Hello all, I just picked up a 1996 Trident in BRG and Cream with 10K miles on it. Here is the long-short back story. Back in 1996 I had just joined the Army (or as you across the pond call it, the rebellion). I was stationed in San Antonio, Texas and was riding a crap Honda CB that didn't run more often than it did. I took a ride down to the local triumph dealer, because I had read an article talking about the "big return." I was immediately taken with the BRG and cream Trident, but the meager salary of a newly married 2LT did not allow for it. I was however able to pick up a demo model Thunderbird. I had the T-bird for about 6 years before I moved on to something else. Although I've probably owned 20+ bikes in my life, I never got over missing out on the Trident. A couple of weeks ago I was browsing EBay, and sure enough, there was a 1996 BRG and Cream Trident. A couple of chats with the owner, and money was sent. It took me a couple of weeks to get up to New York to pick her up, but after getting there, I knew it was money well spent. She is completely stock and in amazing condition. Other than being paranoid about a Sprague Clutch going out, or an alternator bolt breaking, I'm pretty thrilled. Now I have her parked next to my wife's '06 T100 and my 13 BMW GSA. Winter is coming, and I long for a Spring ride to hear the triple roar once again.
Wot he says (apart from the Lincolnshire bit!). Change the oil and filter regularly, use a good quality fuel additive from time to time (Seafoam has been mentioned by those to the west of the UK/Ireland) to keep the carbs etc clean as modern petrol (gas?) tends to gum them up if left unused for too long, check the air filter box for mice (yes, really) if the bike has been unused for ages and don't forget to have the valve shims checked around (every) 12,000 miles. Bought my Trident 900 new in August '95 and still have it - this may say more about the bike than me!
Thanks for the responses. Good folks keep great bikes running. I’ve made an attempt at uploading a pic. Let’s see if it works.
Thanks again. Do any of you fine folks know if Triumph kept a record of bikes that had the alt bolt replaced? It seams that bolt can be a pita if it shears. Do I need to just pull it out and see, or ride it and hope for the best? Also, a quick pick of my 06 T100. Also a great bike, but not as spirited as the Trident.
That'll do nicely! Don't worry about the alternator bolt too much. Not unknown but not a regular occurrence.
Thanks much for all the welcomes. The last Hinckley I had was a 1995 Thunderbird. Back then, I never heard of any issues with the sprag. Maybe it was because there weren't as many forums on the internet. Can anyone comment on if it is really as bad as it sounds, so long as I keep a charged battery? -DD
Sprag clutch woes largely sorted by late '94 if my memory serves. The problem as I understand it was that a weak battery turned the engine over too slowly, and if it tried to start there was a chance that it could 'kick back' and ruin the sprag - think kickstarting an old 650cc twin or bigger, or perhaps a BSA Gold Star which, if it did kick back, would either (a) launch you into a low orbit or (b) break your leg or ankle - sometimes both. None of the aforementioned is in anyway good! I do believe the metal bits concerned were uprated (possibly), and without sufficient voltage available there would now be no spark produced, as the engine turned over, to cause half hearted firing and subsequent damage. However, it is/was not a 100% fix, so a good battery is still necessary to be safe. Forewarned is forearmed.
Hi Dustoff and welcome to the Triumph Asylum - Nursie will be round soon with your 'meds' !!! That new bike of yours looks absolutely mint, lucky fella. Will only increase in value from now on.
Thanks again gents. I look forward to picking the collective for good ideas and upgrades. I already got some Sprint calipers on the way. Now I need to source some rotors and look at front suspension ideas. Winter in Northern Virginia is garage time for me. Cheers, -DD
The problem was " ecu" related, the original ignition/ ecu controller would allow spark plugs to fire as soon as ignition point was triggered by turning over engine. These engines were very good compression wise, would hold a combustible mix under full compression pressure for 20 minutes and more ! So a hot Engine was at greatest risk of sprag clutch failure on restarting. They should have been fixed during services @ triumph dealers, there was a recall/replace policy for the igniter/ecu. I had a 94 Trident that had ecu replaced @ 40,000 klms.
Good to know about the ECU. I called the local Triumph Dealer and he said there were no open recalls on the bike. I'm not 100% sure that his computer system went back 21 years. -Cheers, DD.