Featured What you been doing with your TRIUMPH today??

Unfortunately I have not done anything on the tiger for nearly two weeks, following a trip to A&E a couple of weeks ago. My left knee finally gave up on me. Couldn’t stand on it for a week. Has improved this week, but I’m a bit concerned about it locking when I’m on the bike.
I’m in to see the knee Consultant in a couple of weeks. I’m hopeful to get a replacement scheduled fairly quickly.

So I’m very jealous of all you good people taking advantage of the beautiful weather

 

Ouch - hope you get sorted soon @Wessa

 

I'm no doctor, but don't rush to get back on the bike, a mate of mine dropped his DRZ 400 on his knee, and as a result of that had to have his knee replaced. It's taking time to heal but with excersise all should be well. The last thing you need to do is drop that lovely Tiger, and bugger up your knee. Take it easy, put your feet up in the garden, and read the ride reports on here. You might get depressed reading them, but your day will come.

 

Fitted the new gear change rubber to replace the one held together by cable ties and the new proper flasher relay now the flashers work as intended and flash at the correct speed. The original gear change rubber had been cut the cabled tied together and after the struggle to fit the new one I think that it was done deliberately.

Plezier

 

Just got back from a trip via France and Germany to ride around the Austrian passes on the Speed Triple.
Amazing scenery.

 

Out on the 765 tonight for what appears to be a bargain for the youngest.
I spotted a pair of camouflage RST bike trousers in his size on the Squires noticeboard the other night.
Only ten miles or so down the road, £25 later he's wearing them for the return trip

 

Just gave the Tiger a proper wash after a muddy trail ride cleaned out the chain gunk and checked tire pressure. Ready for the next adventure.

 

So today wasn't quite as planned.....

Up reasonably early, mot booked in for 09.00. Bike out of the workshop and myself then kitted out, helmet on, ready to go.
Press starter ....... nothing, absolutely nothing!

Dash lit, sidestand up, starter, no show. Umm

Ok, so no mot today.
Workshop reopened and voltmeter says 9.7 volts
Optimate after 10 minutes shows red light on .... err cell failure quite possible I start thinking, new battery required and start again ( pun intended ).



A quick ride out in the car and problem sorted for £35.

 

So arrive home with the new battery, "I'll have this done in a quarter of an hour", I think I said to myself

Who are you kidding?

The battery, after removing a few ancillary bits and the ecu, was absolutely solid
It was like it had been put in onto a bed of "no nails"
The battery trough had built up with mud off the back wheel and packed the battery in tightly, as in solid!.

 

Best laid plans and all that! I know the feeling.
A few years ago, prior to a few days in Scotland on the ZZR, I checked the bike over the day before, tyre pressures, chain adjusted, fitted a new air filter I had waiting and took the bike for a quick test ride to make sure all OK, then got back and loaded the bike up with camping gear ready for an early start......No.
Got up next morning to an, almost, flat tyre. WTF!
On that "quick" test ride I'd picked up a rusty screw in the back tyre. B*llocks!
So, out with the roadside repair kit, fitted one of those mushroom plugs and away around a hour later. Thankfully no further dramas, even after some, erm, high(ish) speed miles. I kept the speed down initially but soon got fed up with that!
In fact the plug lasted the life of the tyre around 1500m later.

 

So whilst the battery is out let's look at the drainage.
What a joke Triumph, a crappy little 3 or 4 mm hole in one corner.

Now if reading this and planning on doing similar, bear in mind the plastic battery trough, airbox, electrics tidy is quite complex.

DO NOT DRILL DRAIN HOLES THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF THE BATTERY TRAY!!!

That will only empty water into the airbox


The screwdriver head is the pathetic drain hole provided by Triumph
Note the new, more generous, aperture next to it. This is the nearside and the factory drainhole wasn't even apparent until I'd drilled mine, as the buildup of crud had totally hidden it.


This is the offside behind the relay block.

And this is the newly cleaned perch for the new battery.

 

And eventually we set off for a nice run up to Masham for dinner.



A nice panini and tea with the wife having a bacon sandwich, good food at Johnny Bagdads

A steady wander through the lanes back to home, 104 miles covered with no issues, and the dash claims 70.4 mpg

 

Top design there Triumph!
How does water and road crud even get into the battery box in the first place?

 

The rear mudguard area isn't fully sealed and road grit/dirt, will find a way with the spray off the rear tyre.

Nature will find a way to get in to human created things, it's then up to the designers experience to give it a way out, something I learnt many years ago.
The best thing I did in my Landrover days, was going around the chassis with a 20mm holesaw providing proper drainage holes. After any muddy days, or periodically, I'd literally jetwash the 5hit out of it and so avoid festering corrosion.