newbie with some questions

just got a 99 s3, the front fork seals are blown, looking for advice on replacement parts and how doable it is. also what type oil should I use in it? oh and it sounds like a diesel at idle but once I blip the throttle is sounds fine??? it's my first triumph and I could use all the help you guys are willing to give.

Thanks
Grunt

[kuhlka]

Diesel motor sound at idle? Has your bike always sounded like that? If not I'd get the fuel mapping checked out. Is it underreving or something at idle? What exhaust do you have on it?

[crashmasterd]

When I got my first Hinckley Triumph (my trusty 96 Trident) I had no end of people tell me it sounded like a Freightliner Truck at idle. Other people said it sounded like a boat with twin Diesel engines idling in it's slip.

I think some of this has to do with the straight cut gears that run the engine counter balancers, and a lot of it has to do with it's 120 degree crankshaft.

Also, this is an inherently noisy engine for some reason. All of the Hinckley triples are. Unless the thing is pinging under load I wouldn't worry about it.

For oil use any quality synthetic. I use Mobile 1 15/50 Extended Performance. I've also had good luck with Castrol Syntech 20/50. Don't bother with the motorcycle specific versions of these oils-- $2.00 more per quart and chemically it's the same oil.

If you want to go with something like Silkolene or Bel-Rey go ahead. But remember you are paying a premium for what tests have shown to be basically the same performance (and sometimes worse!).

Once you go with a good quality oil your engine may quiet down considerably. Also, if it's been a long time since your last oil change your motor may get louder or even sound like it's pinging. Change your oil regularly! 3000 miles or so.

[ This message was edited by: crashmasterd on 2005-10-29 21:17 ]

thanks for the info, the s3 has 22000 mile on her and it's my first triumph so I am assuming the rattling noise is normal. anyone ever replace the fork seals themselves? wondering if I could do it my self?

are there any good parts places on line to order from, any catalogs, I have checked dennis kirk, jc whitney not much offered for the truimphs

Thanks Tony

[ This message was edited by: grunt11b40x on 2005-10-30 06:48 ]

[FrankP]

I would disagree with Crashmaster on the oil. Motorcycle Consumer News did significant testing on oils and found considerable differences between the oils designed for motorcycles and the oil for cars.

As I remember, they found the best motorcycle oils were made by Mobil and Amsoil. My dealer uses Amsoil so I started using it.

Cost - higher then normal Mobil 1, but I usually change only once a year - we haven't been able to ride long distances or as much as we'd like so every winter isn't 6000 miles between changes. It cost about $35 per change, including an Amsoil or Perform filter, which doesn't seem significant for the peace of mind it gives me or compared to the $10k the bike cost.

Of course I'm 67 and a retired Chemist, so my view may be biased.

[crashmasterd]

On 2005-10-30 06:54, FrankP wrote:
I would disagree with Crashmaster on the oil. Motorcycle Consumer News did significant testing on oils and found considerable differences between the oils designed for motorcycles and the oil for cars.

Perhaps this is the article you are remembering incorrectly?

Motorcycle Consumer News: Motorcycle Oils vs. Automotive Oils

If I may quote: "However, what we do know is that we can find no substantive evidence that using a high-quality, name-brand automotive oil in an average street motorcycle is in any way harmful or less effective in providing proper lubrication and protection than using the more expensive, motorcycle-specific oils."

And another quote: "It could appear from this data, then, that there is no validity to the constantly-used argument that motorcycle-specific oils provide superior lubrication to automotive oils when used in a motorcycle. If the viscosity drop is the only criterion, then there is certainly no reason to spend the extra money on oil specifically designed for motorcycles. There does, however, appear to be a legitimate argument for using synthetic and synthetic-blend oils over the petroleum based products."

There is some argument about additives in automotive specific oil being bad for the wet clutch found in most motorcycles. The chemical difference is in truth slight, and doesn't have anything to do with clutch performance or longevity. Check out the Sport Rider Oil Test

To quote: "Whether they perform better-despite the data we've gathered-is still a matter of opinion. Another manufacturer, on the other hand, appears to have selected the same additives in both of its offerings, which begs the question: Are they actually identical and simply relabeled?"

My Trident has over 40,000 miles on it and is drag raced regularly. It is still on it's factory clutch, which never slips, and has never had anything but Castrol Syntech Automotive oil in it. We recently did a compression test on it which showed less than 1/4 pound difference between all three of the cylinders. I can't say the automotive oil is the reason for these facts, but it certainly hasn't damaged or deteriorated the engine in any way.

Further interesting reading on Motor Oil.



[ This message was edited by: crashmasterd on 2005-10-30 08:55 ]

[miker]

You can do the fork seals yourself, but you will need to buy the best manual you can. Either the factory manual, or the Haynes will give you all the details you need. With fork oil, make sure you have a very accurate measuring device, and stick to the recommended volumes and weigthts.

As for the engine noise, they are rattly, but make sure you have a valve service done at the next interval. They should be checked and adjusted with shims every 12,000 miles. This is also do-able by the average mechanic, with care and focus, not if you're not completely confident you can do it from reading the manual. You will require a special tool, if you don't want to remove the cam shaft.

Buy the manual, it's the best investment in your bike you can make.

Mick

[FrankP]

"Perhaps this is the article you are remembering incorrectly?

Motorcycle Consumer News: Motorcycle Oils vs. Automotive Oils"

No, it was the two part article ""MCN Oil Investigation Update" published in January and February, 2003. Quoting from the section Are Bike and Car Oils Really Different MCN reports: "As you can see in the charts there are a lot of similarities. Mobil adds magnesium to the MX4T product that is not present in the Mobil 1 car oils. We can also see from the viscosity and heat aging data that the Mobil uses a different base stock between the the bike and car oils. At least in Mobil's case the claim that motorcycle oils is "different" can be substantiated, as it contains a heavier-duty additive package. However, their automotive oil still posts a higher TBN than their bike oil, while costing nearly half as much."

(TBN is total base #, a measure of the oil's ability to counteract crankcase acids)

There was also a few sentences about many of the automobile oils containing > 1000 ppm levels of phosphorus. This is a source of phosphoric acid, which one does not want in an engine.

MCN goes on to say in the Conclusions section. ""While motor oil is perhaps the most complicated of all the products we evaluate ... . We also want to present data that can help you decide which product to use in your bike, based on the way you ride."

I'm glad you get good results with automobile oil. To me, the small additional cost/year to use motorcycle-specific oil is a worth-while investment in peace-of-mind.

After rereading our posts I think the most important thing we both said is to change the oil regularly and often.

[crashmasterd]

On 2005-10-31 08:40, FrankP wrote:

After rereading our posts I think the most important thing we both said is to change the oil regularly and often.

Absolutely! I think you could probably get away with any good quality organic motor oil if you were prepared to change it every 2000 miles. Or even 3000 like I do with the synthetic.

Incidentally, I haven't had a subscription to MCN in a few years so I missed that article from 2003.