Triumphrat

stephen12x12 · 07-18-2008, 10:49 PM

Newbie riding 2006 America in the rain had it falter and cut out. Let it rest a few minutes, it would start up again and after a few more minutes in the rain bike again faltered and cut out. Tried it three times before calling a friend with a trailer.

No similar problems before or since. I've got a date to take it in to the dealer, but is anyone familiar with this problem? Anything I can do in the meantime?

Stephen

scramboy · 07-19-2008, 12:46 AM

Possibly water droplets blocking the tank breather hose end. Put a angle slice at the end of the hose,(if the America runs a similar set up to Scramblers).
If it happens again, loosen the fuel cap so air can vent, if the fault dissapears, then its the breather hose.

bobmig · 07-19-2008, 01:26 AM

Happened to me on a trip last year. Check out this old thread explaining what happened and what was done.
http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-tech...re-update.html
Bob

SpaceCoastRat · 07-19-2008, 11:44 PM

I had a similar situation last summer when my bike sat in the Florida heat for 5 weeks waiting for parts after getting nailed by an idiot in a cage. I usually fuel up before I hit reserve so it took two weeks before I had to make the switch. I called my wife thinking it was out of gas and she fired up twenty minutes later when I added the gas. I got about two miles and had the same problem so I called a tow truck because I have roadside on my insurance. When the guy got there an hour later she fired right up so I had him follow me because he was getting paid whether or not my bike was on the flatbed. She made it another two miles before dying again so he loaded her on the truck and took her home. I did some research on this site and discovered the joy that is vapor lock. Condensation from the heat had built up while she sat awaiting repair and it didn't become an issue until i switched to reserve as the water was at the bottom of the tank. The great trick I learned from this site was loosening the cap to get her going again but she would only go about ten miles before dying if i left the cap tight so she was taken to the dealer.

I rode the 50 miles to the dealer with a safely loose gas cap and my wife following in the car. They called me a few hours later and told me the canisters had also filled with water and they could replace them under warranty but it was very likely to happen again so I forked over a hundred bucks to have that tree hugging crap from the People's Republik of California yanked off the bike after confirming that it wouldn't affect my warranty and haven't had an issue since.

Do a search on California Evap Canisters to see if you've got them and if you do you'll find instructions on how to yank that useless crap off. If that is the cause and you are as mechanically inept as I am pay the few bucks to eliminate that possibility from happening again. I've learned some basics on this site and loosening the cap for possible vapor lock is one of the most important things so far. Good luck getting it straightened out because your riding weather is limited in New England. I'm from Massachusetts and have been living in Florida for three years and don't even own a cage because it's never too cold to ride down here and riding in the rain beats driving in the snow any day. Keep us posted on the cause.

decobike · 07-20-2008, 12:30 AM

I had that problem too when my bike was fairly new (1100 miles). It was raining and it died. I was in the middle of nowhere Northern Wisconsin. Not knowing what else to do, I took off the gas cap looking into the tank, seeing nothing (kinda what I was expecting to find) put it back on and tried the starter. Fired right up. It happened again about 7-10 miles later. Took the cap of first thing that time and it started up again. Haven't had a problem in that regard since, rain or shine.