Triumphrat

07-28-2004

appreciate any comments

After my 96 TBird sits in for more than 4 or 5 days, when I go to start it, it binds up (not sure how else to say it).
It almost seems to be stuck in gear. I hold in the clutch same thing. I move through the gears for a bit then it eventually frees up and starts. Battery is good and strong. :???:

Hinckley · 07-28-2004

I have seen instances where the fuel valve has failed, allowing fuel to run into the carbs and cylinders causing a hydro-lock when the starter button is pushed.

Do you smell gasoline? Remove the spark plugs and check for fuel. Check the oil to be sure the oil has not been contaminated by fuel seeping around the rings.

[ This message was edited by: Hinckley on 2004-07-28 19:29 ]

tbsrider2000 · 07-29-2004

I had the same problem with mine. On occaision, the starter would not turn over until I put the bike in gear and rolled it back and forth, turning the motor over. After that, the starter would work. It eventually got to the point that it would not start. Thankfully, this was in my garage!

After checking everything (battery, starter solenoid, wiring, etc.) I decided to pull the starter. The brushes in the starter were worn out. My closest Triumph dealer would not sell brushes, but they would sell the whole starter. I forget what the price was because it was that insane! After some research, I decided that a Kawasaki EX 500 has a similar starter.

I bought a brush plate at the local Kawasaki dealer. The plate was so very close, but would not fit. But the brushes on the plate were identical! So, I removed the brushes from both brush plates and added the Kawasaki brushes to my Triumph brush plate. The stator probably should have been turned, but I smoothed it out real good with emory cloth, cleaned and lubed everything real good and put it all back together. Have had no problems since...

This all happened in March... and I've been in Qatar since June, so the starter hasn't had much use since I put it back together, but no worries... it went together good.