Triumphrat

hshaw43

I have the same false start problem Mr. Board expressed and my 2012 is box stock. I regret trading in my Harley FXDX now that I know the Triumph Bonneville better. The Harley was much more satisfing to ride, it just got to heavy for this old man to support. I'm stuck now and can't afford another trade, nothing else appeals to me anyway.

Turnertwin

Well, sure.

Mr. Broad is quite right. The Triumph is a very nice bike; I'm quite fond of my '11 T100. Do I consider it completely reliable? As I consider my Harley or V-Strom reliable? No, of course not. I don't want to be far, far from a Triumph dealer - which in the US is most places - and have it fail to start. It is, perhaps, a little too retro.

Lovely to look at, nice to ride, probably wouldn't buy it again.

Jeff

nzkiwi

I've got the same problem with my 2011 Bonnie. The mechanic is pretty sure it is a ECU problem. If the voltage drops below 12.3? volts it fails to start. There have been a number of threads on the blogs about this. With the fuel injection priming on start up it drains the battery just enough to cause the problem. The mechanic reckons it wouldn't be a problem if it had carbs. Seem all batteries aren't created equal and some drop less in voltage than others. For me the cure is a gentle twist on the throttle. Tried the choke thing and it didn't make any difference. On the positive, it has never not started. Since I've been twisting the throttle when it fails, it has always started second attempt.

johnmasterman

I have had the same thing on mine, bike had been washed or stood, and the starter contact had some surface rust. but with previous triumphs i would also agree about checking the return switch on the stand as that's cropped up a few times.

given that the thruxton has the 'safety' feature of light on during start up, battery strength is a big issue. i swapped to a better one and its improved significantly. but at some point i'll get an improvised switch on to control that.

fiftyohm

I have an identical issue with my 2011 T-100. It does it about once in 10-20 starts, and has since new. Seldom does it take more than two tries to start the bike, however. It does not seem to me to be an electrical contact issue, but rather an ECU-related firmware glitch. Could also be that the low-voltage cut-out is set too high, and the random resting phase of the starter motor causes the peak start-up load current to very momentarily drop the battery voltage below the threshold at the instant it is energized. Whatever the case, it is so intermittent, and of such little consequence, I just ignore it.

Forchetto

The headlight turns off automatically during cranking, that's the function of the starter or headlamp-cut relay.

What can make a difference is the elapsed time between turning the ignition ON and cranking. I often observe people turn the ignition key and then proceed to put on their gloves, fasten helmets, check themselves in the mirror to see how cool they look, fondle girlfriend, etc. During that time the headlamp is fast draining the battery.

This device helps with that:

http://www.newbonneville.com/html/he...ol_module.html

Also available in the UK:

http://triumph-online.co.uk/easy-sta...mps-5524-p.asp

jschenoweth

I am in the same boat with a 2013 T100, six weeks old with less than 500 miles on it when first noticed. Sure seemed like a bad battery to me. It's been behaving well for a few weeks and I did change my driving habits.

I tend to always run with my brights on during the day. It makes me more visible to oncoming traffic. I have stopped running with the headlight on bright and haven't seen the issue since that time.

The dealer had no clue and acted like they've never heard of the problem before.

One odd thing I did notice when I pulled my seat to verify that the battery terminals were tight, that the wire terminals were properly crimped, and to check the battery Voltage at rest: There were two rubber bumpers that normally are installed on the seat pans jammed in at each forward corner of the battery. It made me do a double-take and check that all the rubber pads were installed on both my seats.

Do they just jam those rubber pads in there to keep the battery from vibrating around in its tray?

I have since pulled those rubber pads and have placed them in my parts drawer...

wyomingpat

It is definitely the choke/start that needs pulling out. Since I removed the AIS though it has not happened at all.

wyomingpat

My bike lives in the garage and the headlight definitely does not turn off while cranking. It dims due to the power going to the starter but does not turn off. I since installed the sensor from Newbonneville that keeps the headlight off until the high beam is toggled.
(This would obviously leave me more time to fondle the girl friend but the wife won't let me get one)

Forchetto

If you have the required number of rubber bumpers on your seat pan (4) then let me hazard a guess as to what's happened.

Your late model bike should have come fitted with the larger YTX12-BS battery. The dealer either doesn't know this, or has knowingly fitted the smaller battery previously fitted to EFI models, the smaller by 18mm YT12B-BS, and has jammed those rubbers in there to compensate. Note that batteries come separate from the bikes and are fitted by the dealer at the pre-delivery stage.

This is what your underseat layout should look like, this is on a Thruxton but I think the larger battery is now fitted to all Bonnies, note the battery model: