Hello again

[Dr. Mordo]

The tensioner wasn't fully extended; it had a maybe 3/16 left to extend.  But you think I should replace the chain instead of the tensioner for now?

The bike wouldn't start after the move.  I finally figured out it was because of fouled plugs.  After I replaced the plugs, it fired up and started making this noise, that has never gone away.

Thanks again for all the help.  Mustang, we are lucky to have you here.

[Mustang]

Ok Dr.
here's a couple of things you need to check out

set the timing rotor on T1 so it points to the ignition sensor


now with the valve cover off and the tensioner in place you should see the arrows on the intake and exhaust cam gears pointing at each other the arrow on the intake gear will be at 3 oclock and the exhaust arrow at 9 oclock .they should be exactly pointing at each other
if they are not you have a worn out chain .

look at the chain in the below photo it is used but well within service limits (came from a low mile motor ) you should see about 18 1/8 th inch when it is laying on a flat surface like the photo.



and now remove the blade tensioners and look at them you should see some wear marks but no ridges carved in them
the below photo shows a set of used ones but not worn .



the tensioner is a problem if the spring has compressed as much as you say , it means it is not exerting full force against the blades like it should .

[Dr. Mordo]

Wow, thanks for the great tutorial!  I'll pull it back apart next week and order what I need.

[coachgeo]

....
The bike wouldn't start after the move.  I finally figured out it was because of fouled plugs.  After I replaced the plugs, it fired up and started making this noise, that has never gone away.....

This is what makes me puzzled.  Mustang wouldn't timing chain noises have been there prior to parking it?   Or would maybe the first few rounds of low oil from a parked dry engine have been a final straw for something to do with a weak timing chain?

[Bixxer Bob]

Don't forget to look at cheap things first, even if unlikely, like valve clearance??  If it's not any of them all you've spent is time...  I hate spending cash and not solving the issue.

Just my two penn'th :roll:

[Sinnergy]

Dr. Mordo,

That sure sounds like the noise mine started making (somewhat slowly and progressively) last year as it hit 83K miles.

First, I replaced the timing chain, tensioner, and one rubber--no change.  Then I thought it might be in the balancer, so I replaced the lash gears--no change.

I have since replaced the entire engine (started the new one up today for the first time), It still sounds lousy.

This is gonna sound stupid, but I'm seriously beginning to suspect that I have a carb that is doing something completely funky, and causing a weird miss leading to gearbox input noise.  I will be replacing my complete set of carbs with the ones from my parts bike, and see if that makes any difference.

If you have the chance, check out my old thread 'terrible sounding tiger', and listen to the recording that I made, and see how it compares to your ear.

Sinn'

[Dr. Mordo]

I just saw this post Sinnergy, sorry for never responding.

Mine sounds different to me.  Mine is a loud clicking or tapping, where yours just sounds like a noisy Tiger to my ears.  Did you try the different carbs?

Here's the links to the clips for the curious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwOvBcL52R8
http://the23rdcentury.com/othermp3s/TIGER.mp3

I'm thinking next month I'm going to try to to get her up and running again.  Wish me luck.

[Sinnergy]

In answer to the immediate question: Yes, overhauling the other carb set, and replacing the carbs has made a world of difference.  Its like a new engine (in fact, it is a new engine, but it sounded just like the old one until I replaced the carbs).  

As nearly as I can tell after opening up the original carbs, they were simply worn out.  The pistons in two of the carburetors were so worn, that the diaphrams were not working against anything.  I don't know if this is a common issue (until joining this, and the biker's oracle forums last year, I've known very few other triple owners) at 80K+ miles or not.  When I tried balancing the old carbs, it couldn't be done.  I thought they were sucking air through a diaphram somewhere, and had pulled the tops to see if there were holes or tears, but there weren't.  Now I'm pretty sure that they were sucking air from the bottom, and the diaphrams were just unable to do their job.

Listening to your mp3 file, the clatter that is the part I was 'listening for' on mine, sounds exactly the same to me on yours, but then I may not be the best judge with damage in both ears.  I would simply suggest that you go through your carbs before spending the time/money to replace all of the timing gear.  If you decide to go that way anyway, though; I have some nice used parts you're welcome to (tensioner, chain, one rubber).  Depends on your philosophy of bike repair.  Some stuff I wouldn't touch but new, others, I'm all for cheap.

Right now I'm re-soldering bits of the front electrics, and wiring in better headlamps, but now that I have my shift-reversal issue figured out, I should have it back on the road this month.  I have a one-day ride next weekend, and I hope to take the Tiger, but there is a reason that the VFR is 'always there' as a backup.

Lots o' luck,

Sinn'

[Dr. Mordo]

Hmm.  Well the carbs were recently reworked by Triumph, and I suspect they would have told me if they were wasted just so they could sell me a set.  So hopefully I'm not in the same boat you were.  Hopefully.

I appreciate the offer on the used parts.  I am tempted but figure with valve train components I probly shouldn't take any chances.

Thanks for the help, and have fun on yer ride!