Poppin Rocket or Spring Fever

[Huntsville rocket]

Spring fever, an illness when your 07 R3 Classic T. .. with only 3K miles is popping and backfiring like a one person war. Im trying to stay up beat but it's hard when at 2600 miles the output bearing went south.. in the shop for 5-6 weeks. Figured it's just one of those things to deal with then it's rainbows and bugs in my teeth forever. Not so! While the bike was waiting for its bearing repair I dropped the money for the Jardines full system. The shop did the re map...runs good, sounds loud, having fun, until today, out of the blue at idle speed and running without accelaration I'm getting some pretty violent back fire. No, not the normal blub blubbbler (which is a little to much at times) but the big bang pop...duck for cover kind of stuff. I attempted the 30 minute-12 minute tune thingy. It seemed to help alittle but Bang! the cannon fired again.

Does Triumph actually publish the step by step 12 min. tune procedure????
I may have missed some little aspect of the self help cure. But then is anything ever that easy that letting the bike run for a while will bring about a fix.

For sure I'll be on the phone early tomorrow to Mr. R3 Doctor. My fever is about 103 degrees. Perhaps my user name will be changed from Huntsville Rocket to Loud Fart.

[dougl]

Originally Posted by Huntsville rocket

Spring fever, an illness when your 07 R3 Classic T. .. with only 3K miles is popping and backfiring like a one person war. Im trying to stay up beat but it's hard when at 2600 miles the output bearing went south.. in the shop for 5-6 weeks. Figured it's just one of those things to deal with then it's rainbows and bugs in my teeth forever. Not so! While the bike was waiting for its bearing repair I dropped the money for the Jardines full system. The shop did the re map...runs good, sounds loud, having fun, until today, out of the blue at idle speed and running without accelaration I'm getting some pretty violent back fire. No, not the normal blub blubbbler (which is a little to much at times) but the big bang pop...duck for cover kind of stuff. I attempted the 30 minute-12 minute tune thingy. It seemed to help alittle but Bang! the cannon fired again.

Does Triumph actually publish the step by step 12 min. tune procedure????
I may have missed some little aspect of the self help cure. But then is anything ever that easy that letting the bike run for a while will bring about a fix.

For sure I'll be on the phone early tomorrow to Mr. R3 Doctor. My fever is about 103 degrees. Perhaps my user name will be changed from Huntsville Rocket to Loud Fart.

There is no stock Triumph tune rich enough to prevent backfiring in the pipes with a freer-flowing exhaust like the Jardines. The 12-minute tune won't do it. You have 2 alternatives: 1) get a Dynojet PCIII installed and have it custom mapped; 2) get the Tuneboy software and cable, put triple K&N or Unifilters onto the throttle bodies and use the custom Tuneboy tune for this configuration. You should be concerned about the bike running too lean. You can have it dynoed for about <$50 to check the air/fuel ratio. It should be about 13. If it's higher than 14 at high (>3000) rpms, do 1) or 2) above.

[TallRocket]

Man do I hate to hear about an output bearing problem on an 07. My expectation of any company is they learn from prior models and they fix the problem. With all that they did change on the 07, I am really disappointed in Triumph.

My hunch - I am fairly certain from reading other posts - that Jardines also require installing a power commander Tuneboy ( I think) in your post.

For the 05 model, the 12 minute tune was extended to 20 minutes to reset the memory. Basically, start the bike and let idle for 20 minutes without touching throttle. The 05 had several tunes created to fix a loss of idle problem.

Best of luck with your new bike.

[Huntsville rocket]

Thank you both for the information.. I'm at a loss when it comes to a combustion engine, especially when it needs computers to run. I've been riding for 41years. Started out on a Honda sport 65, when old enough to be foolish a 1970 Honda 750, next a 1957 HD Pan Head, raked out long/chopped and customized (sold it, dummy), next a Sportster, then HD Super Glide, Honda CBX (6 little pistons, ran smooth) on to a Aspencade, and now the R3. I looked, read, looked and prayed before purchasing the Rocket, figured it would by my last one, looks like I didn't pray long enough

I quized my shop about the whole issue of Tune Boys and such and was assured twice it wouldn't be needed, they would remap after the pipe and the K&N airfilter and life would be great.

I wonder if my backfire, and it's not deaccelaration popping...its the real backfire, is not something more than just the pipes. This is new, even at idle it backfires, I can also hear it pushing air back through the area around the fuel injector/throttle area, like a backfire that imploded.

Thanks again for your imput, I think my fever is going down, but still an ol fart.

[dougl]

Originally Posted by Huntsville rocket

I quized my shop about the whole issue of Tune Boys and such and was assured twice it wouldn't be needed, they would remap after the pipe and the K&N airfilter and life would be great.

