I finally got the Steamer back on the road! Performed a pod conversion, oil change, chain rub strip/block replacement, new fluids all the way around, new bulbs for the instruments (virtually all were burned out, and installed new fairing hardware. Took it down to have it titled and registered and it ran excellent!
Unfortunately, when I got home and washed the bike, I noticed a small hairline crack on the outer portion of the rotor-- maybe a 1/4 of an inch long or so and it doesn't appear to go all the way through. Major cause for concern there? Do you guys think I can get away with riding it for a season (1,500 miles or so), or should I replace it immediately?
Run it .....but start lookin for a spare .
It would not pass inspection here in NH
Thanks for chiming in, Mustang-- I really value your expertise. I figure I'll favor my rear brake until I get it replaced this fall.
I mean... it's only a brake, right? Who needs 'em, anyway?
I ran with a cracked disc for probably 1,000 miles. When the mechanic who does my MOT test and other stuff saw it he wouldn't let me ride it home. He gave me lift in his van. As he said they can distort on that crack and jam in the calliper locking the front wheel and sending you over the bars. I would get it changed asap. Discs are cheaper than a new head.
Update:
I just noticed another crack on the other rotor as well, and in the same spot. It's frustrating, because the bike's been a bit of a money pit. I figured it wouldn't be cheap to restore it to its former glory, but it seems like every time I turn around it needs something. It's been a labor of love, and I'm not planning on giving up any time soon, but it's been an expensive endeavor.
I'm kind of surprised the holes were drilled so close to the edge of the rotor... seems like it's just asking to fracture there. Yet, aircraft repairs on aluminum used to constitute drilling a hole at the end of the crack to stabilize it, which is essentially what we have here, so I ought to be relatively sure it's not going to crack further, yeah?
Any recommendations for rotors on a budget? How about pads?
@98TIGA - thread hi-jack! Nice looking steamer!
I really dig the crank case breather routing into the exhaust!
You're not using a stock PITA air box either, do you have a link on what you did for the current carb set up? Jets, filters, etc.?Thx
Good luck on the rotor!
Thanks, man! I sure appreciate it. I'm running K&N pods (PN# RC-0983) on there now. I currently have it jetted to 42 pilots and 138 mains, 2.5 turns out on the air adjustment screws; picked the jets up at the Honda dealership. I couldn't justify the outrageous price for carb boots, so I made some out of 1" sections of radiator hose. I'm very pleased with their rigidity, and they don't seem to have any problem supporting the weight of the carbs without a bracket. You can see them on the "Necessity: The Mother of Invention" sticky at the top of the board.
The breather hose is actually zip-tied to the lower engine/brush guard. I considered going the duckbill route, but instead attached a PVC valve that I picked up at NAPA.
I initially purchased some Chinese-made rotors (Arashi) off of Amazon that seemed to get decent enough reviews, but canceled the order after getting cold feet. Ended up purchasing some Brembos from a company in Italy for $77/piece, along with some EBC pads.
I had a woman run a red light and nearly t-bone me as I was going through an intersection last night. I guess brakes are kinda' important... would've been a terrible time for them to fail!
Glad you're still riding & avoided a crash!
Two things you NEVER skimp on: Tires and brakes, but you know that!
Also, thanks for the info on your carb set-up!
So, the Brembos are installed? Any photos? Problems with install, etc?
I just ordered the rotors a couple of days ago and I haven't received confirmation of them shipping yet, but I'm confident there won't be any issues. Listing was for a "1993-1998 Triumph Tiger 900" and the company's gotten excellent reviews. I'll certainly upload photos and report back when I have them installed.
Gday 98. Just a small thing that may not be a problem for a while (radiator hose is a bit stronger than original carb insulators!). My Honda CB750 racebike suddenly wouldn't run right. I spent a shitload of time and a nasty amount of cash (after I gave up!) to be told the insulators had cracked because my new you-beaut carbs and pods weren't supported. The pretty new insulators could not possibly have been the problem, because they were newer than nearly everything else on the poor old thing! 2 zip-ties and the old, hard, shitty insulators from the box of 40 year old parts have performed flawlessly for years! Anyway, file that away I suppose. Nice looking Steamer, by the way. Good luck with her.
Thanks for the heads up! I'll certainly keep that in mind. I think I'd feel better about fitting some sort of support bracket to take the load off the carb boots-- I just haven't done it yet.
I appreciate the compliments on the bike, but I have a confession to make... I inadvertently uploaded the wrong file here. The shot I posted was the result of me playing around in Photoshop with different paint and decal schemes. I'm not quite sure how I managed to do that, but will post the unadulterated photo of my bike tonight.
