HONDA VTR1000 FIRESTORM
Our own Scott Redmond is not overly fond of Hondas, but he still ends up with them. Here’s his latest catch
Scott Redmond and his new ride
The way I look at the used bike market is that the pool of classic bikes that come to market for sale are eagerly awaited by punters who still trawl the ‘For sale’ posts looking for a bike to suit their needs. That includes me! Away from the high-end stuff, there’s the active market of the sub-prime condition classic, and this is where I lurk. Not every old bike gets treated to new parts, a pampered garage and life on the trickle charger. There are so many ’80s and ’90s bikes that slip through the net through no fault of their own. These are the very bikes that make good, honest transport for the likes of us folk that don’t own or want to drive a car. Whenever I start a search for a cheap seats motorcycle to use, I always revert back to models from Honda. If you’ve ever ridden regularly on an unloved old Kawasaki, Suzuki or Yamaha, you will understand where I’m coming from. If you haven’t, then basically the point that I’m labouring towards is that 1980s and 1990s Honda bikes have that edge in the build quality department. This doesn’t just mean that they last a bit longer, but it also helps when it comes to working on them. Try taking an exhaust off an old Suzuki and see how many studs shear off before your eyes. The problem with faired bikes is that bikes in daily use rarely have their clothes ripped off and
given a deep clean. Usually, tanks and panels only ever come off because they have to do so for repairs. Talking of fairings, I’m not a massive fan of fullyfaired bikes for daily use, to the point where I always chuck the lowers off. With all my idiosyncratic ways, finding a suitable daily bike can be a fruitless task. Find something too decent and I’m worrying about it going rusty, being knocked over or worse, stolen! Plump for something too scrappy and chances are it’ll be full of costly issues waiting to rear their ugly mugs the moment I bond with it. When a mate was toying with the idea of selling his Honda Firestorm I registered my interest. It would be over a month before he came back to me with a price for the silver VTR1000F. Eighty-five ten pound notes later and she was mine. I had only seen photos of the bike, so just went in blind. If I was a total turd I would just flip it on or break it! And now here I am, the proud owner of a 21-year-old Honda. I am proud of myself for not treading the familiar VFR and CBR that I’ve taken so many times before when I’ve needed a daily rider. Is a Firestorm a better option? I don’t really think it is, but with £150 change from a grand, I’m sure that the twin pot will prove to be a savvy choice. OK, so what’s it like? The wad of paperwork contains every old MOT, which is always a good sign. The V5 documents eight previous owners, and the HPI report shows that there’s been no insurance
payouts, so she’s an honest bike. One key fits every lock, and it’s daft stuff like this, which makes me smile. Turning my smile upside down are the exhaust silencers. I’m not a massive fan of non-standard end cans. I’m even less of a fan of the two alloy stumpy cans that grace the Storm. Already in my head I’m picturing it back on those big standard cans. Sadly, the seller never had them, but it always pays to ask. The rear grab rail looks like a pram handle. That lasted five minutes before I whipped it off. The right-hand side shows a few signs of a recent topple, the top fairing is broken and a shiny new front brake lever is in place. The edge of the right-hand-side engine cover is scratched, but beyond that it’s all ok. The indicators are a mix of some Suzuki winkers at the back and some ill-fitting pattern items up front, and they’ll do for the time being. I will hunt down some standard items, however. With a current MOT, which runs until October 2019, all I have to do is tax and insure it. A quick call to the wonderful people at Peter James sees the Firestorm added to my policy with nothing more than a score’s worth of admin charges. Purchasing a bike mid-month means if you’re hot to trot to tax it, you’ll have to cough up for the whole month. I know it’s only a few quid, but I know I won’t be using the bike for the next few weeks, so I hold off with the road tax for the moment. I do, though, remember to SORN it! Next month I can get in the saddle and start adding to the measly 19,879 genuine miles. Budget biking might not be glamorous, but it is rewarding.