yes:

[klyong82]

best mod I ever made was trading it in against a fireblade

Haha :clap: nice one

[scorry]

you can buy my blade if ya want mate

[Kornholio]

Spacers under the rear shock is another common mod, but I didn't notice much difference. I've got some spares if you want.



Couple of mates have put the spacers in and improved the bike a lot.....

[Maha]

Suspenders front and back.

He has that covered already, He helped out in wardrobe in 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' 20 years ago....:laugh:

[geoffc]

General question, what are the standard/well known mods done to Honda Firestorms?

And... what're really worth doing vs those that are just nice to have?

Cheers!
MDU

I fitted new sintered pads in the front. Good improvement. After market pipes are a must too. Double bubble screen lifts the air blast nicely & mirror extenders so you can see past your elbows. I also have a Scott-oiler to lengthen the chain life and heated hand grips as a concession to my passing years. Cheers

[jrandom]

The most cost-effective performance mod can be done thusly:

1. Open garage door.

2. Replace VTR with CBR1000RR.

3. Close garage door.

:msn-wink:

[AllanB]

Mufflers - no idea if they improve anything but the ones I've heard sound yummy:niceone:

[98tls]

The most cost-effective performance mod can be done thusly:

1. Open garage door.

2. Replace VTR with CBR1000RR.

3. Close garage door.

:msn-wink: Why a CBR? theres a heap of other options when buying a sewing machine.

[jrandom]

Why a CBR? theres a heap of other options when buying a sewing machine.

I'm trying to keep it Honda.

We're supposed to be sensitive about such things in this day and age.

[98tls]

I'm trying to keep it Honda.

We're supposed to be sensitive about such things in this day and age.
:doh:Fair call.

[vifferman]

I'm trying to keep it Honda.

We're supposed to be sensitive about such things in this day and age.


:doh:Fair call.
Far Cough.

This is what you want. (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3281&d=1094099418)
Gowannnnn... you know you do. :yes:

[Marknz]

Dyno-jet Kit
K&N Filter
Pipes for sound only
Double-Bubble screen
Braided Lines (someone said earlier 'the consensus is' something or other... what fuckin' consensus? Who asked everyone?)

That should be you well sorted till you realise the front suspenders are shite and will need lots of work to be sorted for your weight and riding style.

[ManDownUnder]

Dyno-jet Kit
K&N Filter
Pipes for sound only
Double-Bubble screen
Braided Lines (someone said earlier 'the consensus is' something or other... what fuckin' consensus? Who asked everyone?)

That should be you well sorted till you realise the front suspenders are shite and will need lots of work to be sorted for your weight and riding style.

Awesome - cheers. :niceone:

You saying I'm fat? (how'd you know?)

[vifferman]

You saying I'm fat? (how'd you know?)
In actual fat - oops, I mean fact - Honda had the remarkable achievement of making a bike with suspension that doesn't suit any rider, no matter what weight and/or riding style they have.
Prolly coz it was largely designed/developed in Mrka.

[ManDownUnder]

In actual fat - oops, I mean fact - Honda had the remarkable achievement of making a bike with suspension that doesn't suit any rider, no matter what weight and/or riding style they have.
Prolly coz it was largely designed/developed in Mrka.

Strange then - I though "excessive" would have been in the design breif.

Expected rider size = "Excessive"
Power needed = "Excessive"
Brakaing capacity = "Excessive"
Suspender resistance = "Excessive"

... etc...

[ManDownUnder]

Mufflers - no idea if they improve anything but the ones I've heard sound yummy:niceone:

Yup - got them fibrous looking ones and they sound horny. Great for others hearing me come from behind, just hope the nice man at the WoF place sees them the same way

[vifferman]

Strange then - I though "excessive" would have been in the design breif.
Honda don't do "excessive". (Except perhaps, when it comes to racing or racing related expenditure. Witness the NR750 and its oval-pistoned excessive/obsessive engineering in order to bend around the rules...)

Anyway, where is this alleged FahrtSturm of yours? You know that without pix it doesn't actually exist (except, perhaps, in your imagination...)

[jonbuoy]

You can do a Blade' front end conversion. Regardless of whatever anyone says about the VTR, Honda have been churning them out for 10 years with only minor changes. They must be in demand.

[vifferman]

Regardless of whatever anyone says about the VTR, Honda have been churning them out for 10 years with only minor changes. They must be in demand.
Hmmmm...
Not Eggs Zachary.
They were developed largely for the Mrkn market, as a replacement for the "Hawk" (a 650 v-twin) and to latch onto the popularity of v-twins engendered by the Ducati 900, 916, etc.
Apart from the engine itself, and the pannier radiators and "pivot-in-the-engine-cases" swingarm (both of which were also developed for and introduced on the VFR800 of the same year), there is nothing revolutionary about the VTR. In fact, apart from the aforementioned bits, it's largely a "partsbin special", and very much built to a budget (witness the crappy suspension). It also got gazumped by the TL1000S being released around the same time, a bike which outperformed, outsold and outhandled (despite its weird rear suspension) the VTR.
Since its inception in late 1997 (the '98 model), it's had only very minor updates, like a larger fuel tank, higher/differently angled bars (the originals were too low and the wrong shape), and a different dash. It has become in effect a "run-out special", and when sales drop to the point where it's not worth bothering with them, or it fails to meet emissions criteria, it will be gone. It's already missing from the "new bike" lists in several of its former markets.

If you want more performance, style or whatever for a Firestorm, you buy its brother - the RVT1000 / RC51.

[Morcs]

Theres a spanking TLS in colemans right now. everything has been done to it.

A shite load comfyer than the vtr asweel (heli bars rock!) and will run high 10's on the quarter mile :)