I have some left over maroon single-stage paint that I purchased for an '83 Jaguar XJ6 I was going to restore. I've since sold the car, and now I have a quart of the stuff just lying around... might deviate from the British racing green that's on it now (so I don't blend in with the trees so much); perhaps do some silver or gold leaf "Triumph" badging.
I was fortunate enough to pick up on a number of parts from a fella' that was parting out his Steamer last fall. Last night I installed a set of Tech-7 heated grips that I purchased from him, and I'm mulling over whether I want to put the Hagon rear shock on there now or run the original for a while; dampening still seems to work quite well. I've got some Heed crash bars on order from Poland and some T400 front turn indicators coming from Germany, so I'm as giddy as a little boy on Christmas Eve! No more hand signals for me!
@98TIGA - Contact me when the Heed crash bars come in, I have advice for the installation that their instructions lack.
I certainly will! Thank you. Do you have Messenger by chance?
Quote from: 98TIGA on June 27, 2019, 04:52:22 PM
I'm mulling over whether I want to put the Hagon rear shock on there now or run the original for a while
Do yourself a favour, fit the Hagon. I would expect a 98 original shock to have lost its gas by now. I bought a second hand Hagon from fleabay and it was only after I fitted it that i realised how shit the original had got.
You really think so, Gav? When I first got the bike, I noticed the ride height was quite high. Turns out the dampening adjustment was turned up all the way! Since backing it out, I can actually touch the ground with more than just my tiptoes.
I've read the Hagon is actually shorter than the stock shock and effectively lowers the bike's overall height. Is that true?
The Hagon appears to be in great shape, with the exception of the plastic/rubberized coating over the spring, which is starting to crack and break away. I wonder what the ramifications of removing this coating would be? I frequently wash my bike with a little bit of diesel/kerosene along with the soap, so rust and corrosion isn't a huge concern to me.
That was my experience, your shock might still be OK. I don't remember thinking the bike had lowered. Surely a direct replacement would be the same length?
I think ride height would be determined by how far the preload rings are screwed down the threaded part of the shock at the top.
Triumph seems to warn against adjusting preload yourself, strongly suggesting it be done by the dealer instead. Should I be concerned? I really wouldn't mind lowering ride height a bit.
And the saga continues! I had this sneaking suspicion I was experiencing DAR, so I figured I'd better investigate further before taking the Tiger too far from home. I ended up stripping one of the upper alternator bolts in the process of removing the thing and had to drill it out-- not an easy task with those hardened bolts! Fortunately, the engine-side bolt doesn't have any play, so it's the (relatively) easy fix for me. I think I'll take the alternator to the local machine shop and see if they can extract the broken bolt in the alternator shaft. I'll probably also replace the Torx bolts with some flange hex bolts to avoid stripping issues in the future. I don't know about these torque specs sometimes... seems like things are unnecessarily tight!
You can see the damage below. Sorry for the kink in your neck-- somehow the image got flipped 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
Bummer! (please elaborate on "DAR")
I hope you're back to riding ASAP!
DAR: Dreaded Alternator Rattle
The issue has been written about ad nauseam in the forum, so I won't go into great detail here, but essentially the bolt holding the cush drive vane on the end of the alternator shaft sheers, leaving the bolt head and washer(s) to rattle around. It appears to be extremely common, and only truly rectified when the slop between the splined shaft and drive vane has been eliminated (through the use of JB Weld, for example).
Now, to determine the length and pitch of the shaft bolt... I can't imagine there's going to be much left of it once it's extracted.
I drilled and tapped an alternator shaft to the next size up
Because it had destroyed threads
You dont want jb weld
You want the green threadlocker
I forget the # but is used as a bearing retainer
Found it ....loc tite 609
And fills voids when it hardens you need torch to remove
Thanks, Mustang! Yeah, I saw that shaft/bearing locker mentioned in one of the other posts on the forum; will see if I can pick some up on my way home from work.
I know I need an M6 x 16mm bolt. You wouldn't happen to know the pitch off-hand, would you, O Great One?
M6x1.0mm
And next size up is m8x1.25mm
Thanks a bunch, Mustang! I wasn't able to find any of the LocTite brand green threadlocker, but I was able to find some made by Permatex. I wonder how the two differ, aside from the 1,500 PSI difference in shear strength...
I just replaced my rear rotor. The one listed from Bikemaster as the proper one was not the right one. The vendor said they got bad info from the manufacturer. Then I got another one from Amazon that said it would fit my 98. Nope! So I looked here for the proper size and bought that one. Aftermarket for the Steamer has a lot of bad information. Also got the wrong pads that supposedly were the correct ones but they very different. So be aware of bad fitment info.
