Triumphrat

UlyssesCale

If anyone has any ideas:

I bought the bike at Hattar Motor Sports in Marin County, CA. I have about 450 miles on it and scheduled my 500 mile service tomorrow. Cool.

I bought the bike with the Airbox Eliminator kit installed (Isn't that illegal in CA for the dealer to do this to a new bike?) and the British Racing pipes in stead of the stock ones.

Problems:

1) Awful awful awful gas mileage. Just the worst I would ever expect. People are telling me it will get better as the bike sets itself up through the break-in.

2) The little vacuum(?) nipples on the carburetor blow off when the bike pops and backfires. The nipples I am refering to are in between the carb body and the cylinder ans stick up from the intake manifold. The nipples are covered with little rubber caps. These caps fly off the bike when I start the bike. I rode 30 miles on the highway with one of them off the bike (I didn't know it fell off! I have to assume the bike is just set up so ***** lean or improperly jetted leading to the popping and backfiring. Do I need to worry about the rubber cap coming off and then riding it on the highway? I only realized the cap was off because the bike started to die at lights.

3) On three different occasions while sitting at a stop light with the bike in neutral the engine has been purring along and then - there is a slight grinding or light crunching sound - the bike's motor hesitates for a brief second and goes right back to purring. It make me think awful thoughts about what is happening inside my engine. ????

4) At higher speeds going into turns the bike's front end gets unstable (shakey and twitchy). Is this a dampener hint?

sweatmachine

I don't know where to begin, so I'll start with the carbs.

You are very lean.

Do not ride it until it is setup properly.

If the vacuum caps come off, you are leaking air in behind the carbs, making the bike run even leaner. If you are lucky (and quit riding it) you won't burn a valve or melt a piston.

Finally, send your dealer a bit#^-slap courtesy of me.

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Macgruber!


Click for a picture of my slightly modified Bonnie

rstover

Sounds like you're first service will include some warranty work. And, since the dealer did the mods you shouldn't have a problem getting them to fix everything under warranty.

Regarding the little rubber nipples near the carb popping off, that is very common and a simple fix is a small zip tie below the "collar" of the orifice.

You didn't say what "awful" means in mpg, but seems most of us get something in the 40's. I hit reserve at about 110-115 miles.

Hope all turns out good for you.
Roger

sweatmachine

I have regularly got mpg's down into the 30s, but also as high as the upper 40s.

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Macgruber!


Click for a picture of my slightly modified Bonnie

FlungPup

I can't for love nor money get 40 miles to the US gallon. Just so you know.
I've got AI removed, Staintune reverse cones, and the dealer rejetted at the first 500km service because it was too lean, but I'm not sure what jets he put in. I didn't care. I just wanted to ride... Just give me the ***** keys so I can ride...

It does boogie but my Toyota Echo gets better mileage. Now ain't that a :kck:

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Root Hog or Die!

badrufus

Wow, Ulysses. Fortunately for you, your dealer did the modifications. Unfortunately for you, your dealer did the modifications. Meaning, he did the mods, he's got to stand behind the work. Also meaning, you might not want this guy to touch your bike once you get this sorted out. I don't know what "British Racing Pipes" are, but you need to find out what the brand and model is in order for folks here to help you later. For now, you need to stop riding until the bike is fixed and you need to find out what happened with the "grinding, crunching" sound. If they blow you off on that, contact Triumph USA and find another dealer. Finally, there is no reason a Bonneville should get twitchy at higher speeds unless something is out of adjustment or damaged. The bikes usually do not need dampers or fork braces or anything more than better fork springs. Some folks might install a steering damper, but it isn't one of those things high up on most of our to do lists. So you need to find out what they did, or didn't do, during set-up that left you with a screwy front end.

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2005 T100

UlyssesCale

Man, this is starting to make me regret buying this bike.

No one touches my Vespas but me - and for just this reason.

I've been riding two wheels for long enough to know that I should be worried.

This sucks.

badrufus

The bike is a good bike, but your dealer sounds like trouble. Be prepared to be nice but firm. If they are behaving in a disrespectful way despite your being nice but firm, and explaining everything to them in clear detail (you might want to write it all down), be prepared to contact Triumph and find another dealer. Once you get this sorted out, think about finding another dealer and/or maintaining the bike yourself. It's a fun bike to work on and a blast to ride when properly set-up, tuned, and adjusted. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

You might find these threads helpful
SF Area Dealers
SF Area Dealers 2

[ This message was edited by: badrufus on 2007-05-11 00:05 ]

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2005 T100

bmetz99

Yes. Patently illegal for a paid mechanic to disable any of the CARB-mandated smog equipment. If worse comes to worse, you could use this to force the dealership to restore your bike to stock, then take it elsewhere for decent service/tuning.

What do you consider awful? The bike should improve a bit as you break it in. That being said, my '04 Bonnie (with all of 1200 miles on the clock) returns 38 mpg ridden hard on back roads (stock but for TOR exhaust canisters and 115 main jets). Crusing at 55-65 mph returns 42 mpg.
If the bike is backfiring hard enough to blow off the rubber caps on the vacuum ports, something is wrong. Did your dealer re-jet your carbs for those non-stock mufflers and airbox eliminator? If not, take the bike elsewhere, as the dealer or mechanic is assuredly a moron. See the jetting guide available on Peter Jenks' website for the necessary info. Oh, and if those caps come off, you're sucking unfiltered air into your engine, which will eventually do bad things to your cylinder walls.
Ummm... that ain't right. Not sure what it is, but it ain't right. Could be something as simple as an idle circuit that has a bit of dirt in it. Or more serious stuff. If your dealer can't fix it, find a different dealer.
How's your tire pressure? Rear wheel alignment? These bikes are pretty rock solid handlers. Should track nice and true through bumpy turns, to say nothing of smooth ones. Heck I coasted down from 70 mph to 35 mph today with my hands off the bars, and thrashed hard though twisty back roads on my morning commute. My Bonnie handled flawlessly, regardless of the demands placed on her. Yours should do likewise.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hope things work out, and that these suggestions are useful.

[ This message was edited by: bmetz99 on 2007-05-11 01:14 ]

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\"A motorcycle is a tool, not a fashion accessory"

My Bobber

cw

Seems to me a few people are jumping the gun on what you should do. I don't think I read anything about you actually talking to the dealer about your problems yet.

#1, call the dealer and tell them your problems. If they put on all of the equipment they may not have taken a long enough test ride to determine if the bike was running properly. I know Hattar doesn't have a dyno so they'd have to ride the bike to tune it properly.

#2, I think they should bring your bike to running condition without charging you. The issue is that your 500 mile service will cost $200+. Some of that service time is devoted to making your bike run right. You should get a discount on your 500 mile service because your bike wasn't running correctly.

It doesn't sound like you like dealing with dealers/people in these types of situations. Unfortunately these situations arise and you just have to suck it up and tell them that you have a problem that was likely their fault. All of us internet people are behind you, but in the end it's up to you to tell Hattar the problem.

That said, call or take the bike in and tell them the problem. I don't think you'll have a problem dealing with them. If you do, we're all here ready to listen.