a fight to the bitter end !!!

[NeilD]

thought I'd 'just' clean up the front brakes, and fit the 'new' wheel this morning... all was going fine (well as 'fine' as anything goes on this thing!) till I tightened up the l/h caliper mounts, and then discovered the wheel was locked up  :?

closer examination of the new bolts explained why...


P1010951 by GUZZINEIL, on Flickr

original bolt on the left, new one from Triumph on the right... its 'only' a couple of threads longer, but too long...  strangely the r/h side was OK.. ?

[chairhead]

Good to see a nice wodge of the ole copperslip on the fasteners :D
this goes on everything with a thread on my bikes

[rybes]

i had the same thing when i put the stainless bolts in mine. one side was about 2 or 3 threads too long. its a funny size bolt. summink like 42mm long

[NeilD]

should be 47mm according to the parts list, not measured them but I guess they've 'upgraded' to a more standard length..  :roll:  yes odd that its only a problem on the lefthandside - so the scabby old ones are back in for now, that'll teach me to try tarting the thing up!!!  :roll:

[rybes]

so the scabby old ones are back in for now, that'll teach me to try tarting the thing up!!!  :roll:

no, no, no neil. you should be thinkin. "oh yes, even if you resist i will tart you up :P "

[NeilD]

it lives!!  :)

slotted the pipes with a hacksaw, and they now tighten up (thanks GavD :) ), got it running off of a remote bottle.. took a while to start and seems to have a stumble ablout 3000 rpm - hope thats old fuel and not the pipes.. have both baffles in and it has a nice throaty sound without being too loud - I quite like being stealthy round the back roads  :)
suprised how well the tank fitted, considering its not the original..  
had a walk round with a spanner and checked everything is tight, so tomorrow I'll put some petrol in the tank and see how it runs.  someone had already mutilated the carb drain screws so I've now run it till the floatbowls are empty.  

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/5596130038/)
P1010956 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/5596130038/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr

[GavD]

Neil,

I had quite a bad flutter around 3000-4000 when I fitted the Venoms. Looked into the jetting, and Mustang posts suggest my Keihins would have #40 pilot jets as standard and that they'd be ok. Opened her up and she had #38's in so ordered some #40's and she runs alot better. Still got a bit of a flutter which gets less as she warms up, but I do still notice it a bit.

Fully legal now, gonna take her for a long run on Sunday if my new oil pressure switch turns up in time.

[Mustang]

Neil,

I had quite a bad flutter around 3000-4000 when I fitted the Venoms. Looked into the jetting, and Mustang posts suggest my Keihins would have #40 pilot jets as standard and that they'd be ok. Opened her up and she had #38's in so ordered some #40's and she runs alot better. Still got a bit of a flutter which gets less as she warms up, but I do still notice it a bit.

Fully legal now, gonna take her for a long run on Sunday if my new oil pressure switch turns up in time.

iff'n you have Keihins  put a 8mm diameter x 1 mm thick ,flat washer under the needles , so as to shim them up , same as if you would move the needle clip on a mikuni  , and stick some 105 main jets in her and then take it for a ride and see if you can get the silly grin off your face .
should get rid of the mid range stumble for you nicely ..did on mine .

[NeilD]

I was (and still am!) hoping that I wasnt going to have to mess around with the carbs..  :?  mikunis on this is..  
nevermind we'll see what its like once back on the road..

[GavD]

Forgot to say that I'd put 105 mains in at the same time, I didn't do the shim up though. Need to get hold of some washers and do that next time i'm in there.

[NeilD]

well, got to ride it today  :)

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/5597743349/)
P1010962 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/22730494@N06/5597743349/) by GUZZINEIL (http://www.flickr.com/people/22730494@N06/), on Flickr

the good news is that the fluffiness seems to have gone, now its had a dose of fresh fuel through it.. happy with the way the exhaust sounds  8)
everythign seems to work, although need to check the tyre pressures - I've gone with Meztlers recommendations but seem a little high for the front (36/42 psi)

But, seems to be another issue....

left house with about a gallon of fuel in the bike, running fine for a couple of miles and it  started missfiring, losing power and finally just stopped.. got it going and heading back in the opersite diection. Same thing happened (after about 4 miles!).. got it going eventually and it seemed fine, so I headed off to the petrol station to top up (didnt fill up in case I had to push it!! )  
after that it ran fine for about 40 miles, pulled well, a couple of high speed runs and some slow stuff... then just as I got near home I slowed down to pull over and take some pictures and it did the same thing again. Opened tank cap, there was no rush of air, but it started and I managed to get it home but barely running..
back home I opened the tank cap, and this time there was a definate 'hiss', it started straight up and was fine for a quick trip around the block..

so - if its the tank vent, is this nornmally and intermitent fault? something in the vent tube moving around?? I'm not convinced it is that, as when the bike was parked up earlier it was doing the 'whale song' thing, which i understood ment the vent was working..

alternatively I wondered about ignition pick-up fault.. I know these play up when hot, how long do they take to cool down and work again?  and again, do they play up inttermittently?

[Mustang]

generally the ignition p/u coil will fail when hot and after 15 minutes or so will start up ok then repeat as engine temp comes up . when she dies it usually goes all at once and if you notice the tach will drop to zero even if you are in gear rolling when it dies .

ignition pick up usually has no bad running spells it just plain up and dies .
coils on the other hand can behave alot like you are describing . misfires poor running loss of power due to 1 or more cylinders not firing .

To confirm the tank vent just open the cap and ride it with the cap open , if she never goes into poor running conditions you have found your problem .

also those pesky filters on the main and reserve pipes on the petcock like to suck shut and it wont get the fuel it requires .

[rybes]

thas one purdy lookin tiger you got there neil :D now if i can just reach in that photo and grab that lil copper pipe on the carb ill be hppy :lol:

[NeilD]

now if i can just reach in that photo and grab that lil copper pipe on the carb ill be hppy :lol:

I thought of you when I was looking at the mangled/siezed carb drain plugs, and then decided to leave them alone!!!  :D

Mustang - petcock should be ok as I swapped it over from my old tank today so had a check of the filters..
I did run it for a while with cap open and it was ok, but equally it was ok with the cap closed for 40-50 miles..
however I noticed when I had the tank off over the winter that they appear to be original coils  :shock:  so had pencilled in budgeting to replace them...
Had to replace a set on my T/Bird Sport, although the fault on that wasnt quite as extreme, it just missed and ran poorly at low revs...

[rf9rider]

Does the clock work?  :lol: