Triumphrat

OldSwede · 04-03-2006

I had an unfortunate experience with my new Bonny the other day. I was out driving when a heavy shower came over me, just a mile from home. It was about 40 Âº F.

After about half a mile I felt that the engine was not working all right, it begun to run uneven and suddenly it stopped! I tried the starter but nothing happened, I went off and circled around the bike looking for something loose that I didnâ€™t found, the rain was pouring down heavily and I was reaching for my mobile when I decided to try another start. And it did start, two minutes after the stall!

I drove another half a mile and the same thing happened again, this time the engine sounded like it was going on one cylinder for a while and then stopped. I waited the two minutes, started and got home. I took the bike inside and checked wiring, high voltage leads and air box, but I did not find anything loose or any water inside anything. After a while it stopped raining and I took it for a 30 mile ride without any trouble.

Iâ€™m taking it to my dealer, of course, but he will probably not find anything if itâ€™s not raining so Iâ€™m hoping for some suggestions from this competent forum.

WS · 04-03-2006

The heavy rain water probably grounded out the spark plug/wire/coil against the cylinder head and or frame.

dazco · 04-03-2006

Maybe water got in the snorkel and into the mix. Other than that, if there is water in the electrics it should be ok after a few days drying. By the way, how are you liking the new ride compared to your former bike? As i recall you bought the bonnie because your last bike was too fast and you couldn't control your desire to run at high speeds. Are you happy with a slower machine or are you missing the power?

PAAS · 04-03-2006

The rain factor tends to suggest an electrical problem but perhaps the rain was just a coincidence. The symptoms sound more like fuel starvation. The fact that the bike started again after a few minutes rest and then cut out again reminds me of the problem I had when the black rubber vent line from underneath the petrol tank got trapped by the side stand and caused an air lock.

This line also has a one way valve in it that has proved troublesome to some others. The vent line is effectively split in two by the valve which is clipped to the front of the air box behind the right hand carb. Try disconnecting the upper half of the line (the part that connects to the tank) from the valve (a smallblack plastic cylinder) and see if the problem goes away.

Paul.

PS - hope you're enjoying the T100 despite the problem.

[ This message was edited by: PAAS on 2006-04-03 13:49 ]

Rexa · 04-03-2006

Hej ! OldSwede

Last summer my friend hat exatly same fault in his Thruxton, and service tried all possible , chancing coils, pick ups, Hi ten wires , plugs etc...Finally they foud stopping was caused by water collected in airbox , and from box to carburettors....

There is hole at bottom of box and from it quite a small hose to bikes underside meant for repelling water from airbox, in this case hose was blocked, it was like melted or glued at the end, guy opened it and had never after that any difficulties driving in rain, including 2 1/2 weeks trip to Ace Cafe England....

P.S Old Swede.. We had today 15 cm more snow...

Jag bor i norra Finland endast 130 km sÃ¶derut frÃ¥n haparanda, HÃ¤lsningar ! Rexa

[ This message was edited by: Rexa on 2006-04-03 13:50 ]

riccih46 · 04-03-2006

Rexa,

Your buddy might want to re-seal that small "hose" coming out of the bottom of the air box. It is there to collect oil that is blown into the air box from the oil breather - not to drain water from the air-box. I would look for where the water is entering the air-box and try to solve the problem there. That would be better than cutting the "hose" open and letting it blow oil on your rear tire which could result in all kinds of nasty things happening.

Ric

ChuckofTahoe · 04-03-2006

Sorry to hear about this unpleasant experience OldSwede.

Let me relate my own problems with riding in the rain. It is still possible your problems are electrically related even though our experiences differ.

Last week, or a week and a bit ago, I rode the Bonneville through a driving rain storm. I did not stall out but when I got home and turned the engine off, some peculiar things started to happen.

When I restarted the bike to move it to the garage, the starter came on the second I turned the ignition key and kept trying to start. Basically with the kill switch in the off position and without hitting the start button.

So I pulled the key out and left it. I also removed the ignition relay module and the flasher light modules figuring everything needed to dry out. The flashers were also not flashing. I should have removed the battery too at this point.

Two days later, I re-install the flasher and ingnition modules and the flashers work fine. And the ignition circuit is working properly and not actuating until the starter button is pressed and all switches turned on. So circuit wise, everything seems good.

But the battery was basically almost drained and the engine would not kick over.

I tested the battery and had two shops in town here test it and it would not take a charge. Basically the cells were permanently damaged.

I figure the battery was weakened with me keeping it in Reno in an unheated garage and running it intermittantly over the winter. Then I figure the rain storm created some type of short that was draining juice even while the ignition circuits were not turned on. So the battery went into prolonged drain mode.

So I bought two new batteries along with battery tenders and in the future will be taking the batteries out of the bike and with me to be placed on the tender when not in use during the winter. The bike is working perfectly now but I am definitely wary of riding in the wet and parking it at work exposed to wet.

What I want to do is to investigate some better methods of waterproofing the electrics. The rubber mountings for some of the relays are just plain cheesy and they are really very exposed. Obviously, water can get into the kill and the starter button switches as well.

[ This message was edited by: ChuckofTahoe on 2006-04-03 19:29 ]

MrGone · 04-03-2006

Almost the exact same thing happened to me a last fall. I managed to get my GF home ahead of a major storm system but got caught in it myself heading back, the bike ran oddly for a min. or 2 then died, I managed to start it up again and made it about half a block before it sputtered to a stop, 7 blocks from home (up hill btw :hammer: ) The next day I tried it again and still nothing except the headlight worked so I figured it wasn't electrical, I drained the float bowls (little allen screw near the bottle of the carbs near the nipple, hehe nipple) and about half of what came out was water, I fired her up again and she came right back to life, I've since switched to a UNI and haven't had any trouble since (the stock filter can let in a fair amount of water). Long story short, drain your bowls and you should be fine.

[ This message was edited by: MrGone on 2006-04-03 21:58 ]

OldSwede · 04-04-2006

Thanks guys for your contributions. The bike worked fine when the rain stopped, so it must have been water coming in somewhere. Iâ€™m not certain about this but I donâ€™t think it is the electrics. If I had water in the circuits the bike would not have worked after just two minutes!
Leaking airbox and water in to the carbs is what I have as a main theory.

Dazco, I will post a first report on my transition from high performance to classic soon.

And Rexa, sorry to hear that you donâ€™t have riding weather up there, Iâ€™m in the southernmost parts so the spring has come. But I suppose you have a snowmobile apart from your T100? And you always have the sauna to keep you warm. Ha det..!