didnt get much of an impression riding it home on Saturday as it was really windy so just wanted to get it home..
popped out tonight, but only had about half hour before it got dark.. :cry:
anyway, starts and runs well.. everythign seems to work... engine sounds quieter than my TBS, beginning to wonder if that has the DAR..
throttle seems heavier than the TBS - is that a mikuni vs kehin thing?
handles ok now that tyres have some air in them (there was about 25 psi front and rear :roll: ).
nice smooth ride apart from some harshness through the footpegs..?? think that it may be chain related as pulling in clutch and reving the engine doesnt alter it... I tried adjusting the chain, but to be honest I think its farked, seems lots of sideways movement on it. coasting to a halt I could hear/feel a graunchy nosie..
theres also a rachety noise when I push it around - again I think its chain related, but that will have to wait till i get it up on the stand tomorrow and can spin the rear wheel.
oh the headlights need adjusting (or the preload raising?!) as currently I am scaring any low flying owls but not lighting up much road..
but other than that, its fine! :D
Check the condition of your chain sliders. There is a rubber chain slider that fits around the forward part of your swingarm. Wear through that and you begin wearing the swingarm.
The lower chain slider when it disappears will result in metal to metal contact between the bracket and the chain.
well theres definately something amiss with the chain... I adjusted it before I went out on it tonight.. after reading JetdocX's post i've just been out with a torch for a quick lok.. the lower run of the chain is resting on (and running over) a bracket behind the footrest? :?
edit: looking at other posts I think I'm missing a rub block! :shock:
as an aside on adjusting the chain - do I need to slacken off the axle bolt or just the pinchbolts in the swingarm? sure I read to do the latter, but the haynes says slacken off the axle nut?
you can adjust the chain by just loosening the pinch bolts ,make sure it is in neutral and then rotate the chain adjusters to desired tension, ........but with a knackered chain it's pretty pointless cuz it will be tight , loose , tight depending on where the bad spots are .
also without the lower rub block it will make it hard to adjust the chain properly .
With a new chain the steamer likes to have about an inch an half to 2 inch of free play when it is unloaded and sitting on the side stand .
I guess the rub block should be here.. :shock:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3487/3987015636_3f84d89836.jpg)
that'll explain the grinding noise then... :roll
not in stock at local dealer, but it is at Triumph so should be able to pick it up Thursday..
that's the bugger , a new one is less than $20 USD from dealer and worth it's weight in gold .
Buy two. I just lost my second one. :evil:
Mine's missing too, looks like they are a collectors item (stop and collect what has fallen off :lol: ) so I will order two as well, good idea JD.
Put a tether on those things. :mrgreen:
I'm not thrilled with the oem rubbing block... doesn't last all that long and is too small, wrong location etc... but that's just me. Here's a worn out one:
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/wornchain-guide.jpg)
and here's the replacement during install... yup, less than $20 each at dealer.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/cs-chainblock.jpg)
I've actually now removed mine completely and replaced it with a large plastic fixed rubbing block that sits just below the swingarm pivot. No pic right now but I'll give some details later. Sort of a fix for a non-problem :roll: .
Brendan
'98 Steamer
ah so thats what it should look like! not what I expected - on the Moto Morini trail bike I had, I'm sure there was a cylindrical nylon roller set-up in that position, which is more what I expectted.. chain lube plus rubber is bound to make it go squishy and fall off.. :roll:
Quote from: "NeilD"ah so thats what it should look like! not what I expected - on the Moto Morini trail bike I had, I'm sure there was a cylindrical nylon roller set-up in that position, which is more what I expectted.. chain lube plus rubber is bound to make it go squishy and fall off.. :roll:
it's not rubber ...it's more like a nylon plastic
To prolong the life of the block place a couple of zipties where the chain contacts/grooves the block.
Quote from: "NoShock"To prolong the life of the block place a couple of zipties where the chain contacts/grooves the block.
Good to know, but I lost mine at <1000 miles. I was beating the kitty rather severely on the track at the time, though. I'm guessing the chain does some pretty nasty things when stomping downshifts followed by WFO accelerations. Your mileage may vary. I just picked up my third one at the dealer today.
how long did it take to go to that..
Quote from: "BR". Here's a worn out one:
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/wornchain-guide.jpg)
from this??
