Triumphrat

03-05-2006

So, I'm at the range today with my girlfriend, & one of the instructors asks me what I ride. I tell him I'm on a Triumph 900, & he starts talking about riding his Beemer with the Triumph guys back in the day. I mention that I ride an "oil on the inside" Triumph, we both have a little laugh at the expense of our fellow bikers on older British mounts, chit chat a little more, then it's time to go...

I appear to have invoked the wrath of the gods of Brit bikes.

When I got outside, my 'dent had marked her territory with the oil return hose on the left side of the engine. It happened a couple months back as well. At that time, I tightened the banjo bolt to a hair beyond spec, so I'm a little scared to tighten it any further. Anybody got any ideas why this thing keeps leaking here & what i can do about it, aside from the aforementioned gods & not angering them? :???:

Thanks,
-Kit

Slinky · 03-06-2006

The bike is just showing a little sense of heritage

You should replace the copper washers on the banjo, rather than just trying to tighten the bolt down more. If you are realy desperate you can re-use the washers by annealing them.

This means heating them up to cherry red and then quenching them in cold water.

Tbirdnz · 03-06-2006

Slinky's right with the replacement washers, however don't knock the old brit iron for leakage. They were designed that way before computerised maintenance. It's a manual service indicator, I have an old AJS and when it stops dripping I get worried, it's time to fill her up.

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Love em and ride em !

dazco · 03-06-2006

Had the same problem on my speedmaster. I tightened it till i thought it would break and it still leaked. Then i took it off and sanded the washers on a flat surface and it hasn't leaked since. To be honest tho, it's been a long time and i can't remamber what i sanded.....washers of the banjo itself. I think it was just the washers tho, but my memory is shot. (gezzer thing ya know)

In any case, i didn't have to tighten it much at all after i sanded it which goes to show how important it is for them to be smooth.

renegade1alpha · 03-06-2006

I have a '00 T-Bird and I have not had any problems with oil leakage (knock on wood) but I have had a few drops of coolant leak onto my garage floor if I let it sit for awile, like I did this winter and for the year I was gone to Iraq. I tightened the bolt where the leak was coming from but Im afraid to tighten it much tighter. It does not do it as long as I am riding it regularly. Anyone else had this problem?

[ This message was edited by: renegade1alpha on 2006-03-06 17:06 ]

03-06-2006

Slinky: Thanks. I've managed to find some new crush washers at the local Honda dealer. They're aluminum, not copper, but I'm hoping they'll do. (And I won't malign her heritage anymore.)

TBNZ: LMAO! I now realize that this was just the "end of crush washer service life" indicator.

Dazco: Thanks, I'll make sure everything is smooth when I put the new washers on. (And it's not necessarily a geezer thing. I've had CRS all my life.) :wink:

R1A: I've never let the bike sit for more than a week, so I know nothing about storage-related leaks. I have had a minor coolant leak, but it started when it was around 15* F out & went away when the temps rose a bit.

Cheers,
-Kit