Stealership screw up - how screwed am i?

[haroldo_psf]

I've always worked on my motorcycle engines. I always believed no dealership could do a better jobs than myself.

I then got this Triumph Tiger 885i in 2010. It was very beat up, with many running issues, all of which I have addressed. I did all work on it myself.

It was now time for a valve check and adjust. The whole purpose for me acquiring this bike is for the upcming 10000 miles ride I have to the arctic circle and back. That is the sole purpose of the bike. It can blow up afterwards for all I care. But it needs to take me there first.

Due to the criticality of the situation, and due to the fact that I never worked on shim over buckets before (my other bikes are shim under), I decided to pay the "professionals" to do the work. I decided to pay for the service instead of doing it myself to ensure nothing would get screwed up before this trip which is in two months. I thought I was paying for competence, attention to detail, and piece of mind. That is not what I got.

Due to a miracle of God, when I took the bike in for the valve and TB sync service 4 months and 2000 miles ago, I forgot to tell them to replace spark plugs. So, I went and bought some, and last night I took her apart to replace it.

To my shock, I found the breather hose, which connects the crank case to the airbox, disconnected and pinched between the airbox and engine case. The airbox hose connection, which sits right before the throttle bodies and after the air filter, has been wide open all this time, sucking dirt and grime into my throttle bodies. The crank case probably had its share of dirt also contaminating my oil. Not to mention that the engine has been running lean this hole time, which explains the horrible idling since I got the bike back. I immediatelly took many pictures (one is attached).

Now, I know what the possibilities are. My cylinder walls could be sctratched causing loss of compression, my piston rings could be also screwed causing oil to burn. Anything is possible.

Facts:

- I have run about 2000 miles since the dealer did this. Out of these, 100 miles were dirt
- I have not noticed and loss of power
- I have not nocied any change in exhaust coloration
- I have noticed some decrease in oil level, but not sure if it is burning, or if it has been seeping away through the open hose.

What are the chances that my trip is ruined? Are the odds in my favor that nothing major happened and I'm probably ok?

I went to the dealer, and they were very professional, apologetic, and understanding. They want me to bring the bike back so they can do a compression test on the cylinders, and go with a periscope and look at the cylinder walls. They said that if it is very badly damaged, that they would port the heads and replace piston rings.
I don't have time for this now, the trip is around the corner, and the last thing I need is a major surgery on my engine. I just need it to last another 15000 miles. It is running well now. Is that enough evidence that I'm fine?

I will look into the airbox walls when I get home. I was told that if they are clean, its good indication that I'm ok. If they are dirty, then its indication that so are my cilinder walls, and I should start to panic.

[rf9rider]

First thing i would do is drop the oil and examine it for dirt etc, then go from there.

[John Stenhouse]

I wouldn't panic, engines are remarkably tough, yes you could have some damage, on the other hand it may be nothing. Check the inside of the airbox to see what dirt is in there and change the oil as rf9 says. If it's running ok now I say go with it, there are no guarantees in life but sometimes on trips a breakdown leads you places you would never have gone otherwise.

[metalguru]

Hopefully the dirt has been caught by the oily mess and very little has entered the engine. The one time when not cleaning it up may have done you a favour.
Personally  I think you have some doubt on it's longevity, so take up the stealer on his offer and if possible be there when the endescope is used so you can be assured of the results for yourself and not through a third party. For the sake of a few hours spent now can give piece of mind for your journey.

[Bixxer Bob]

Lets think for a minute. The airbox is sucking air, yes, but how much dirt really gets to the opening, is there dirt inside the stub pipe? The air goes via the TBs through the inlet valves to the cylinder where it goes through the burn cycle and then eventually out the exhaust valves. It is unlikely dirt would make it past the rings to the rest of the engine because if there was enough clearance for that you'd be burning oil by the pint. So, valve seats, valve guides and cylinder walls are likely areas of damage. Now then, only you know what sort of dirt you rode 100 miles in so you have to think, was it dusty, sandy, wet?  Dust isn't really a worry. Your photo suggests sandy perhaps so following up on Metalguru's comment, the crap around the box probably saved you. Are the TBs and butterflys clean and do they move smoothly or do they feel gritty? If they're smooth and the dirt hasn't affected them I don't think it'll have done any significant harm further on. At worst I think you'll have deglazed the bores. As  already advised, take the dealer up on his offer and be there to see it, but meantime don't worry yourself.

[Ironhorse]

No need to panic, as mentioned, it takes a lot more than what you experienced to kill these motors. But taking the day to borescope the cylinders before you leave is advised. That way if you found damage than you could schedule a dealer tear down on your return.

[haroldo_psf]

thanks all! I put it back together this weekend, and have been riding every day to work. It rides perfectly. No loss of power at all that I can notice, not smoke out of the exhaust, and no more exhaust smell than before.

There are no leaks, no stalls, no anything. As far as seat of the pants go, the engine feels good, for a 61000 miles engine :)

Having said that, I am a little hesitant to bring it back to the stealership for them to tear it down again. First, I would be a little too worried about it and would have to take it apart yet again to double check everything.

Second, even if they found damage, there is no way I am doing engine surgery before my trip. So, I don't see the point of even going there.

There was some sandy debris in the clean side of the air box, and a little bit on the throttle body lip that connects to the airbox.

Inside the TBs looked clean, and butterflies feel smooth.

What do ya think? My gut tells me fuhget about it and roll with it

[Mustang]

ride it and enjoy the adventure .................... :D  :D

[cdubya]

You've dilligently looked 'er over. Commence launch. Have a blast.
Ps. Bring a spare clutch cable. Learned that the hard way a few weeks ago.  :?

[haroldo_psf]

hnmmmm...spare clutch cable....Good idea. By the same token, would the chances of the throttle cable snapping be any different of the clutch? Shall I buy both as spare?

Not sure how easily or not it is to replace either one, but I know I can remove tank, battery box, air box, and everything in between in a hurry with the tools I carry.

How expensive are these cables anyway?

[Mustang]

back in the old days when bikes were unreliable we used to route the extra cables right in place(zip ties) next to the functional cable then when the cable breaks it's much easier on the road to just hook up the ends of new cable as it's already routed . and of course once you prepare to that extent the old cable will never break  :D

[iansoady]

back in the old days when bikes were unreliable we used to route the extra cables right in place(zip ties) next to the functional cable then when the cable breaks it's much easier on the road to just hook up the ends of new cable as it's already routed . and of course once you prepare to that extent the old cable will never break  :D

Zip ties? Old days?

And always best to fit the new cables and use the existing ones as spares. Then you know they fit and don't find out they're the wrong ones when it's pouring with rain and pitch dark.....

[ChazzyB]

And always best to fit the new cables and use the existing ones as spares. Then you know they fit and don't find out they're the wrong ones when it's pouring with rain and pitch dark.....

Spot on, Ian. And the new ones you just fitted are *always* sooo much nicer to use.  :D