Triumphrat

gordonzor · 03-29-2009, 08:39 PM

My 2001 Trophy 1200 has become an absolute bear to start when cold. Starter turns the motor fine and the engine will not fire but it will sputter a bit. Giving any throttle or "choke" eliminates even the sputtering. Twice I have removed the carb bank and fully cleaned each carb, especially the enrichener down tubes. When I crank the cold engine I use very minimal choke and yet I do smell gasoline. When bike doesn't start I can often return in an hour and it will start with no change in the starting procedure. Gas is fresh, valves adjusted, battery is on a tender, petcock is new, and plugs are new. I have tried all petcock positions. If and when I can get this bike started it runs flawlessly and will start right up when warm. I suspect the battery may be tired but I am looking for other ideas before I replace it. Any thoughts would be immensely appreciated since I am planning a cross country tour in May. Thanks to all.

narrowminded · 03-30-2009, 09:04 AM

Need some history. How long have you had her? Has this newly developed?

gordonzor · 03-30-2009, 05:26 PM

Bike has 32,500 miles and I have owned it since 2003 (second Owner)

gordonzor · 03-30-2009, 05:27 PM

This problem developed about 3 months ago

narrowminded · 04-05-2009, 09:20 AM

Sounds like she's flooding. You probably know that! Do you smell gas before trying to start her? If the carbs are full and you give her any throttle or choke at cold she'll flood at once. Check your oil for ANY odor of gas. This probably isn't the problem, just what came to mind. If the petcock isn't fully disengaging gas will flow down thru the carbs. Not good.
Carry on!

gordonzor · 04-08-2009, 06:59 PM

Thanks for your comment NarrowMinded. I think you are right that the engine is getting flooded but it will not start without some choke and the bike is very sensitive to anything but the slightest amount of choke. To little and it won't start, too much and it immediately floods. This did not occur during the first 5 years I owned the bike. Wondering if it could be something electrical which is causing a weak spark? Appreciate your thoughts.

matt.speedtriple · 04-08-2009, 07:46 PM

I`d suggest that you pull each plug in turn when the engine is cold, rest the thread of the plug against cam cover bolt cap and then hit the starter and see what sort of spark your actually getting.

If they all check out ok then rig up a remote fuel feed so you don`t need to have the gas/fuel tank on and try starting it in the dark and see if you can see any sparking off the ht leads or coils as there shouldn`t be any.

Next step would be to replace the ignition trigger pickup as these can go out of resistance and then cause a weaker pulse than it should be putting out.

If you`ve owned the bike for as long as you say then i can`t see your bike all of a sudden changing it`s fueling setup all by itself.

Give these a try and if that doesn`t get it sorted out then will need to start on the next step of trouble shooting.

By the way, just because a the pickup coil might read ok on a resistance check then that doesn`t always mean it`ll be ok when under load.

Cheers, Matt

TxGr8WHite · 04-10-2009, 12:13 AM

similar problem on my 96 1200. new coils, pick-up sensor, and fuel petcock, and she now starts with very little choke when cold. I run it with the choke lever pulled back no more than 1/4" and after about a minute or 2, push the lever all the way forward and take off.
Gas mileage has increased and she runs real smooth now.
I think the main cause is the vacuum operated petcock fails and the gas just goes to the carbs as if you had it set to PRI.
Worth checking out....