Triumphrat

MarcP1956 · 06-09-2007

I live on the west coast of Oregon. It is beautiful, green, and rains a great deal. Is there anything I should be concerned with when riding my 2007 Bonneville continually in the rain? I am not new to riding, just Triumphs. I not looking for riding gear, safety on the road, or chain maintenance advice but those things that my be of special concern with the 2007 Bonneville. Thank you for an excellent forum, Marc

davidc · 06-10-2007

hey Marc,

While I have not ridden my '07 in the rain at all, I have read of complaints that the bike may cut out while doing so - electrical snafus? There are posts on the topic. Other than that, the usual measures of safe riding in bad weather apply. I've ridden my old Triumphs in the rain plenty and had no problems other than being cold, wet, and miserable.

badrufus · 06-10-2007

You are in a situation similar to many UK riders, who often have to ride in inclement weather. While you said you're not looking for chain maintenance advice, you may be interested in knowong that many of them (in contrast to most US riders) prefer to install some type of automatic chain oiling system (Scott Oiler for example). You would also want to get a good tube of dielectric grease and make sure all of your electrical connections have it in them. My 05 came with dielectric grease in all the connections. Then keep up with it, especially on critical connections and those exposed to rain. My only other suggestion has to do with the Bonnie's reliance on one, fairly lousy headlight. I've upgraded to a Cibie headlight and a PIAA extreme white H4 anti-vibe bulb, but the major improvement was a set of MotoLights riding lights. Rain reduces your visibility, both your own and that of the other drivers--especially on the Bonnie, anything that increases your visibility and conspicuity is especially important in rain. Also remember that the Bonnie does not have four way flashers, but I believe this can be remedied with the Signal Minder available from NewBonneville. Other than that, keep in mind that IMO the rear brake is stronger than many expect, relative to the front brake. I've upgraded my front brake considerably and left the rear stock because of that. Get to know how the rear brake behaves.

decobike · 06-10-2007

Marc, we get our share of rain in no. Wisconsin and I've managed to get myself caught in it a few times. I've the personally experienced the engine cutting out in wet weather, it doesn't just die it's similar to the engine sputtering like you need to switch to reserve then dies. Its quite mysterious when you first experience it in that you can't figure why it happened. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere Wisc contemplating what to do, running down the battery (yeah the starter worked fine) didn't seem like a good idea. Bad gas was a thought and lead to my taking the gas cap off not that I would regcognize bad gas if I saw it putting it back on and trying the starter, fired right up. When it happened a second time, did the same thing first and got the same result. Its only happened twice.

And Badrufus, would you reference the threads (if you know where they can easily be found) describing the mods you've made to your bike. I like your lighting, shocks and silencers. Lights and shocks I'd like to do fairly quickly, silencers will
probably have to wait for a while. (You may remember the "free cat" thread that caused a bit of an uproar, my wife just handed me the bill for "my cats" injury and treatment, $480, when I saw it I immediately thought of that thread and started laughing, shocked herself at the bill she said "what's so funny," I said "nothing, its just something about a free cat," which is what he originally cost. A short story long, the Norman Hydes wait & the critter gets repaired.

05Truxter · 06-10-2007

1+ on the dialectric grease tip. That is a good annual winter maintenance chore - especially the connections in the headlight shell, spark plug wires and the signal and taillight bulbs. Also, anti-seize grease on the sparkies. There are also some cheap fateners around the triple clamps and other places that seem to rust.
I personally haven't had any problems in wet weather. I don't typically ride in the rain, but seem to get caught out frequently and have been through some major thunderstorms lately. Bike just kept steaming (literally) along nicely.

badrufus · 06-11-2007

Hey Jim--if your bike died in the rain, but then twice started up when you opened the gas cap, I'm thinking it's not electrical at all. It sounds like the gas tank vent is getting clogged when it rains, and eventually the engine is starved for gas (just like when you need to switch to reserve). I had a vague recollection of reading a thread that mentioned this happening to someone. It kinda makes me wonder if the Bonnie's electrical system is as good as any other motorcycle's (ie, imperfect, but generally functional). I wonder if there is some way of rerouting the tank vent so it is in a more protected place under the bike. It could just be that the vent ends up somewhere collecting a bunch of spit from the tires.

Re lighting, shocks, silencers--here is the info and also relevant sites.
Lighting: I have a Cibie 7" high/low beam with parking light from Dan Stern Lighting. The little parking bulb is from Auto Zone. I put in a PIAA H4 55/60 Anti-Vibration Extreme White bulb rated at 100/110 watts
Daniel Stern Lighting
PIAA bulb at Whitehorse Gear

I installed the MotoLights riding lights on my forks. While the Cibie is an improvement, the MotoLights are the main reason I ever ride at night. I also have them on during the day unless I'm in stop and go traffic.
MotoLights
I bought the pair I have from someone selling his one-year old T100. I've had them for another two years. They are nicely made. I have 35 watt halogens in each light. I hooked up a multimeter with the lights on and below 2000 rpm, they seem to pull down on the battery, so I located the switch up just forward of the tank on the side of the frame where I can easily turn it on and off.

