95 speed triple wiring?

[B Nash]

hey guys,
I'm new to this forum and to triumphs, but I was hoping to find some help. I have a 95 triple that I picked up a couple of weeks ago and haven't had any problems until the last couple of days. Just from fiddling aroud I am guessing I have a short in my main wiring harness, but wanted some outside input on the situation.

problems are as follows:
1.backlights on guages go out and tachometer looses signal when bars are moved
2.when bars are full turned to the right the right turn signal lights up(not flashing just solid)
3.problems 1&2 repeat themselves when the main harness is wiggled back and forth as it passes under the gas tank from the front of the bike.
4.yesterday the bike reved to aroud 5k rpm when the bars were turned fully to the right. problem has not repeated itsself.

if anyone has any ideas as to the cause i would greatly appreciate some help.

[KitNYC]

Welcome. I grew up in RVA, though I've been gone a long time.

Revving to 5k when the bars are turned to full stop means somethings catching the throttle cable; there just isn't much else that could be. Check the cable routing, be sure there's nothing that can snag it. Probably completely unrelated to the rest.

As far as the electrical glitches go, it does indeed sound like a short in the main harness. Check right where the harness comes in contact with the steering head; that's a common place for them to fail. It might be worth replacing with an eBay part if the short is buried.

Cheers, HTH,
-Kit

[daveforty]

Routing of the throttle cable sounds like one problem, or possibly the cable adjuster on the twistgrip has been over adjusted such that there is no slack in the cable. There is a cable adjuster on the twistgrip. A bit of oil down the thing would be worthwhile but you will need to dismantle the twistgrip to get in to it.

The electrical problem sounds horribly familiar. In the wiring loom, approx level with the front edge of the petrol tank, is a crimped cable junction. Thick white wires from battery (fusebox) and alternator join on to wires that go to the ignition switch and other various places. That joint may have come apart, it isnt very well made. It is an uninsulated crimp that is quite short and only has the tips of the wires enclosed. If you feel / pull / squeeze the wiring bundle in that area you should be able to provoke the fault. That may be the cause of your instrument pod going off.

There are other uninsulated through crimp joints in the wiring bundle around that area, left and right indicators are two of them. The crimp joints ought to be separated by distance along the wiring loom.

I have made several attempts to fix this problem on my bike, its a p.i.t.a. Unfortunately you wll have to take it apart to find out, but that is my experience. On my bike the power would cut off and stop the engine when steering to the left.

The arrangement of wiring in the headlight shell is worth noting before you pull things apart, it needs to be just so in order to get it all back in.

[B Nash]

thanks for the info guys. looks like this weekends project is pulling the tank and cracking open the wiring harness. hopefully will be able to take lots of pictures and might make a diy thread.

if anyone has any wiring diagrams for this bike or scans of a service manual could u shoot me a link? all i got when i bought this thing was the bike, keys and a spare battery.

[KitNYC]

Haynes does a manual for these bikes, & there's a factory manual as well. This is the point where I usually step in to remind everyone that posting links to scans of copyrighted material is not allowed on the forum.

The ISBN on the Haynes manual is 1844256278; Amazon even has it in stock for once! (I know that won't do any good this weekend, but it's definitely worth having around.)

Cheers,
-Kit

[201050]

Originally Posted by daveforty

There is a cable adjuster on the twistgrip. A bit of oil down the thing would be worthwhile but you will need to dismantle the twistgrip to get in to it.

Originally Posted by KitNYC

The ISBN on the Haynes manual is 1844256278......it's definitely worth having around.

+1 to both these statements.

The Haynes manual is thorough, easy to understand, and has plenty of diagrams and photos. A must-have.

Also, mine has gotten to the point where she doesn't want to settle back down at stops. With the next two days forecasts of thunderstorms, it will be a good time for me to tend to the throttle cable myself.

[B Nash]

Thanks for the help guys, and sorry it took me so long to reply. There was a loose black/yellow wire in the main loom under the gas tank.

Kit, sorry for stepping out of bounds man. Didn;t know but should have. It won't happen again.

took lots of pictures and will post some later

[B Nash]

another question while im here

my bike came with a steering damper on it but it was too short. if the damper was adjusted so the bars could lock on the left then I lost about 20-30% of my steering to the right. how do i measure the one i have to find the one i need?

I'm trying to get the bike ready for a trip to Deal's Gap the weekend of may 8th. I think this is going to be the last bit i need.

[MotT3]

I fitted one here...http://www.mottleybiker.com/page21.htm

I also had to use a few nylon washers as well to make it secure like so...



I would think the measurement relates to the amount of travel available.

Cheers
Mot

[KitNYC]

Originally Posted by B Nash

<...>
Kit, sorry for stepping out of bounds man. Didn;t know but should have. It won't happen again.<...>

No harm, no foul. Don't sweat it, & glad to hear you got her running right.

As far as the steering damper, take it off if it's compromising your steering! Dampers are cool & all that, but these bikes are not really prone to tank slappers so don't really need 'em. I don't know how you would go about measuring it; it might depend on who makes it or maybe someone who knows will step in...

Cheers,
-Kit