Knocking and smoking when cold

[sonnyboy11]

Hi all. Not posted here much so go easy on me (OR NOT! ).

I had a few early problems with my 07 Speed Triple. Basically I had to have the head gasket and cam seals replaced at only 1200 miles.

I have the bike back now. It's not leaking anymore, but it is doing a couple of things that concern me.

On the first few days I had it, I would start it up (which went ok), let it idle to about 3 ticks on the thermostat, then when I went to start off it would almost die. Like the choke was still on.

It has stopped doing that completely. But now it has started smoking quite a bit out of both pipes when warming up. I smelled the smoke, which is white-ish, and I thought maybe it might just be condensation since we have had the fog rolling in most nights. But after what I have been through I am not so sure.

The other thing that concerns me is on start up the right side of the engine knocks internally. The knock always disappears after about 15-20 seconds and it does not do it when running. It usually only does the knocking when I first start it up in the morning (I ride to work every day about 30 miles).

It is completely cold and I just went and checked it now and it did not do either of the above things. Also, it runs strong and makes no noises or smoking while riding. So the issues only seem to manifest themselves on the morning start up.

Thoughts or suggestions? I am using the 'search' and reading as much as I can, btw. Thanks.

[PhilM]

I would pressure test the cooling system. You may have an internal coolant leak into a cylinder.
Does the exhaust smell like coolant?

[sonnyboy11]

Originally Posted by PhilM

I would pressure test the cooling system. You may have an internal coolant leak into a cylinder.
Does the exhaust smell like coolant?

I'll have to check that. Do you have a good nose test for what that would smell like?

[Tbirdnz]

I would take it back to the dealer, doesn't sound right atall, for 1200 miles on your bike it's still new. Get them to fix it correctly.


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Ride on !

[Stampy]

Mines always had a Tick on start up, Not so much a knock but an audible tic tic tic tic. then it stops after about 10 sec, Valve train I suspect, Quite noisy engines anyway. Is yours a definite knock or more a valve train tic, Cause if it were mine and it had a knock it would be straight back to the dealers to be checked and documented.

[sonnyboy11]

Originally Posted by Tbirdnz

I would take it back to the dealer, doesn't sound right atall, for 1200 miles on your bike it's still new. Get them to fix it correctly.


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Ride on !

Problem is, I don't have a whole lot of faith in them to do the job correctly. They've already had the bike for two weeks and I just got it back. They're not bad guys, but they just don't know much about Triumphs. Unfortunately it seems the people who specialize in working on Triumphs don't do warranty work. Funny how that works, huh?

I am going to take it to British Customs tomorrow for an oil change. The current oil only has about 1200 miles on it so it probably doesn't need to be changed- but that's not the point. The point is that I will be able to ask the mechanic there about some of these issues and get his opinion. Maybe even get him to take a look for me while he is working on the bike, or at least listen to it and see if he knows what that knocking might be (provided it will do it when its with him). I guarantee that even if I took it to the dealer, and it knocked, they would still have no clue what it was and whatever they fixed would be guess-work.

[Major Kong]

Anyone who sells the Hinkley Triumph should, by business agreement with them, provide competent service. Maybe see if you can get it to a different dealer. I would not let someone do work (let alone pay for work) from someone who is not a dealer, with this, a warantee issue.

If your start-up smoke smells sweet or there is a wet residue in the pipes that smells sweet, then you have a coolant leak.

If you can't get satisfaction with dealers, take it to Triumph of North America. There are a lot of makes to choose from. They know this and want your business. They should make this right.

Kong

[sonnyboy11]

Originally Posted by Major Kong

Anyone who sells the Hinkley Triumph should, by business agreement with them, provide competent service. Maybe see if you can get it to a different dealer. I would not let someone do work (let alone pay for work) from someone who is not a dealer, with this, a warantee issue.

If your start-up smoke smells sweet or there is a wet residue in the pipes that smells sweet, then you have a coolant leak.

If you can't get satisfaction with dealers, take it to Triumph of North America. There are a lot of makes to choose from. They know this and want your business. They should make this right.

Kong

Yes, there is wet residue on the ends of the cans and it sort of smells sweet. a coolant leak? How is it getting into the exhaust? Can I ride it ok for another day or two or is this really bad news?

Just so you know, I have talked to Triumph of NA (Peter). They are willing to make sure the dealer gets the part for warranty within two days, but that's about it. This was the case with my head gasket, but I still had to wait over a week for the job to get done.

I tried calling another dealer (Simi Valley Triumph- a guy named John) and I explained the situation to them. They flat refused to work on the bike and told me to keep it away from them. I told Peter at Triumph about this and he told me there was nothing they could do about it.

Honestly, it's easily the worst experience I have ever had with a motorcycle and I have been riding for over 30 years.

[PhilM]

I'd take it back to the dealer who did the original work. If it's a coolant leak, they screwed up.
If they don't fix it by the third try, I believe the lemon law applies.
Keep all documentation for future reference including phone call log.

[sonnyboy11]

Originally Posted by PhilM

I'd take it back to the dealer who did the original work. If it's a coolant leak, they screwed up.
If they don't fix it by the third try, I believe the lemon law applies.
Keep all documentation for future reference including phone call log.

Thanks all.

Yea, I took it back to the dealer this morning. This actually is the fourth attempt which is what the Lemon Law here in CA calls for as a 'reasonable' amount of times to fix an issue, or issues that developed from the original issue.

The dealer has been cool, and they genuinely want the bike to be right and for me to stay away. They have done a good job at updating the receipt of whatever work they are doing so it's very easy to trace. It's just too bad they don't know more about Triumphs. I really do think it's related to the work they did on the head. And I think they know it too. So, just gonna have to leave it there until fixed (or 'think' they've fixed it). My guess is they need to redo the head-gasket and check the entire coolant system for leaks.

After that, if there are any more issues, I am going to take it to one of the independent shops around here and pay them to just diagnose the problem and document it. That will provide a second, independent opinion which should further support for my case that Triumph needs to give me a new bike- or my money back (both terms under the law).