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/3994678775_863a38bff6.jpg)
went for a longer ride today.. much better than the other night, although still feel some roughnness through the pegs when slowing to a halt??
another thing I noticed is that it seems more difficult to push it backwards than forwards? noticed it too on a later bike that i went to view a few weeks back - I thourght it had a flat tyre!
front end seemed a little 'light' almost flappy when pushing on a bit.. would increasing the preload on the rear shock put more weight on the front end? just wondered if the guy before me was smaller, especially as the headlight seems to be high when I sit on it so maybe the rear is sagging more? other than that its really nice to glide over the bumpy backroads round here..
I normally gauge how far I am cranked over on the Thunderbird when I start scraping the toe of my boot on the tarmac... took me a while to realise that that wasnt going to happen on the Tiger however far I lent it ! :) good fun... 8)
Quote from: "NeilD"front end seemed a little 'light' almost flappy when pushing on a bit.. would increasing the preload on the rear shock put more weight on the front end?
yes put some preload on the rear shock and then pull the forks up in the triple trees by about a 1/4 inch and you will be pleasantly surprised
Check your chain adjusters, they might have been "flipped" 180 degrees to lower the back end. If the spindle is at the top it's been done, spindle should be at the bottom.
just checked and spindle is at the bottom... I'll have a play with the suspension at some point..
had another nice ride out today.. 8)
although found another job to add to the list - bike started the 'running out of petrol' thing so i flipped on to reserve, and it continued doing it! :shock: fortunately it was just as I got to a petrol station.. fuel light hadnt come on either, but managed to put 21 litres in.. ran fine then, even on reserve... think i need to pull the tap off and check the lower bit of the filter for crud...
Quote from: "BR"I'm not thrilled with the oem rubbing block... doesn't last all that long and is too small, wrong location etc... but that's just me. Here's a worn out one:
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/wornchain-guide.jpg)
and here's the replacement during install... yup, less than $20 each at dealer.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/cs-chainblock.jpg)
I've actually now removed mine completely and replaced it with a large plastic fixed rubbing block that sits just below the swingarm pivot. No pic right now but I'll give some details later. Sort of a fix for a non-problem :roll: .
Brendan
'98 Steamer
Show us a photo of this rig and how you fixed it to the frame!!
I can get tons of white Teflon blocks from work in short an enless suply!!
:lol:
Quote from: "ramseybella"I can get tons of white Teflon blocks from work in short an enless suply!!
:lol:
Couldn't get somebody to turn them up into a bobbin then mod an old bracket to make a roller :?:
Quote from: "Sin_Tiger"Quote from: "ramseybella"I can get tons of white Teflon blocks from work in short an enless suply!!
:lol:
Couldn't get somebody to turn them up into a bobbin then mod an old bracket to make a roller :?:
Would need a Lathe to turn the bobbin, but it would be easer to cut a slot in the bottom of the block and drill out two screw holes in the metal holder and screw the block to the holder!!
Quote from: "Sin_Tiger"Quote from: "ramseybella"I can get tons of white Teflon blocks from work in short an enless suply!!
:lol:
Couldn't get somebody to turn them up into a bobbin then mod an old bracket to make a roller :?:
Heck if you didn't live overseas I would ask you to send me your old one and I can have a go at it, any body in the states have an old chain block to send? :roll:
You don't need to pick up both screw holes. The end one will suffice. I made one out of Teflon with a hack saw and a drill while waiting to get a replacement. It went about 10,000 miles before I got around to replacing it with the original part (which I lost at the track after a couple hundred miles). :evil:
Quote from: "JetdocX"You don't need to pick up both screw holes. The end one will suffice. I made one out of Teflon with a hack saw and a drill while waiting to get a replacement. It went about 10,000 miles before I got around to replacing it with the original part (which I lost at the track after a couple hundred miles). :evil:
Looks like building your own works? I will have to try this 10,000 mile sounds damn good.
By the way what do these cost from Triumph and who sells more triumph steamer parts on line?
Quote from: "ramseybella"Looks like building your own works? I will have to try this 10,000 mile sounds damn good.
By the way what do these cost from Triumph and who sells more triumph steamer parts on line?
less than 20 bucks and steamer OEM parts are here for about the same price as at the dealer
http://www.bikebandit.com/triumph-motorcycle-parts/oem-parts
plan on two weeks for delivery
QuoteShow us a photo of this rig and how you fixed it to the frame!!
I can get tons of white Teflon blocks from work in short an enless suply!!
Ok fellas, here's what I did... like I said before jokingly, sort of a solution to a non-problem. Just something I felt like doing on my '98 BRG. I used a 1.5" wide block of Hi-Density Polyethylene because that's all the local TAP Plastics shop had. No nylon in the junk box. However, my buddy in the plastics biz high recommended UHMW PE which is Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene. Low Coefficient of friction etc.. commonly used for industrial chain rubbing blocks.
