1998 T595 Daytona Has Not Run Since 2017

Discussion in 'Builds & Projects' started by Tim Stich, Jun 22, 2020.

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  1. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    I'm having a 1998 T595 Daytona shipped from Austin, Texas to where I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado in a week or so. My high school best friend currently owns it, and he bought it new I'm fairly sure. So he is the original owner. This will be the second bike I have inherited from him for little cost. The first was an enduro 250 with the engine disassembled in a cardboard box. The immediate history is that it had maintenance done in 2017 and then was started and warmed up, at which point it began to overheat and it was shut off. Coolant was seen dripping from the water pump. It has sat in his driveway for three years uncovered since then.

    As you might expect, the seat is now cracked and I expect that the tires will be dry rotted from sitting in the same position for so long. As you know, these bikes are fuel injected, so no gumming up of the carbs will be an issue. The gas will of course need to be drained and replaced. The battery has seen freezing weather at a low charge, so it will be toast.

    My plan is to have it shipped to my storage unit where I will do some work, as I live in an apartment with slippery bastards lurking about, as that is where my KLR-650 was stolen. I plan to have a new, fully charged battery ready to swap out when the bike gets here. I plan to drain the tank with a hand pump rather than messing with the fuel couplings. The tank line couplings are stock, so plastic of course. Unless they are leaking, I don't plan to replace with the steel ones, but expect that might be wise to do at some point. I really plan to clean out the tank well and inspect with a fiber optic camera. Praying there is no rust.

    Once the tank is clean, and the coolant level is topped off and the oil checked, I plan to start it to see if it will run. Then I will let it idle and warm up so I can observe the water pump and coolant temperature. If it overheats and weeps coolant, I plan to shut it off and purchase and install a new water pump with new O-rings. Then I will go from there for other issues. If I cannot get it started I plan to have it towed to a Triumph dealership and have them do further investigations.

    I have a printed Haynes manual now and a bit of experience with other bikes and of course cars. Anything else you restoration guys might suggest? Many thanks and I love your stories.
     
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  2. Vulpes

    Vulpes Confused Member

    Mar 14, 2018
    16,831
    1,000
    Netherlands
    Good luck with that mate!
    Be sure to post some pictures...
     
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  3. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    Will do! Since I was just laid off, I'll have a lot of free time to work on it.
     
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  4. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    The journey begins...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Picked up in Austin, Texas and now currently in Irving, Texas, wherever that is. :-D
     
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  5. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    The Eagle has landed! Bike is now safely in storage, awaiting keys so that battery can be accessed and other stuff. Looks like the tree sap as discolored the windscreen and much of the paint. Fortunately, said trees protected the bike from the sun.

    [​IMG]

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  6. freck

    freck Elite Member

    May 4, 2017
    1,719
    750
    Preston, Lancs, UK
    Look forward to seeing your progress mate. :cool:
    She looks pretty complete so should hopefully be a nice project for you. :grinning:
     
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  7. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    Thanks! I'm going to bring some soap and water to the storage unit to wash the bike and get the leaves out of the radiator and nooks and crannies first I think.
     
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  8. beerkat

    beerkat Senior Member

    Aug 14, 2019
    818
    243
    Cheshire UK
    I always find it amazing that an owner can leave a bike to rot outside. Shame. Hope you manage to sort it and get it back on the road.
     
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  9. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    I have been guilty of this in the past, too. I even had a cover for a bike for a year, but the sun disintegrated it and it spent a year without anything. I have an upholsterer to make new seat covers, which I hope turn out as good as new. Those splotches on the bike are coming off, so I think in all it will survive this insult of neglect!
     
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  10. Adie P

    Adie P Crème de la Crème

    Jul 7, 2018
    3,620
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    Tim.

    You definitely WON'T find any rust in the tank - it's plastic! As you have ethanol in the gasoline there, you'll almost certainly find that the tank is being 'corroded' and distorted by the ethanol - there's evidence that it's swelling, as the front cover piece is cracked where one of the fasteners is located (as shown in pic. #4) - which may appear as 'bubbling' of the gel coat.

    I wish you luck with the project - the T595 is a VERY quick bike when it's working well!!
     
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  11. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    Right, the tank is plastic, which I was surprised to discover after rereading the specs and my friend mentioning it. I'm not a materials scientist or a chemist, but are you sure ethanol degrades the type of plastic used in this tank? If so, that was an exceedingly poor choice of materials. My guess on that cracking is that it is from UV damage and that the stress of the bolt tension cracked it. I was under the impression that plastics derived from hydrocarbons were not only resistant to substances like kerosene, gasoline, benzene, and similar compounds, but also alcohols. Acids are the killer of many plastics like nylon, so climbing ropes for instance should not be stowed near automotive batteries.

    Thanks very much for the well wishes! I am following the other fellow restoring the Sprint, which though has sat for longer at least was out of the weather completely in a garage.
     
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  12. Adie P

    Adie P Crème de la Crème

    Jul 7, 2018
    3,620
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    Any google search of 'effect of ethanol on plastic fuel tanks' will elicit a raft of information and experience of what ethanol laced gasoline/petrol can and does do to "plastic" fuel tanks. I use the quotation marks on the word 'plastic' as the term is commonly used to describe almost any non-metal fuel tank including GRP; fibre glass, nylon etc., et al.