That's good to know! I'll probably be purchasing a new rear rotor here before too long; just need to pace myself... the wife's a little upset that I've spent our life savings on Steamer parts over these past couple weeks. :m
Fortunately, the part number for these Brembo brakes is listed on their website as being compatible with a '93-'98 Tiger, so I think I'm in the clear!
Here's what I hope to work on next spring: a repaint from the original British racing green to a wine red/maroon. It's a (very expensive) single stage paint I bought for a Jaguar XJ6 project that I ended up selling. From what I understand, you can use urethane clear coat over urethane single stage paint without any compatibility issues, so I might try my hand at doing some gold leaf on the Triumph lettering. Too rich for a Tiger? Maybe. Perhaps I should do some burl wood veneer on the dash too...
Oh, I've got the "stripped out bolt" blues...
I went to remove the bolts from the brake disk-- they came out effortlessly on one side, but four of the six stripped out on the other, despite spraying them liberally with penetrant and using an impact wrench. It looks like they had blue LocTite on 'em, and I don't doubt that had something to do with how difficult they were to remove. I really question whether the stuff was actually necessary. Anyway... stripped out nuts and bolts are the bane my existence, and it's been a particularly big issue with this bike.
It looks like the condition of the rotors was worse than I initially thought too; stress fractures were pretty extensive.
@98TIGA - wow - did you apply heat to potentially loosen the loc-tite?
When you get the rotors, etc. please post up the proper item numbers for us.
Thanks!
I didn't realize there was thread-locker on there to begin with (doesn't appear to be mentioned in my manual), and by the time I discovered it, the damage was already done. I did try to heat a couple of the bolts with a hand torch whilst using an impact wrench, to no avail. I won't be using thread-locker on the rotor bolts when I go to install them. When it comes to external fasteners that are relatively easy to access, I prefer to check their tightness periodically instead of relying on a retaining compound.
Regarding the Brembo item number, I can do you one better. Here's a link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Brake-Disc-Fixed-Brembo-Serie-Oro-Front-for-Triumph-Tiger-900-1993-62-1998-/362487814488?txnId=1037020718023
It took them nearly a week to ship, but once they did, I swear they arrived from Italy to Idaho in a matter of just a couple days. At $77/piece and $35 combined shipping, I think they were an absolute steal.
Unfortunately, I didn't realize the left and right brake pads were different part numbers, so I accidentally ordered two rights. On the bright side, it looks like I'll be able to use the additional pad on the rear. A cursory inspection seems to indicate the right front and rear pads to be the same.
@98TIGA - that's some good info rt there! Thanks!
Certainly!
Below is a photo of the new rotors installed. Since four of the bolts I removed had to actually be drilled out, I opted to go ahead and use the remaining eight bolts (hand-tightened) to reinstall things to the point where everything is pretty much back together. I was incredulous to discover that Triumph wants almost $8 a piece for the disk bolts, with a wait time three to four weeks. I ended up ordering a kit of 12 for $52 from 2WheelPros instead.
In other news, I finally got some front turn signals installed. I gave up trying to find pair of OEM ones and instead purchased some Bike Master mini indicators on Amazon for like $17. I'm fairly happy with their quality at that price point, and what's more, their squared-off design looks very similar to a miniature version of the originals. They're pretty bright, too!
Never mind 'bout the photos. I keep getting an error:
"Your attachment couldn't be saved. This might happen because it took too long to upload or the file is bigger than the server will allow.
Please consult your server administrator for more information."
Photos are two/four MB.
I have gotten the same photo message.
You need to re-size the photos for them to be uploaded.
Thanks for the tip! So much for that 10GB attachment limit, eh?
Quote from: 98TIGA on July 10, 2019, 11:24:35 PM
Thanks for the tip! So much for that 10GB attachment limit, eh?
Its the norm to "Host" photos with Photo
bastard, Bucket, or similar, I use One Drive. Saves using TT's storage and pissing Mustang off :icon_lol:
I would get some fork gaiters on to prevent road debris or a stone from messing up your upper tubes.
Roger on the fork gaiters! I'm actually going to make some out of nylon and Velcro on my industrial sewing machine. I just can't bring myself to spend $50-$60 on Shock Sox.
I'll use Photobucket going forward. I didnt even stop to think about using up server storage space; how inconsiderate of me.
You need one more bolt (at least) in the rotor photo!
Actually, I need two (per rotor-- I explain in a previous post)! I'm waiting on a kit of 12 to replace the old ones; I just did a dry-fit so I could get the bike back together. When the new bolts come in, I'll install 'em and get this thing back on the road!
I'm old & forgot what I had read earlier!
Good luck with the repairs! :occasion14
I installed the Heed crash-bars this morning. Here's hoping I never need 'em...
Great place to hang your underwear to dry when you're Moto-camping. You'll meet some interesting people if you do(don't ask me how I know).
Ha! That's awesome.