Advice needed re Steamer rebuild

[EPO]

Hi, I have a 1993 Steamer sitting in my garage in pieces. According to the clocks it has 45000 miles on it but i cannot verify that. It has no oil in it. I have some documentation and it last ran about 4 years ago.

I really like the look of the bike and am considering bringing it back to life. I am willing to spend a reasonable sum of money on it over the next six months - maybe as much as a grand. The intention is to keep it as a modest tourer. I am a reasonably able and moderately equipped mechanic and will do as much of the work as possible myself. I have a Haynes manual.

My first query is regarding the engine. Given its age and unknown history my initial thought is to strip the engine and refurb it completely while it is out of the frame. Given your experience what should I be particularly looking at and/or what am I likely to find? Is it worth swapping out the main bearings, pistons, cyclinder liners etc? What about the valve train?

Secondly, to what level can I reasonably expect to restore the bike given its age and availability of spares? And what additional parts are recommended to add to the bike to improve it as part of the refurbishment?

I appreciate this is a somewhat vague query but any assistance, ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. If required, I would be willing to document the process and post the details?

Regards, James

[Bixxer Bob]

Hi EPO and welcome to the forum.  There are others who can answer your questions who will be along soon I'm sure.  Meanwhile, regarding the cost, it'll help people help you if we know where you are - the country at least.  So please update your profile.  As an example, in the UK parts are not so expensive that it wouldn't be worth doing whilst Norway prices would make your eyes water, just ask Harre.....

[NeilD]

welcome, you've come to the right place!  :D

heres a couple of threads worth looking through as they are recent rebuilds (BRUKENs thread includes his engine strip)

http://www.tigertriple.com/forum/viewto ... sc&start=0

and

http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,7427

Neil

[Mustang]

there are enough used  t309/409 engines out there that have plenty of life left in em and swapping in a engine from a sprint ,trophy, daytona ,trident etc etc , all will fit and the cost will be considerably less than rebuilding one .

But why bother ........if it was me , I would fill it with new oil and fire it up and see what we got .

It will either run ok and save you some money or it will go

[Colonel Nikolai]

I'm in the middle of rebuilding an engine / tranny on a Buell Lightning (XB series 1) , which is merely air cooled. My costs have already slightly exceeded the cost of buying a used engine on ebay and I'm only a bit more than halfway done.

In theory my rebuild will be better than a used engine because I have the engine disassembled and split, I'm redoing everything from the heads down.  I have also avoided the risks involved with an engine with an unknown history. But I'm only halfway there and I'm wondering if it's worth it.

So I'm with Mustang:

1) Insert oil try and start it up!

2) If 1 is not to your liking, look for a used engine.

I have a '96 Sprint that has 45k on it and has been down hard once. It shows no signs of dying. Doesn't even burn oil. I would feel confident taking it to the Yukon and back.

[jwray76]

+1 on looking to swap out for good used motor if necessary.

[CoolHandLuke]

Don't swap out the engine.  The 1993 engines are unique in that they have a top plate that allows easy access to the sprag clutch area.  Something that may be useful one day :)

45,000 miles is nothing for those early engines.  A courier in London, using that engine, but not on a Tiger, did 200,000 miles in two years.  Triumph got to hear about it and offered him a new bike in exchange for his old one so that they could take it apart and see how the engine was holding up.

I got my bike at 35,000 and it is now at 66,000 going strong - touch wood.

I recently helped change the liners and rings on a bike which had done 80,000.  Although the rings were well past their sell by date, the liners still had the cross hatchings and probably didn't need changing - but the owner insisted.

Out of curiosity, where are you based and what colour is the bike?

[CoolHandLuke]

But why bother ........if it was me , I would fill it with new oil and fire it up and see what we got .

It will either run ok and save you some money or it will go

+1 on this.

[CoolHandLuke]

I would change the cam chain and cam tensioner, too :)

[Colonel Nikolai]

Don't swap out the engine.  The 1993 engines are unique in that they have a top plate that allows easy access to the sprag clutch area.

AGREE! AGREE!

[JetdocX]

Gas 'er up and give it a chance first.  It might surprise you.  I'm sure the carbs need attention after that long and that may be the reason the bike was parked.

Parts are going to blow your $1K cap out of the water.  See what you have first then work from there.

[CoolHandLuke]

Parts are going to blow your $1K cap out of the water.  See what you have first then work from there.

I didn't want to put him off, so I kept quiet about that :)

[rybes]

welcome to the site mate. youve come to the right place for advice. it was invaluable when i was rebuildin mine. as for the engine, ive just found a 1200 powered tiger on ebay, so thats my next project  8)

[BruKen]

Welcome James.

Gas 'er up and give it a chance first.  It might surprise you.  I'm sure the carbs need attention after that long and that may be the reason the bike was parked.

Parts are going to blow your $1K cap out of the water.  See what you have first then work from there.

I agree to the first bit. Fire her up if the motor is still in the frame and see what transpires. As for cost of rebuild, that very much depends on what damage is present. For £130 for the complete gasket set it's worth stripping the engine down. My engine was in a terrible state but all it needed was a bit of TLC to bring her back to life. I spent very little in the way of new parts. As to what level you can restore the bike... well that's up to you. I thought mine scrubbed up rather well.

[EPO]

Wow! I wasn't expecting such a barrage of responses so quickly! Thanks to everyone already.

Firstly I'm on the Herts/Essex border in Epping, UK - not that far from Rod Stewart's house in fact.

I will read through the threads referred to by Neil D this evening and will probably have more questions.

Coolhandluke - how can I be sure that the engine is a 1993 model please? It is out of the frame at present in a wooden crate. Also, is the Cam chain and tensioner replacement difficult? BTW it is a sky blue colour.

Jetdocx - the carbs are dirty but seem serviceable. There appears to be a broken off cable at one end - could be throttle or choke?

As mentioned this machine has been disassembled for 4 years. It belonged to my brother who is sadly no longer around to advise. The fact that it is in pieces led me to feel that a rebuild would be easier at this stage rather than when the machine is reassembled - your comments appear to indicate that removing the engine is relatively straightforward - is that the case?

Having briefly been through the forum, I can see that there are numerous modifications possible. In your opinions what are the most worthwhile to plan for at this stage?

Many thanks indeed

 :lol:  :lol: