coming out from winter hibernation

[BruKen]

Well, I thought I'd charge up the battery last week as the weather turned towards spring and thoughts of a weekend ride got the juices flowing. She's holding a steady 12.65 volts which is not bad for a 2 year old tigger battery. I might get another season on her. The fuel in the carbs had gone a bit stale as she started only on the 10 th try and wouldn't respond to throttle for about 5 minutes as she flushed herself out. Front wheel seems a bit tight, as did the back at first. After a short 50 mile blat ( I have 3 others that need to stretch their legs too) the front wheel still felt a bit tight. It's not bearings and the disks aren't binding so I'm at a loss.
Also the clutch pushrod seal let go about 4 drops of oil. I'll need to watch that.
Wheel... opinions?  It's about twice as tight as it should be.

By heck its good to be back in the saddle. Roll on spring. :D

[MarkShelley]

I would say most likely the pistons are sticking a bit.

[BruKen]

That was my first thought but they are releasing. Unless its one pot and very marginal. I'm wondering, since they stopped using asbestos and now use a higher metal content in the pads if they could have swelled a bit over winter. It's a bigger reach than piston, but the brakes were overhauled just over a year / 7k ago.

[97tiger885]

After a short 50 mile blat ( I have 3 others that need to stretch their legs too) the front wheel still felt a bit tight. It's not bearings and the disks aren't binding so I'm at a loss.
 :D

It's not clear what you mean by "a bit tight."  Is this while you are riding? Is it spinning the wheel while the mc is on the centerstand?

I'm  wondering, since they stopped using asbestos and now use a higher metal content in the pads if they could have swelled a bit over winter. :D

An easy way to see if the pad/piston is the cause (if it is tight on the centerstand) is to pull the calipers off the rotors, put the mc on the centerstand and spin the wheel.  If it only seems tight while riding, pin the calipers out of the way, take a short ride and see if the wheel frees up.  If so, that tells you it is pads or pistons.  

My guess is sticky pistons.  I had the same symptoms front and rear.   My rear caliper has been rebuilt  two  times in the past 4 years.   Both of the front have been redone in that time. I finally learned to do it myself.  You will know if the pistons are releasing when you try to pull the calipers off. If the pistons are sticking you will have a hard time getting the calipers off because the pads will be sticking to the rotors.  I end up hitting the calipers with a BFH and a block of wood to drive the pads/caliper off the rotors.

 Rehabbing calipers is easy even if you have a stuck piston. All you need to do is to  remove things in the proper order and you can use the hydraulic pressure in the line to drive the stuck piston out.

[BruKen]

A bit tight on the centre stand. (quarter rev after a good spin by hand) I've just overhauled the gsx's brakes so really not in the mood to do the tiggers too. Winter layups suck. I want to rideeeeeeeeeee. Oh well, its only a mornings job so grit and bear it.

[PeteH]

I take it the caliper is the sliding type by checking out the spares at Triumph online. If so, are the two halfs sliding?
I had a siezed rear caliper and while still worked it buggered up the pads in no time and eventually warped the disc

[97tiger885]

A bit tight on the centre stand. (quarter rev after a good spin by hand) I've just overhauled the gsx's brakes so really not in the mood to do the tiggers too. Winter layups suck. I want to rideeeeeeeeeee. Oh well, its only a mornings job so grit and bear it.

I feel your pain.  Mine was down quite a bit the last six months for various upkeep.  Most of that was waiting for parts as opposed to the work needed.

Having another mc is a very good thing.  Better riding the non-preferred mc to not riding at all.