Tiger dieing

[Zojirushi]

Hi,

This is my first post as I am looking at buying this 96 Tiger.  The owner says it dies after 15 or 20 minutes and will not start up for another 15 or 20 minutes.  He says there is a sensor that detects when the bike gets too hot and this is the reason it is dieing.  He states the mechanic told him it needed a new thermostat.  I am not too familiar with these bikes, but this does not sound correct.  The dieing seems like it would be a fuel or electric issue, and the thermostat something else?  Am I way off?

I am hoping to take a look tomorrow, but the bike is 4 hours away.  Any help would be appreciated!

[CoolHandLuke]

+10 for the yarn the seller span.  You are right, the seller is talking bollocks.

How ever, the problem doesn't sound too serious.

Start it up and see if you can produce the problem before paying.  When it does happen, look to see if the RPM needle goes straight to zero.  If so, it is going to be the pickup sensor on the crank (this would be my best guess).

My next guess would be fuel starvation or water in the fuel.

If the price is right, and you can knock him down from the average going rate, do the following checks.

Ask the current owner whether it has always been like this since he bought it or has he had some work done to it - this can usually narrow down where the problem is.  Likewise, getting an idea about his previous owner can give you an idea of the kind of upkeep the bike has had.

Check the oil (and it's colour).  Wipe some oil off the dipstick onto a white cloth and check the colour.  You are looking for a brown colour. Anything approaching black means it hasn't been serviced for a while.  This will give you an idea how the owner takes care of the bike.

On the left hand side, turn the fuel off and remove the hose.  Get a clear glass or plastic bottle and run some petrol into the bottle using reserve.  Check the fuel is not cloudy and doesn't have and bits, or water settling on the bottom.  Also check the flow rate in both positions.

Where are you located?

[Zojirushi]

In Texas and the bike has 30K on it.  I really want it but am averse to headaches.  I do all my own maintenance though.

[CoolHandLuke]

In Texas and the bike has 30K on it.  I really want it but am averse to headaches.  I do all my own maintenance though.

If it looks like it has been well looked after, then buy it.  Can we ask how much he is asking for it?  You are in the position to knock him down quite a bit if you tell him its going to cost and, the local garage is pants, so you'll have to take it 50 miles away, etc, etc.

It is very unusual (almost unheard of) for these early Tigers to go wrong.  My money is on the pickup sensor, which is about a 30 minute job for an experienced mechanic.

[JetdocX]

In Texas and the bike has 30K on it.  I really want it but am averse to headaches.  I do all my own maintenance though.

As far as headaches go this looks like a really minor one compared to what could be wrong.  I won't take you down that road. :roll:

Sounds like the crank position sensor.  They only last about 25-23K miles.  

It's a $40? fix and maybe half an hour of your time.

How much?

[Zojirushi]

Well, she is sitting in my driveway.   :D
I paid 1400 for her.  Oil looks good.  Will dig in further this weekend.  Any clues as to where to find side rack systems for these bad boys?  I'll update as I make progress.

Thanks for the help!

[Timbox2]

Well, she is sitting in my driveway.   :D
I paid 1400 for her.  Oil looks good.  Will dig in further this weekend.  Any clues as to where to find side rack systems for these bad boys?  I'll update as I make progress.

Thanks for the help!

Normally in the Rare Rocking Horse section of ebay  They do come up but not often these days

[CoolHandLuke]

Well, she is sitting in my driveway.   :D
I paid 1400 for her.  Oil looks good.  Will dig in further this weekend.  Any clues as to where to find side rack systems for these bad boys?  I'll update as I make progress.

Thanks for the help!

Cool.  You won't regret it.

Hepco & Becker are about the only people still making racks for the steamer.

[rybes]

there was a set for sale in the for sale part of the forum. sunno if he still got em tho but no one was intersted in em for a while

[Rocinante]

+1 on the pickup sensor.

Good luck with your new bike.

[Zojirushi]

Well, I got the new sensor in, changed the oil, and she started right up.  She ran for about 20 minutes with a thin white smoke coming out of the left pipe the whole time.  Finally, I went to rev her to see if the smoke changed, and she died as soon as I gave her some gas.  I had revved her a few times before and the smoke did not get worse and she did not stumble or die.

So is it a fuel problem?  The gas looks good in the glass container.  Or could it be a coolant leak?  Head gasket?  (I really hope not)  When I saw the white smoke I wasn't concerned as apparently, the guy who towed her had dropped her when his trailer had a blow out, but for the whole 20 minutes?  That seems excessive.  The smoke is very faint, though.  Hard to see.  Not sure when the last time she was run, but it couldn't be more than a month or two.

 :?:  :?

[rybes]

white smokes steam, grey smokes oil, black smokes runnin rich. you problem sounds like a carb issue somewhere whip em out n give em a good clean and set em up as per the sticky at the top of the steamer forum

[Zojirushi]

Alright...I pulled the carbs, cleaned them, reset the mixture screws to 2 turns out (they were at 3 and had a hair of soot on the pipes).  All the jets looked good, but there was some crud in the float bowls.  Replaced the buggered float bowl screws with nice new SS allen head bolts.  Ordered a bunch of parts including new rubber bits between the air box and the carb and the carb and the head.  The parts person told me they need the engine number as 2 are available.  Are these respective to Mikuni vs Keihins, ie lower number = mikunis?  

Also, I lucked into a gentleman at the dealer with a brand new set of side racks for our tigers (still in the plastic which stated as much).  Unfortunately, they don't bolt up right.  Looking at others' racks it seems the side racks bolt to the top rack.  My top rack is this one:
http://www.bikebandit.com/1996-triumph- ... #sch562870

Anyone have closeups of how these should mount?

Now just waiting on the nologys and air box and I am taking this little beasty cross country.   :D

[Mustang]

These are the givi racks which used to be an option from the dealer for the 93-98 tiggers , you lose the top rack completely and use the givi top plate for the givi wingracks .

[Zojirushi]

Thanks for the pictures, Mustang.  That fully explains my dilemma.  Any idea on the difference for the rubber bits between the air box>carb>head?