Hello, new member hoping to find some help here! I recently got my first Triumph (after spending over a decade dreaming of having one) in a 2011 street triple, but sadly it seems to have come with some problems the dealer failed to catch/mention. At idle and low rpm (under 4000) it seems one of the cylinders is only coming to life intermittently, and will only kick in once the revs have climbed up a bit. This makes riding at low speeds pretty uncomfortable obviously, has also resulted in some unpleasant clacking noises and juddering when trying to accelerate from low rpm, and fairly frequent stalls at idle with clutch in. I thought it might just need to be ridden a bit after having probably been stood for a while, or fresh fuel, but neither of those has seemed to help. Am reluctant to ride it much more without fixing if possible. Spark plug or fueling problems also seemed likely but it looks like a bit of a mission to get at them so thought I would check if anyone had any advice before I start taking things to pieces. Might be worth mentioning that it seems the bike has been dropped at some point on its right hand side, but with minimal visible damage, slightly bent foot-peg, cracked indicator.. etc. That aside seems in very good condition and runs like anything once the revs are high enough. Would be very grateful for any insight or advice at all! I will add some videos to show the problem too.
That sounds like a misfire, either on the ignition side or possible an injector issue. If the bike has a diagnostic port (I should imagine it has) the dealer should be able to diagnose the problem easily. If they sold it like that they should sort it.
Thank you! Yeah I am a bit annoyed with the dealer really, to put it lightly. However, I am not sure if they are even competent enough to do anything about it. There was nothing to suggest it had any problems in the listing, except perhaps a vague "good bike for people who can maintain themselves". Should perhaps clarify that this is in Japan.. Just a general used vehicles dealer not a triumph specific one and the bike was delivered from across the country so taking it back could also be a bit of an ordeal. Will see what can be done though. There is also a triumph dealership a little closer to me too so might be worth taking it there!
Think it is a tank off job to change the plugs so probably best to leave to professionals if you are not competent. Check for dents in exhaust, may have been bent in drop. Check plug covers are connected tightly, maybe spray a little wd40 around, may be water in there . If you do take tank off to change plugs check pipes to injectors are not split. Plugs is my guess tho.
It sounds as if you were sold an unroadworthy vehicle. I would definitely have a go at the dealer. They must have given some form of warranty.
Just a quick update in case anyone has a similar problem, turns out it was just the spark plug on he right hand side that needed changing, as suspected! Running perfectly now thankfully. Thank you all for the advice and quick responses here!
I had a similar problem on my old Tbird many moons ago. When I gassed it to overtake a vehicle in front of me i would get alongside and the motor would cut to one cylinder. Close the throttle and it came back on two. It turned out to be a faulty suppressed plug cap. From then on I always used unsurpressed ones and put interference lines across the neighbours TVs.