For shocks, I ordered Hagon Classics with the black shrouds. I got them from Bella Corse. I called Mike and gave him my weight so he could figure out which springs to install. I think the Hagon Classics are plenty of shock unless you're over 200 lbs. or frequently riding two-up. I also installed Hagon progressive fork springs and changed to the recommended 20wt fork oil. I believe Dave Quinn is the importer for the Hagons and may be able to provide you with them also.
Hagon Shocks
<A HREF="http://www.bellacorse.com/bcc022.htm" TARGET="_blank">Hagon Forks
</A> Dave Quinn

For silencers, I installed Norman Hyde Classics. There has been much discussion over the last two years about Classics versus Togas, whether the Togas were made by Norman Hyde or just distributed, whether Classics and Togas are the same. I don't know. I only know that two years ago, I bought NH Classics for $560 from Hermy's Triumph, and that at the same time, they listed Togas for around $450, but I don't know if they were made by NH then or now. This is what I got:
Norman Hyde Classic silencers at Hermy's
I also installed a pair of JCWhitney baffles in them, same OD as the ID of the end of the silencers. The baffles that come with the silencers are worthless, and the JCWhitneys are probably the same but I've left them in anyway.
The Hydes sound lovely, not quiet, but quite lovely. I go through the neighborhood carefully and as for the rest, I wear earplugs, so they sound just great to me. They are louder than the TORS, probably a bit less than Predators. I like them, and I've always had stock pipes before the T100. They make the bike sound like it should. No "Offroad Use Only" stamps either, at least on the ones I got on 2005. This spring I installed a Jenks velocity stack (removed the snorkel finally), so the tuning with a K&N filter is 125 mains, 40 pilots, 3 turns out on idle mix screws (the new nifty tool-free ones from NB).
Jenks Velocity Stack (bellmouth)
Idle Mix Screws from NewBonneville

Other than that I've done a bunch of work on the ergonomics; Triumph solo seat, Bella Corse Western bars, Beston Gran Turismo grips, Pazzo Racing Shorty 6-way adjustable levers, and Napoleon bar end mirrors. For anything Triumph, MADSS is great, especially if you can order on Friday--free shipping. I got my solo seat there for $228, free shipping, no tax. The dealer (the same one who left Monte stranded with a flat rear tire) wanted $270,minus 10% discount, plus 9.75% sales tax.
Pazzo Racing
MADSS

Finally, this spring I've worked on the front brake. I installed an EBC ProLite floating rotor with a new set of EBC HH pads, a new Speigler front brake line, a SpeedBleeder, and carefully cleaned and lubed and bleed as appropriate.
EBC ProLite Rotor and HH Pads at NewBonneville
Spiegler brake line at NewBonneville
SpeedBleeder at NewBonneville

I guess it would be most accurate to say that I've been trying to make the bike low and sleek but still classic. I really like the Bonnie Black, but for me it was helpful to realize that you can't have a BB and a B&W T100 in the same bike. When you start with a black and white, coach-lined tank, it's like starting with a tuxedo. I've thought of black engine cases and even black headers/silencers, but I think that would be out of character or inconsistent--sort of like putting black Nikes with a tux. So I've just tried to get it lower and a bit sleeker, and then worried about dealing with ergonomics and the brakes. I think it's a good thing I only have one major hobby! As for the free cat--you did right. You have to live with yourself. The same thing happened to us a year ago and it was expensive too, and so I spent less on the bike last year (I must be making up for it this year).

odatbob · 06-11-2007

I have a america and experinced the same problem dieing in the rain.Felt as as if I had run out of fuel.Sat on side and racked my brain trying to remember what I had read on these posts...Finally released fuel cap,left cap loose but on and rode 15 miles home.I had 40 miles on tank at that time and have been told that its best not to top off tank..leave some space for air asthe vent tube chokes off carbs...there is no fuel pump..just gravity feed!No more problems and when its starts to rain,I just loosen cap and its fine.The dealers did not believe me and claimed they had never heard this before..I showed Him the postings from this site and asked Him to cut vent tube on 45 degree angle to restrict clogging of tube.No problems yet!!

GaryB · 06-11-2007

I'm in Seattle and get just as much rain as you do. I ride an 05 Bonneville and have not had any trouble with wet weather rides.

webonnielad · 06-11-2007

I spent a week touring Wales last year, It don't have nice green scenery everywhere for nothing. Frankly I've been dryer in the bath.

My 790cc T100 coped with it better than a submarine would have.

No problems at all.

I also rode 350 miles in torrential rain in Germany in one day, cause I had to make it to a ferry on time. Again no problems.

Jon (UK)

Pete_Twizz · 06-11-2007

To add to Jon's voice;
My Thruxton gets ridden every day, rain or shine.
A few weeks back I was caught in a deluge of biblical proportions, rain so dense that traffic on the dual carrigeway was down to 30mph, water pouring off every surface, some of it finding its way through my usually infallable waterproofs.
The Thruxton just motored on through it all without missing a beat. The bike has also spent whole weekends being drenched while parked on a rally field, but started and run with no problem when the time came to leave.
My wife's 790 Bonnie has performed equally well.

Pete.