The Triumph dealer can only install Triumph tunes for various Triumph exhaust configurations. None of the stock tunes were made for an exhaust as free flowing as the Jardines. The closest is the TOR's with cat bypass and this is probably too lean - the only way to tell for sure is to have it dyno tested for power and air/fuel.

I wonder if my backfire, and it's not deaccelaration popping...its the real backfire, is not something more than just the pipes. This is new, even at idle it backfires, I can also hear it pushing air back through the area around the fuel injector/throttle area, like a backfire that imploded.

Doesn't sound good. You can get backfiring through the throttle bodies. Did you have this problem before installing the Jardines? If not, it's the exhaust. Are there any leaks?

[TallRocket]

The shop didn't let you leave their shop with a badly misfiring Rocket. So, it might also be an electrical issue something worked lose because of the extra noise. (HA)

However, when you search on this site for PCIII or Tuneboy or Jardines - and find the same symptoms going back into mid 2005. The happy ending almost always was getting this additional hardware and the right tune to make the bike happy. Just speculation, a Triumph shop will likely always want a piece of selling you and installing for you after market pipes. Because of warranty concerns they will not install the PCII or Tuneboy. And it appears they will install the pipes and never tell you about the need for additional equipment. I would ask the dealer if installing the Tuneboy will void your Triumph warranty. Assuming it does and assuming they knew that the Jardines would not function without a Tuneboy, I would return the Jardines and step back to the TORs - that is if you value the rest of your Triumph warranty. Lot of riders have this exact same setup - Jardines and Tuneboy. They will correct my assumptions about the warranty.

[dougl]

Originally Posted by TallRocket

The shop didn't let you leave their shop with a badly misfiring Rocket. So, it might also be an electrical issue something worked lose because of the extra noise. (HA)

However, when you search on this site for PCIII or Tuneboy or Jardines - and find the same symptoms going back into mid 2005. The happy ending almost always was getting this additional hardware and the right tune to make the bike happy. Just speculation, a Triumph shop will likely always want a piece of selling you and installing for you after market pipes. Because of warranty concerns they will not install the PCII or Tuneboy. And it appears they will install the pipes and never tell you about the need for additional equipment. I would ask the dealer if installing the Tuneboy will void your Triumph warranty. Assuming it does and assuming they knew that the Jardines would not function without a Tuneboy, I would return the Jardines and step back to the TORs - that is if you value the rest of your Triumph warranty. Lot of riders have this exact same setup - Jardines and Tuneboy. They will correct my assumptions about the warranty.

My Triumph dealer has installed Jardines on several Rockets. They tried using the PCIII when it came out for the Rocket but the O2 sensor was defective. I believe they were running the Triumph performance exhaust tune and said it worked OK. They have a dynojet dyno so I would bet they weren't wrecking anyone's bike. Dynojet replaced the O2 sensor after my dealer bitched for a year. They have been putting PCIII's into other models for years and probably now Rockets - I doubt any warranties are being voided, at least as far as my dealer is concerned. My dealer won't mess with Tuneboy. I can't see how downloading Tuneboy tunes would void anyone's warranty. How would anyone know?

[Huntsville rocket]

Thanks again for sharing your experiences. I called the shop yesterday, the lead machanic was taking a day off, but due back today. It would be wonderful if we find some wire that lost it contact thats creating all the trouble. After the output bearing repair, and the new Jardine's with K & N air filter.. the bike ran well for about 400 miles. I had rode the bike on Moday about 15 min. stopping for a new pair of gloves. When I cranked up to leave the problem was born, like turning on a light switch.

If we can get past this glitch all will be forgiven and the Honeymoon will continue.

[dougl]

Originally Posted by Huntsville rocket

Thanks again for sharing your experiences. I called the shop yesterday, the lead machanic was taking a day off, but due back today. It would be wonderful if we find some wire that lost it contact thats creating all the trouble. After the output bearing repair, and the new Jardine's with K & N air filter.. the bike ran well for about 400 miles. I had rode the bike on Moday about 15 min. stopping for a new pair of gloves. When I cranked up to leave the problem was born, like turning on a light switch.

If we can get past this glitch all will be forgiven and the Honeymoon will continue.

Did they install the O2 sensor in the new exhaust? No leaks? I assume the K&N is just the replacement for the stock under tank filter. This shouldn't make any difference.

[Huntsville rocket]

Further: the Jardines do have the port for the o2 sensor..and it's in place...as for leaks I would assume not. The dealer I purchased from, although a 2 hour drive one-way, has a sizeable dealership, lots of inventory mostly, Triumph, BMW, and another British brand, primarily street bikes. Personel in parts and the shop seemed to be totally familar and comfortable with the Jardines. Come to think of it, with the expection of the Triumph TOR and cat bypass, Jardine is the only other brand that is offered with any confidence. I'll know more come Saturday. The current problem not withstanding, I have come to enjoy the tone of the Jardines, their almost like a musical insturment, you can make sweet music or choose to wake the dead.