Lousy picture.. the flash washes out the detail on the white plastic block but you get the idea.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/chainblock6.jpg)
Bottom view...as you can see, I used the existing bracket for the OEM chain block.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/chainblock4bottom.jpg)
Here's a rough outline of the rubbing block... in the end, chopped off a the left side at the blue dashed line. I was impatient and it was taking too #%@#$ long to make it fit....LOL. The circular cut-out on the bottom side lets it sit nicely on the round lateral frame tube. Visible in the bottom view pic is the notch I cut out for the existing frame bracket. This lets the block sit snugly against the vertical part of the frame and puts the chain right in the middle of the 1.5" wide block.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/chainblockdwg.jpg)
I've put maybe 250 miles on this setup and the chain has settled in to its new block good enough.
Brendan
Quote from: "BR"QuoteShow us a photo of this rig and how you fixed it to the frame!!
I can get tons of white Teflon blocks from work in short an enless suply!!
Ok fellas, here's what I did... like I said before jokingly, sort of a solution to a non-problem. Just something I felt like doing on my '98 BRG. I used a 1.5" wide block of Hi-Density Polyethylene because that's all the local TAP Plastics shop had. No nylon in the junk box. However, my buddy in the plastics biz high recommended UHMW PE which is Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene. Low Coefficient of friction etc.. commonly used for industrial chain rubbing blocks.
Lousy picture.. the flash washes out the detail on the white plastic block but you get the idea.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/chainblock6.jpg)
Bottom view...as you can see, I used the existing bracket for the OEM chain block.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/chainblock4bottom.jpg)
Here's a rough outline of the rubbing block... in the end, chopped off a the left side at the blue dashed line. I was impatient and it was taking too #%@#$ long to make it fit....LOL. The circular cut-out on the bottom side lets it sit nicely on the round lateral frame tube. Visible in the bottom view pic is the notch I cut out for the existing frame bracket. This lets the block sit snugly against the vertical part of the frame and puts the chain right in the middle of the 1.5" wide block.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx172/brendaner/chainblockdwg.jpg)
I've put maybe 250 miles on this setup and the chain has settled in to its new block good enough.
Brendan
Great setup thank's!!
:thumbsup brilliant, adventure biking starts in the garage, this is what I love about these things, always somebody up for a go at it.
Sorry you're not having my old bracket, I want to have a go at it myself :lol:
One of you cats ought to start selling these things. Seriously.
Quote from: "Stretch"One of you cats ought to start selling these things. Seriously.
seriously for what they cost , $17 .............I have only had 2 on Tigger 2 since new with 65k . It's not a part that really needs reinventing , Triumph actually got something right .
excessive wear and or pulling them off the frame is from chains that are adjusted way too tight !
Quote from: "Mustang"Quote from: "Stretch"One of you cats ought to start selling these things. Seriously.
seriously for what they cost , $17 .............I have only had 2 on Tigger 2 since new with 65k . It's not a part that really needs reinventing , Triumph actually got something right .
excessive wear and or pulling them off the frame is from chains that are adjusted way too tight !
Just for the record...my chain tension was right on before I took it through tech at the track. It was loose after it came off. :lol: I've put about 2000 miles on it without the lower chain block. It's loud, but it causes no damage either. :wink:
The real damage I'm doing is putting off the swingarm rubstrip as I'm rubbing into the swingarm aluminum now.
I've got a new outlook when it comes to maintaining this bike. Do nothing! Runs like a top ever since I started this new regime! YMMV. :lol: :lol:
The previous maintainenance on mine obviously followed that regime :roll:
It's a good plan...
I've seen the effects of the other plan before, on a Crash Tender at an airfield. Maintained to in-operability...
But at least it kept the crew occupied everyday :lol: :lol:
FWIW McMaster Carr carries several types of teflon, HDPE, etc, in round stock, bar stock, etc.
what ever you guy's do, do not use a wheel chock as you material. when mine went out last year, i could'nt seem to find the right teflon at work so i cut up a wheel chock. it wore out superfast and made a wicked mess(like an eraser), covered my bike with yellow crap. thank god my new one came in from bikebandit quickly. the teflon thing is a great idea, and will be my next way to go when the time comes.
Quote from: "Stretch"One of you cats ought to start selling these things. Seriously.
12"x4"x2.5" $2.00!! But since they only cost $14.00 whats the point?
If I can convert this stuff to a swing arm chain guard? :roll:
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk237/ramseypete/ABlock.jpg)