First ride... Hmmm

[NeilD]

didnt get much of an impression riding it home on Saturday as it was really windy so just wanted to get it home..

popped out tonight, but only had about half hour before it got dark..

anyway, starts and runs well.. everythign seems to work... engine sounds quieter than my TBS, beginning to wonder if that has the DAR..

throttle seems heavier than the TBS - is that a mikuni vs kehin thing?

handles ok now that tyres have some air in them (there was about 25 psi front and rear  :roll: ).

nice smooth ride apart from some harshness through the footpegs..?? think that it may be chain related as pulling in clutch and reving the engine doesnt alter it... I tried adjusting the chain, but to be honest I think its farked, seems lots of sideways movement on it. coasting to a halt I could hear/feel a graunchy nosie..

theres also a rachety noise when I push it around - again I think its chain related, but that will have to wait till i get it up on the stand tomorrow and can spin the rear wheel.

oh the headlights need adjusting (or the preload raising?!) as currently I am scaring any low flying owls but not lighting up much road..

but other than that, its fine!  :D

[JetdocX]

Check the condition of your chain sliders.  There is a rubber chain slider that fits around the forward part of your swingarm.  Wear through that and you begin wearing the swingarm.

The lower chain slider when it disappears will result in metal to metal contact between the bracket and the chain.

[NeilD]

well theres definately something amiss with the chain... I adjusted it before I went out on it tonight.. after reading JetdocX's post i've just been out with a torch for a quick lok.. the lower run of the chain is resting on (and running over) a bracket behind the footrest?  :?

edit: looking at other posts I think I'm missing a rub block!  :shock:

as an aside on adjusting the chain - do I need to slacken off the axle bolt or just the pinchbolts in the swingarm? sure I read to do the latter, but the haynes says slacken off the axle nut?

[Mustang]

you can adjust the chain by just loosening the pinch bolts  ,make sure it is in neutral and then rotate the chain adjusters  to desired tension,  ........but with a knackered chain it's pretty pointless cuz it will be tight , loose , tight depending on where the bad spots are .
also without the lower rub block it will make it hard to adjust the chain properly .

With a new chain the steamer likes to have about an inch an half to 2 inch of free play when it is unloaded and sitting on the side stand .

[NeilD]

I guess the rub block should be here..  :shock:



that'll explain the grinding noise then...  :roll

not in stock at local dealer, but it is at Triumph so should be able to pick it up Thursday..

[Mustang]

that's the bugger , a new one is less than $20 USD from dealer and worth it's weight in gold .

[JetdocX]

Buy two.  I just lost my second one.

[Sin_Tiger]

Mine's missing too, looks like they are a collectors item (stop and collect what has fallen off  :lol: ) so I will order two as well, good idea JD.

[Stretch]

Put a tether on those things.  :mrgreen:

[BR]

I'm not thrilled with the oem rubbing block... doesn't last all that long and is too small, wrong location etc... but that's just me.  Here's a worn out one:



and here's the replacement during install... yup, less than $20 each at dealer.



I've actually now removed mine completely and replaced it with a large plastic fixed rubbing block that sits just below the swingarm pivot.  No pic right now but I'll give some details later.  Sort of a fix for a non-problem  :roll: .

Brendan
'98 Steamer

[NeilD]

ah so thats what it should look like!  not what I expected - on the Moto Morini trail bike I had, I'm sure there was a cylindrical nylon roller set-up in that position, which is more what I expectted.. chain lube plus rubber is bound to make it go squishy and fall off..  :roll:

[Mustang]

ah so thats what it should look like!  not what I expected - on the Moto Morini trail bike I had, I'm sure there was a cylindrical nylon roller set-up in that position, which is more what I expectted.. chain lube plus rubber is bound to make it go squishy and fall off..  :roll:

it's not rubber ...it's more like a nylon plastic

[NoShock]

To prolong the life of the block place a couple of zipties where the chain contacts/grooves the block.

[JetdocX]

To prolong the life of the block place a couple of zipties where the chain contacts/grooves the block.

Good to know, but I lost mine at <1000 miles.  I was beating the kitty rather severely on the track at the time, though.  I'm guessing the chain does some pretty nasty things when stomping downshifts followed by WFO accelerations.  Your mileage may vary.  I just picked up my third one at the dealer today.

[NeilD]

how long did it take to go to that..

.  Here's a worn out one:

from this??


went for a longer ride today.. much better than the other night, although still feel some roughnness through the pegs when slowing to a halt??  

another thing I noticed is that it seems more difficult to push it backwards than forwards? noticed it too on a later bike that i went to view a few weeks back - I thourght it had a flat tyre!

front end seemed a little 'light' almost flappy when pushing on a bit.. would increasing the preload on the rear shock put more weight on the front end? just wondered if the guy before me was smaller, especially as the headlight seems to be high when I sit on it so maybe the rear is sagging more? other than that its really nice to glide over the bumpy backroads round here..

I normally gauge how far I am cranked over on the Thunderbird when I start scraping the toe of my boot on the tarmac... took me a while to realise that that wasnt going to happen on the Tiger however far I lent it !  :) good fun...  8)