Triumphrat

Chrisjones3

Folks

I have a 2003 T-Bird, US spec with 290 miles (yes 290). I have fixed the earthing problem regarding the temp light but I have a couple pf questions

1) The bike starts ok but is hesitant on the pick up and pops and farts on the overrun. (Likely to be the US spec lean carbs??)

2) Today I finished my 3rd full tank and from full to reserve manage a consistent 93 miles, so at 2.8 Imperial gallons (4.51 litres) that puts me at about 33 MPG (Imp.) and about 27 MPG US? Is this cos the bike is still being run in? Haven't been above 5000rpm yet until 300 miles although most of my time os running around town.

3) Lastly I am in Dubai and it is bloody hot here. (up to 120°f) Could that be anything to do with it? Bike is still under triumph warranty however the nearest dealer is in Kuwait 1000 miles away.

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers
Chris

ecrabbit96

Your issues are in the carbs, I'm 99.9% positive. The bike has sat for 4 yrs. with only 290 miles which means the fuel has dried in the carbs and the pilots are clogged. You need to pull the carb bank, drop the bowls off the bottoms and clean any cr@p out of that area. If you take the caps off the tops you can lift the needle jets out, be careful with the diaphrams. You can now look right through the main jets and see if there is any cr@p in there.
The pilots may have plugs over them which I removed by drilling a very small hole through them and inserting a self tapping screw, once the screw has a good bite on the plug you can grab it with pliars and pull it straight out. Don't drill deep, just until the drill pops through, any further and you will start to drill the pilot screw. Now look at your screws and count the turns (in) to the point when the screws stop (NO FURTHER) (not hard)or you may damage the tip and the seat. This is so when you put them back you can turn them out the same number of turns as a good start point. Now spin them all the way out which will allow you to remove the pilot jet, inspect and clean these. Use care not to change the diameters of the holes, you want to clean them not ream them out. I use pins, paperclips and the like just to push the crud out, also carb cleaner and a tooth brush, just go easy, get them clean. I put all bits back in the same ports they came from I don't mix them up. Check and clean the other vains in the carbs by shooting carb cleaner through them, watch your eyes it can jet out of odd places and get you, (not good). Once everything is clean, put everything back together turn your pilot screws back in to the bottom and back them out the number of turns you counted, should be around 2 turns + - 1/4, but that is a guess. You can't be sure the prior owner didn't mess with them unless the plugs were still in. From here it should be much better and fine tuneable. Good luck, take your time, and use care not to damage the bits. The carbs will come out if you take off the side covers, remove the drop box (furthest airbox back), which will allow you to set the main airbox back enough to slide the carbs out the right side of the bike.

Chrisjones3

It was dry stored in the Triumph Dealer until Nov 2006 when it was sold to me with 2 year warranty and zero miles so it has only had fuel in it since lasat Novemeber and the 290 miles I have done over that period. It behaved this way from the first day it was fuelled.

I have got to find a dealer to give it its 500 mile service so I guess I can have them look at it then. Apparently they used to have the DUbai dealership for triumph but fell out over warranty claims but at least they should be familiar with the triple.

CHeers

Chris

ecrabbit96

Even dry stored you could have issues with the carbs. The bike has had fuel in it prior to sale, the factory would have run then drained the bike. The carbs will condensate sitting in storage etc... Definitely have it looked at under warranty if you can, if not, a cleanning is what they need. The electrolisis from dissimilar metals alone will junk up the tiny ports in the pilots. Also check your airbox for acorns, as we've seen, the mice love to use a stored bike for a condo. My bike on a good day will get 50mpg.(us) 45 if I'm in a mood and twisting it hard, 150 miles before reserve and I'm jetted with TORS. Poor gas milage indicates a rich condition, the popping would say lean, unless your getting a rich backfire which would make more sense. Possible one or more of the float needles is sticking allowing your fuel level to run high. When the bike is cold it would tolorate the rich condition, but once its hot it would run poorly. This would require the same operation as I stated but overlooked mentioning the float needle check.

ecrabbit96

This is from SCREAMINGEARTHS post:


Do you think this might be the problem?
I have been asking this board for help with diagnosing my missing/hesitation problem with my 1999 Legend TT.

I think I might have found the cause - what do you think?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1197/...2b4ccba0_b.jpg

Can the filter be purchased separately or do I need the whole box?

I suppose I should clean the carbs?

Jake

jimmyj900

The first tank of gas in my Adventurer got me about 32 miles/US gallon so that's not terribly surprising on the first couple of fuelings.

These bikes are noted for an extremely long break-in period -- they don't feel 'loose' for several thousand miles! A lot of folks say they just don't 'feel right' for the first 10,000 or so.

Also, the high temps will tend to cause the fuel in the carbs to go stale pretty quickly -- the volatile components evaporate out -- so when you shut down the bike, either turn off the fuel tap and idle it until it stalls or drain the carburetor bowls to prevent jet fouling. Keeping the fuel tank topped off will minimize evaporation since that minimizes the surface area with respect to volume.

Dirty pilot jets are a distinct possibility for the symptom of hesitant pick-up. If the bike is misfiring on small throttle settings (1/8 throttle or less) regardless of rpm then the pilot jets are suspect. You should be able to run smoothly to redline with a tiny throttle setting in first gear and if you get misfiring over about 3500 rpm then it's probably the pilot jets.

Likewise, critters nesting in the air boxes can also cause rough running but that's most obvious at large throttle settings where the bike will buck and misfire from excessive richness if the air filter is clogged.

High temperatures tend to make a bike run rich due to the thinner air (like high altitude) so you should be good with the stock carburetor jets. You still may want to open the mixture screws to about 2 turns, but you'll have to try it to see if it works for you.

There's a photo in my album 'Carbs & Fuel System' with a link below if you need the location of those parts.


The ignition system is another possibilty. If all the misfiring is below about 3000-3500 rpm then it may indicate either weak ignition coils or a weak battery.

Be sure to check that the ignition wires are fully plugged in and that the spark plugs are tight. Loose wires or plugs will also cause low mileage and misfiring.

Good luck!

Jim

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http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/k...0Head%20Stuff/