Triumphrat

Fixins13 · 05-29-2008

I've got a 1999 Speed Triple that with the exception of the turn signals, is bone stock. The milage is a hair under 20K. It has just been tuned up at Riverside Triumph in Somerville, MA. It's got new oil, filter, and plugs. Once it's warmed up, when I blip the throttle, there's a lag until the revs kick up. If I do it enough times consecutively, I can stall the bike. I've run a bunch of Sea Foam through it and doesn't seem to have done the trick. I only bought it a few weeks ago and I have really no idea if it sat with a tank full of varnish or what. Any ideas? I am reasonably mechanical but I am by no means an expert with the bikes. Thanks, Adam

cave1 · 05-29-2008

Do you have service records? When was the last time valves were adjusted and throttle bodies synched? Some of the older S3s close up valve clearances pretty rapidly over the first couple of major services. I've seen recommendations of doing them at 9K intervals instead of 12K. If the bike is hard to start (takes 2 or 3 bouts with the starter button), I'd be even more inclined to suspect valve clearances. If you have no idea when valve clearances were checked, that would in any case be a good place to start. Hard to troubleshoot anything like you're describing without knowing the valve clearances are right.

Fixins13 · 05-29-2008

I have absolutely no service records other than the 6K interval service I just had performed. Valve clearance was not part of that. It actually can be a bit tough to start some times. So I gather this is further evidence of poor valve clearance? Are the valves costly to have serviced? Also the syncing of the throttle bodies, is that something I should have done as long as the valves are being checked? My other option is ride into the dealership and say "it's a pain the butt to start, and when it's warm, it hesitates when I get on the throttle, especially in small jolts," and hope their technicians know what they're doing? Thanks again, Adam.

cave1 · 05-30-2008

The intake valves often close up first, and one of the symptoms of that is hard starting. Throttle bodies usually only need to be synched after valves are adjusted, or they've been messed with.

The valves would typically be checked at 12K miles, but they hadn't been on my bike when I bought it at 18K miles. The PO admitted to skipping the 12K valve clearance check. ALL of the intake valves were too close; several had no clearance at all.

Were your bike mine, and I had no service history, I'd do baseline maintainance sooner rather than later: engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, fork oil, valve clearances, etc. Maintenance isn't cheap, but it's usually cheaper than repair. I'm kinda surprised your dealer/mechanic did a 6K service on a bike with 20K miles and an unknown history and didn't offer to check valve clearances. That shows more faith in the PO than I'd have.

Having a dealer or mechanic check valve clearances wouldn't be cheap. It is both time and labor intensive. I do my own, so all I could give you on price would be a WAG. I'd be shocked if checking the clearances came in under $300, and if many had to be adjusted, it would surely be considerably more. You could do it yourself, with a modest investment in tools, some time and patience, some basic wrenching skills, and a shop manual.

Other things could cause your hesitation. For instance, if the exhaust isn't stock and the bike's ECU wasn't remapped, you could get your symptoms. And the list goes on. But I'd still start with valves, b/c they need to be right, and known right, in any case.

Fixins13 · 05-30-2008

Wow, this suddenly got much, much worse! Riding into to work this morning and the bike was actually running great. No hesitation at all. Last night, I put in a fresh tank of 93 and more Sea Foam and rode home. Riding this morning, suddenly, the bike bogs down and stalls. Luckily, I was going really slow and pulled over to the curb. I looked down and for some reason, the temp gauge is off the scale towards hot (it had been normal a moment earlier), and the check engine light is lit. It won't even try to start. Sounds electrical to me but what do I know?

Fixins13 · 06-04-2008

So last Friday, my bike dropped me off a couple miles short of my intended destination. I had it towed to Riverside Triumph. They called me today.

Tom : Hey Adam, Just wanted to update you on the bike.
Me: Ok...
Tom: Well, the first thing we figured was the computer was fried so we put in another one from another bike that we knew worked.
Me: (even more dejected) Ok...
Tom: But the new computer didn't fix the problem which is good because it's an eighteen hundred dollar part.
Me: Sweet Jesus! If it wasn't the computer, what was it?
Tom: There's a sub-harness that has the ground for the power supply for the computer in it. Yours had a short.
Me: How much is a sub-harness with a new ground?
Tom: I had one sitting around so I threw it in. Don't worry about it. I'm going to have to charge you 2 hours labor and that's it. So the total is $160.
Me: Wow! Great! That's a lot better than 1800!
Tom: Sure its. Well, when it stops raining and you've got a minute, come get it.
Me: Thank you! Thank You! Thank you!

So the moral is, this Dealership has proven to me to be worth every penny. They could have very easily said "sorry dude, computer's fried and while we were at it, the computer sub-harness had a short so we replaced that too. That'll be 2 grand." But they didn't. So horay for them!

Gdsila · 06-04-2008

Nice to hear someone say a good thing about thier dealers. Too may people just whine about bad service and fail to give credit when they do.