Triumphrat

Slinky · 11-15-2009, 02:48 PM

Anyone else had a problem with loose instruments? My tacho was very loose in it's bracket, the speedo was ok.

I took the cup off to investigate, and 4 loose washers fell out. I can only assume that they were fitted loose on the screw posts (must have been done by a contortionist).

I put the cup back on without the washers, and it snugged up fine.

Forchetto · 11-15-2009, 02:59 PM

LOL...the Triumph surprise washers.

There's more fitted between the headlight bracket and the headlight itself. No problem refitting if you have three hands. Cleverly, they've made these nice and big and heavy so they drop on to your front fender and dent it. They then roll off somewhere under some inaccessible place.

I've stuck mine on to the headlight brackets with double sided tape.

Your speedo could also be loose. It won't be so obvious there because of the supporting role of the very stiff speedo cable.

Slinky · 11-15-2009, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forchetto

LOL...the Triumph surprise washers.
they've made these nice and big and heavy so they drop on to your front fender and dent it. They then roll off somewhere under some inaccessible place.

Yup, I found them! Only after they hit the deck though. They are pretty light considering the size, they must be aluminium.

Wooly · 11-16-2009, 01:41 AM

I think you will find that the tacho needs a loose mounting in order to prevent engine vibes upsetting the tacho mechanism which can cause the rev reading to become erratic.
Like many others, I had a tacho needle that would wander at around the 5000 rpm mark and I found that it was sensitive to how firmly (or loosely) the plastic cup the tacho is mounted in was attached.

The extra washers are there to provide a bit of clearance in the mount so that the unit is not firmly clamped to the fascia holding both the tacho and the speedo.

Incidentally, my wandering tacho needle was cured with a replacement tacho unit under warranty.

EDIT
PS - put a blob of grease on the washers when assembling the tacho cup to hold them in there while you fit it togther and do the cap nuts up quite firmly.

Slinky · 11-16-2009, 03:59 AM

I can understand that theory, but my tacho was way loose, more than just a little clearance. The use of washers to cause something to not fit as it was clearly intended, is nothing more than a bodge at the factory.

Wooly · 11-16-2009, 06:04 AM

Just to clear, the extra washers fitted are on the cup mounting posts and are fitted inside of the plastic tacho housing which is in turn attached by domed acorn nuts.
If you have a workshop manual you will see that there are clearly two washers per mounting post fitted and these are intended to hold the plastic bit away from the tacho so that it is not restrained at all.
If there are any other washers floating around then I don't know what they could be.

Slinky · 11-16-2009, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wooly

that there are clearly two washers per mounting post fitted and these are intended to hold the plastic bit away from the tacho so that it is not restrained at all.
If there are any other washers floating around then I don't know what they could be.

Yep, that's the ones I found, only I was surmising about where they came from because by the time I pulled the cup off the washers were loose. Maybe I will try one washer on each screw post as a compromise.

Wooly · 11-16-2009, 07:46 AM

Unless the tacho is flopping about crazy like, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
It's too wet to go out to the garage at moment to check, but from memory, mine has about 1-2 mm float which seems quite OK and at least the tacho needle does not bounce any more.

Did your tacho have a steady needle when you snugged it right down? If not, then you need some end float on that cup.
The speedo is not affected like the tacho is.

Slinky · 11-16-2009, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wooly

Did your tacho have a steady needle when you snugged it right down? If not, then you need some end float on that cup.
The speedo is not affected like the tacho is.

To be honest I have not ridden the bike since I took the washers out, I will keep a check on the needle to see if it does bounce. The movement of the tacho with the washers in was pretty excessive, so much so that I would expect it might do more harm than good. Thanks for your input, I will keep an eye on it.

Thruxboy · 11-16-2009, 09:18 AM

Slink,
I have addressed this issue on my new bike. The larger issue is why...oversight by the factory or intent. Doesn't matter. The tach is too loose. Easy workaround. Pull the tach cup down and there are two sets of washers inexplicably spacing the cup from the the bracket. One set is explainable. You don't want a stress riser at the plastic cup holes...the washers exist for load distribution. The speedo has only one set of washers. I removed one set in the tach making the attachment like the speedo....retaining two washers inside and two underneath. This shores the cup up to the gasket and creates preload against the rubber as with the speedo to keep the tach from rotating. Vibration damping is addressed in the design. No foul. Use 2face tape as mentioned for positioning the single 2 washers at the base of the inside of the plastic tach cup. Poke a hole through the tape where the studs go through. This will save your family from a lot of special vocabulary.

and will resolve this issue.
Cheers.