THat is way too much. It is a simple job, but.... many triumphs smoke on their left barrel..... my old t100ss did, from new, and after complete ( and i do mean complete) rebuild. what happens if you park on the center stand,, I ask because when leaned, the oil collects in the crankcase from the barrels /head. It will take a little while to clear. If both barrels then smoke, just live with it.
if you do change the guides, it will be easier if you chill the new ones to fit them ( in the freezer ) also to remove, make sure they are clean on the outside on the side that will pass through the head.

 

Hopoil, You can do it yourself. I recently did my first valve guide replacement (79 T140D)and was successful. First thoroughly decarbon the head "AND" the valve guide sides that protrude into the ports. This is "VERY" critical. If you attempt to drift out the guides without first removing the carbon build up you will end up enlarging the holes in the head and will have to fit oversize guides....thats how heads turn into paper weights.
Very important!
Put the guides in the freezer and then heat the head in the oven (bake or broil.....your choice) and quickly drift out all the guides. Then drift the chilled guides in the heated heat gently but firmly till seated. After all this, lap the valves in and hope they all seat. I only had to have 1 valve re-cut to seat so I was fortunate. Also check the top of the guides afterwards to make sure they did'nt tighten up from drifting them in. (again, use gentle but firm drifting) A local machine shop "should" be able to cut the seats for you if needed. I went to a local "Head Reconditiong" shop and paid $10 to have 1 seat cut and they cleaned up the guide tops for me and checked to make sure I had good vlave sealing.
Hope that helps you somewhat......Good luck! :-D

 

Thanks for the Feedback.

Panda: Yeah, if the bike sits on the center stand this problem is very minor. [an example of Murphy's Law: my center stand just broke where the cross piece attaches to one of the legs] Seems that the fouling of the plugs occurs first thing, when the engine is cold. If I change the plugs after a few minutes, I can run for hours without any significant fouling on the left side (black, sooty coating ).

Texspeed: Thanks for the tip about cleaning the carbon first. I just bought the correct drift-punch (EBAY- a toolmaker in Calif.) and the guy suggested an additional trick to get the old guides out.
He suggests tapping threads into the spring-side of the guide and screwing a short bolt in there, it would give the drift-punch something to drive against. Also heating the head, as you said. Does that sound legit?

Also, I read in the Haynes Triumph Twins manual that somewhere around 78 or 79 the guides had a cir-clip added. Anybody know more about that?

Seems like I might have trouble telling wheather oversize guides are needed. I'd guess it would be a special type of micrometer to measure inside that bore.

It'll be snowing soon, here in Syracuse, so I'll probably retire the Bonnie for the season in early November. Thanks for the tips.

HOPOIL

 

There is talk of valve guides wearing quickly on the new FJR1300 Yamahas.

Cause: Buildup of carbon on the valve stem getting carried up into the guide.

Solution: Chevron FI cleaner in the gas tank to keep the valve stems clean.

 

Hi - I had a T140 E for 11 years and valve guides are just one of the many things you have to regularly replace if you do a lot of miles. I did 65,000 on mine!!

It's easy. Takes a couple of hours to get the head of and the valves out. Put the head in the oven for 20 mins (make sure the lady of the house is either understanding or out!)

Use the guide tool as you said, gentle tap with a hammer and they're out. You should be able to get the new ones in on just the one heat up.

Enjoy

Mike