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Big Bore Kit.. initial thoughts..

14K views 57 replies 11 participants last post by  Bonnie14 
#1 ·
So my 2012 bird went in for the BB Kit 5 weeks ago. I was initially nervous due to the tech 'snagging' a ring during the install.. and after waiting for a new ring to arrive it took much longer then I expected.

Last week I was told the bike was done and they were just waiting for Triumph to send them a better map tune. Apparently the tune they used didn't quite feel right.

Well.. today I went to the dealer and took it for a ride. Before paying the balance I wanted to be sure everything was set.

Upon initial start up I noticed that the bike had a much deeper exhaust note. I let it warm up (it's cold out today) and then took it for a ride. I noticed that you need to give it a little more throttle upon letting out the clutch.. and I stalled it twice. I'm still not sure they used the optimal tune. But once I got the feel of the new clutch.. I gave it some throttle and that sucker really flies now. Way more then the 1600 did. Tho I do think the 1600 ran a little smoother. But it's in break-in period again and I have high hopes that it'll smooth out after some miles and a fresh oil change.

After break in.. I think I'm gonna do the air-box kit and PC5 with auto tune. That should really smooth out the bike.

I think this is gonna be a fun summer!!!




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#8 ·
Glad it worked out for you, Joey...enjoy the new oomph.
 
#9 ·
Ok. I got my bike home today and I was able to take it on a better test ride. I'm not too happy with the fueling/mapping. The bike has a bad hesitation off the line.. and you can't keep a steady throttle between around 1800-2300RPMs or it'll violently shutter and sometimes even stall. I called the dealer and spoke directly with the tech who did the install. He told me they tried several tunes that were sent over from Triumph and this one was the best option. He said if I wanna fix it.. I'll prob need to get a power commander and do a Dyno. I find that hard to believe.. as there are thousands of storms, LTs, Commanders, and BB Tbirds on the road and there's no way they run the way mine does and accept it.

Any advice?

I did call British Customs.. and they emailed me a custom tune that they did on a Storm with their Predator pipes.. but they said it should still work fine with my hog slayers. When I called my dealer back and offered this tune.. they told me it couldn't be loaded without a power commander. Anyone know if that's true? The tune they send is a "PVM" file.

Any suggestions?
 
#10 ·
I'm sure you'll get this issue straightened out eventually -- and hopefully painlessly and sooner rather than later (and I'm sorry I can't be of any tune help) -- but I have to say this is why I've been scared off the BB idea (well, that, and the $2K)...I fear I'd be right where you are now and I just don't at all have the patience to deal with it. It sounds like you do, and I'm sure that'll serve you well. I'd decided a while back to go with if-it-ain't- broke-don't-fix-it rule of thumb, and this just affirms that decision. I know many have had the BB upgrade go just fine, but I don't have that kind of luck when it comes to these types of things...sorry to hear some of my luck rubbed off on you. Hope they get you squared away quickly as that's got to be incredibly frustrating (and your shop sounds less than sympathetic by seemingly shifting the responsibility of a solution onto your shoulders...man, I'd be po'd)...keep us posted.
 
#11 ·
Joe,
Head over to the "other" forum - lots more tune-heads.

A) right, because there's never been another 1700 bird with an open exhaust - push for a better tune.

B) I've SEEN online Storm w/ TOR, Storm with Aftermarket Exhaust, etc maps after buying mine a couple years ago. I THINK links were provided at 1600 site. The internals parts are the same for 1700bb & Storm so it's not like it's a 1600 1/2 etc.

C) I have the TuneECU adapter somewhere at the house here if you decide to mess with it yourself.
 
#15 ·
Yeah I went Mac household too, but I have an old Lenovo I just upgraded as a test bed for Win 10 for work.

I just find it hard to swallow the whole, "custom / best we could do" BS. But hey, if you're doing a PoCo anyway, rock it. Way more flexible than going down to the dealer all the time. Does the PoCo show you Air/Fuel ratio? Important when tuning. For the guys who laptop-tuned their own Taurus SHOs, we had a guy who sold wideband O2 kits to feed back data realtime. Dunno what is available for bikes but assume there's kits...
 
#17 ·
Ok so I got some time today to troubleshoot. I'm pretty certain it's the MAP tubes. The boots on both are stretched too much to create a tight seal. Even with a dab of super glue.. they're still leaking. I could literally push on them while the engine is running.. and make it stutter and even stall.. and it even threw the check engine light by simply pushing on them while it was idling.

My dealer is picking it up tomorrow and I'm demanding brand new map tubes. And I told them I'm not taking the bike back til it's running good.


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#18 ·
Glad you found a culprit. After $3k, it damned well better run like a Storm... ;-)
 
#23 ·
Yeah I can't wait for the temps - and your full throttle review & end of summer follow up. Rode up to West Boylston to the Old Stone Church at Wachusett Reservoir this morning... 35 out, brr. Should have brought that heated gear I bought (*facepalm*).

We may do our Full Moon run on Tuesday night.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Awesome thx. Is the PC tune you're using the same as the one BC sends with the kit? Matt at BC sent me two PC tune. One is for the 1700 with Pred exhaust and CAT delete. The other is for Pred exhaust, CAT delete, and Airbox Kit.

I don't think your tune would work well with my bike since its probably a 1600 tune?!!!
 
#27 ·
i put in the BC tune they sent and it ran like crap. The $250 i spent on the dyno was worth it. Probably didn't need the auto tune at that point but I put it on anyway.

I did remove the back tire along with the fender. I have a lift table so it was not that bad for me.
 
#28 ·
i put in the BC tune they sent and it ran like crap. The $250 i spent on the dyno was worth it. Probably didn't need the auto tune at that point but I put it on anyway.



I did remove the back tire along with the fender. I have a lift table so it was not that bad for me.

When you did the auto tune.. did you weld the bung? Or did you use the bung adapters? If you used the adapters.. can you tell me which ones? And perhaps send me a link?


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#30 ·
Had to drill out the old one and welded the new one in. On the opposite side I put a bolt in to seal it.



Just a heads up drilled out real hard and you have to drill it. The new one is bigger then the one that is in now.

Thx. I think I'm gonna skip the welding part. I'm just getting the PC5 for now. If I'm unhappy with the tune that BC provided me.. then I'll revisit the AT300. But if prob try the screw-on adapter first.

Thx again.


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#31 ·
Joey, is all this futzing around being done just to get the BB kit to work as it should, or are you just following it up with more mods?
 
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