battery acid leaking from hose and other on-going questions.

[mantramoto]

Turns out I am having lots of questions as I become more familiar with my new Steamer. My battery (brand new supposedly) is leaking acid from the overflow tube. The bike leans WAY over due to a modified kickstand (I don't know why this was done) - could it be leaking from the excessive lean? And how much lean is too much for these bikes - it seems pretty precarious.

On another topic - it seems that oil is dripping from the air box?

Any ideas?

[BR]

Mantramoto,
The steamers do tend to lean over a bit on the side stand and yes, the OEM stand is supposed to have that bend in it.  However, they have been known to lean progressively over further due to the stand gradually bending.  If you're ave in Ht. and would like the seat a little lower, rotate the rear wheel chain adjuster ecentrics ~180 degrees to raise the axle.  This can also help with the excessive lean with the sidestand.

Pull your battery and check the water level.  On my '98, the batt. vent is on the RHS, so the lean of using the side stand isn't an issue.

Oil drip from airbox.  Well, there IS a drain from airbox just above the drive chain...and like most bikes, the crankcase does vent into the airbox.  The Steamer's airbox is generally considered some of worst piss-poor designs ever put on a bike! It's all once piece and you need to pull the @$@#$# carbs just to remove the airbox for replacement or inspection. They're about $65 from dealer but don't require frequent replacement unless you do a lot of off roading.  There might be a K&N option but someone else can confirm that.

Based on your posts, you've got a few things to go over on your new Steamer... don't worry, plenty of folks here to help.

Brendan

[NeilD]

maybe the new battery is overfilled?  I'd just keep an eye on it and see if it continues.. I know the Thunderbirds (same engine) have a tendency to overcharge, so I keep an eye on battery fluid...
is it oil from the airbox drain, or water? the latter is more usual - there should be a little bung in the bottom of the airbox drain (well there is on TBirds, so i guess the same on Tigers)...
I think my sidestand is bent too as I think it leans over too far - I'm going to investigate that now I have a centerstand  :D and also look at the wear around the bolt...

[Sin_Tiger]

Get it washed off as quick as you can or it eats into the top of the swing arm, I have a demo swing arm just like that  :roll:

Please keep the pressure washer away from the swing arm bearings, we've already heard about your washing escapades  :lol:

[mantramoto]

Thanks for all the info - will do.

[JetdocX]

Get rid of that stupid flooded battery and buy a sealed one before you do any serious damage.

I'll echo the airbox rantings, but I'll also add that the price is now over $80 for the airbox assembly from the dealer.  If you plan to ride dirt roads, fit a prefilter on the airbox intake.  Oil leaking could just be the oiled filter inside seeping to the low point.  Taking the airbox to try to clean the filter can be tricky or impossible for some people due to spinning/stripped captive nuts (think cheesy anti-tamper devices).

Just ride it until it stops.  Then worry about fixing what's wrong. :lol:

[mantramoto]

jetdoc that is exactly what I have been thinking! There is so much I want to do to the bike but really I just want to ride the thing!!

[Colonel Nikolai]

jetdocx, I have one of those flooded batteries on my 96 steamer and I totally agree: hate it! Just looks like an accident waiting to happen.

What kind of "pre-filter" do you refer to wrt the airbox? How is this accomplished?

[JetdocX]

Yessir, Col.

It didn't make the Steamer  wisdom thread so here are some pix of my Uni filter install:


Specifics, 2.5 inch pre-filter from Uni.  Buy the single stage because the twin stage will not fit under the fairing once installed.

I did both sides and here is the right side.  Yours should be plugged.  If you plan on doing a long dirty trip, do both sides and install duct tape under one opening.  As your primary filter gets clogged you can easily remove the tape from your secondary and ride on without cleaning the primary.  They get really dirty!

Also, I must warn you not to tighten too much.  You are in effect tightening against the finest British cheddar cheese of plastic.

Edit:  The fairing can be installed over the top of your new prefilter.  Just squish it down a bit:

[nightrunner]

Its hard to see from that angle but it does look like your steamer is leaning pretty far over.  I have read reports of the stand eventually folding over.  Remember, as that bend in the stand increases, it gets weaker, and at the same time more weight is being put on it.   It should tuck under the swing arm when raised.  If it sticks out, remove it, bend it back to where you think stock should be, and have a shop weld a gusset in the bend radius.

Happy trails

[nightrunner]

On the battery it might be worth checking that you are not overcharging.  Check the battery voltage with the engine running.  The spec is 14.5 volts at 5500 RPM.   In reality the voltage will level off below that speed.   If the voltage is higher, the batt is being overcharged,

Also check to make sure that the regulator is sensing the true battery voltage.  There should be a small wire coming off the battery + cable and going to the voltage regulator.  You'll need to check the batt voltage at idle and compare with the voltage on the regulator-end of that same wire.  It should be the same.  If there is a drop then you have some corroded connections or oxidized wire which is acting as a resistor.  If the reg sees a lower-than-correct batt voltage, then it will overcharge the batt trying to compensate.   I have never heard of this being a problem on the Tiger but thought it worth mentioning.

[mantramoto]

Thanks for the info nightrunner - I will look into both items.

Jetdocx - I likes the prefilter - does this restrict air flow at all and does it require any carb tuning?

[JetdocX]

No, not as far as I can tell.

[Colonel Nikolai]

Thanks jetdocx!

Unifilter, eh? When you say 2.5", do you mean inner diameter or outer? I'm lookin' at this page:

http://www.unifilter.com/online%20catal ... ersal.html (http://www.unifilter.com/online%20catalog/universal.html)

Second one from the top, right below the bright greenish/blue colored ones. Is that what you mean?

I also saw this:

http://www.unifilter.com/online%20catal ... ories.html (http://www.unifilter.com/online%20catalog/accessories.html)

Down near the bottom they have these blue "Filtered Air Vents" for $10.95 each. They look pretty nifty and compact?

[JetdocX]

The filtered inserts (airvents) would be really clean if they fit into the hole, but I think they would clog fairly quickly.  Three screws to pull and clean, but the rear wheel practically throws the dust right into the airbox (another fine airbox design brought to you by the idiots at Triumph  :roll: )
Install two and cover one opening with duct tape, then when the bike starts wheezing, remove the fairing and duct tape and ride on?

I went to the local dirtbike store and bought the 2.5 inch ID dual stage filter with the 15 degree bend.  Had to remove the outer stage (red) to fit it all under the fairing.