Nice one, Roden, thanks.
Confirmation that the motor in my Speed Triple is one that allows access to the sprag is excellent news! Even though it means I won't have an excuse to fit that 6th gear.../sigh. Anyway, my wallet says that it's a good thing. My last MoT cost me a fortune only a month ago, requiring a new, second-hand, front wheel (multiple dents and dings from the monstrous pot-holes in the roads round here) and a new pair of front disks, amongst other things. Total bill was in the region of £700
I think I'll take it in to get the work done. I've found an excellent mechanic locally, who's worked in a Triumph dealership in the past for the best part of 7 years, so knows the bikes literally inside out. And his labour rates aren't too bad either.
From what I've been told so far about the 6th gear option, it's an additional higher ratio that'd function like an overdrive. I'm always conscious that when you're cruising at motorway speeds on the 5 ratio motor, the revs are up near the 6000 rpm mark, which seems a little unnecessary. As it doesn't look like I'll need to split the crankcase, the 6th gear isn't gonna be an option, so I might end up changing the ratios at the sprockets to give it "longer legs". I'm happy enough to sacrifice a bit of boost off the line for better fuel economy on the longer journeys, and less of a sense that the motor's being worked hard when cruising on the motorway. Of course, if I do change a sprocket, I'll report back here
Yeah, I appreciate that the race pipe is a nice bit of kit. My mate, the previous owner, spend a fair amount of money on it. I suppose a repack would help, but it would still mean swapping the system for the original one at MoT time. Again, I'll keep you all posted on what I do. Regarding re-jetting, I believe that it was a stipulation of the race series that the original carb set-up and airbox had to be kept, so I'm not sure if it'll be necessary. I know my mate had it running on the standard carb set-up with the race pipe for a good few months with no problems. But if I do swap the systems, I'll keep an eye on the plugs, see what colour they are. The head was swapped for a gas-flowed one a few years back, and I think the pipe is the only way to do the head justice, performance-wise.
Regarding photos, she ain't pretty. The UK weather is not kind to bikes (especially not the engine casings!). Also, it was originally an orange bike, but I had to replace the tank as it got a pin-hole leak from near the fuel tap, and could only get my hands on a black one, but it came with a front mudguard too, so it's black at the front, orange at the back!
Anyway, thanks again, and I'll let you all know how things go.
Jethro