    This is probably one of the more interesting articles :-

    https://www.johnsmotorcyclenews.co.uk/bike-tech/ethanol-its-impact-on-fuel-systems/

    but I'm sure there are many.

    So, like you, I'm no materials scientist or chemist, but I've heard and read far too many stories about ethanol and its effects to dismiss it as 'urban legend' or conspiracy theory!

    The cracking you observe is as likely to have been caused by distortion of the actual fuel tank as it is from UV degradation or damage. It is, apparently, a common problem on T595s but the distortion effect has been noted by owners of Sprints from the same era - take a look at the triumphrat forum for a shedload of discussion on ethanol and tank distortion. I think it's safe to say that, whatever else the T595's fuel tank is, it's certainly not ethanol proof ...... assuming it's untreated.

    Ethanol is probably the single, worst thing that has ever happened to the classic vehicle 'movement' as it's incompatible with many rubber, plastic, nylon etc. products - many of which are found in early carburettors - it is hygroscopic and the absorbed water can, and does, corrode steel, clog fuel lines and pumps, etc. To top it all off - so to speak -, it goes stale so rapidly it shouldn't really be left in a tank (of ANY kind) for more than a month! It does, however, benefit a few farmers who grow the feedstocks used for its source.


    The well wishes for your T595 project are sincere. I have a T595 (for the moment) and I love it - despite the cracks in the front tank panel cover! The engine is a peach and, perversely, that's one of the reasons I'll be parting with mine. The bike would wind itself into licence-eating recorded speeds without a moment's hesitation and certainly faster than my decrepit brain could keep up, and it would do so with an ease and lack of fuss that were quite shocking. It may not be the quickest bike on the road but it is quick with a capital F!
     
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  13. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    The whole ethanol blend idea is a ridiculous proposition. Grow food to make motor fuel. Oh, but it will be too costly to subsidize the farmer growing corn for the fuel. Nevermind it's terrible for the vehicles using it. Ethanol is for drinking, too, not driving. The mad fools!

    So the fuel tanks actually swell over time. Crazy! One other product I was surprised was very caustic was fuel injector cleaner. I tried using some in a carburetor once. It can dissolve clear fuel line and will make the interior slough off like burned skin. Lesson learned there. It's hard to believe that it is safe to use for injector systems, really.
     
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  14. Gladtobebackontwowheels

    Nov 23, 2019
    398
    393
    Dover. UK
    #14 Gladtobebackontwowheels, Jul 5, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2020
    Depending on the extent of swelling the tank can recover its original shape if left empty to dry out completely. My original tank was just starting to show signs of swelling and a few tiny blisters when I was lucky enough to pick up a brand new tank for £100. I sealed the new one before it ever had any fuel in and fitted it to the bike. The original tank I put in the loft to dry out for about 6 months and, sure enough it seemed to have returned to normal and the few tiny blisters had gone. I sealed that tank too and it's still sitting in my loft as a spare.
    The T595 has/had a couple of mechanical issues that may need sorting on your bike. There were reports of a weak 4th gear up to a certain engine number, (that I can't find at the moment), and also the springs in the back of the clutch assembly. The early bikes had double springs fitted and the smaller internal one can, and does, break dropping bits of spring into the bottom of the engine. On my bike a small piece of spring found it's way past the oil strainer and into the oil pump shattering it and requiring an engine strip down to fix it. It wasn't all bad news as I got them to change the gear cluster for a later one at the same time!
    Re the clutch; I couldn't find a suitable replacement at the time, with the later type springs, so we cut out the springs and welded the clutch together which worked perfectly. Riding the bike it felt exactly the same. I found a later replacement after a while and swapped it in, not a big job.
     
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  15. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    Thanks for the rundown on defects there, Glad2Be! I'll see if my friend had those upgrades done as part of his $4000 package in 2015. He had the battery attachments upgraded to make removing the battery easier. If I'm lucky, I can get the full shop paperwork.
     
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  16. XCaTel

    XCaTel Senior Member

    Feb 22, 2018
    510
    143
    Ireland
    Looking forward to the progress on this machine, best of luck and keep posting your progress.
     
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  17. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    The pecan tree shells and leaves I imported from Texas within the fairings.

    [​IMG]

    Key will not insert all the way into the gas cap. Blew out lock with carb cleaner but no luck. Might have to take the whole thing off. Unbolted it, but the gasket was super tight and I could barely rock it a little in the front.

    [​IMG]

    Battery is out and new one to be filled with electrolyte. Got a zero maintenance one of course. I do not want to check cells with this deep chasm of a battery compartment to deal with.

    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Tim Stich

    Tim Stich Well-Known Member

    May 25, 2020
    252
    63
    Colorado Springs, CO USA
    #18 Tim Stich, Jul 9, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2020
    Finally got the gas tank cap lock lubed enough to insert the key all the way in, but it won't turn. I tried unbolting the whole thing, but it's pretty snug in there. Has anyone run into this problem on an older bike? I started taking the whole tank off and will continue with that tomorrow.

    Got the rear fairing off and found some damage. The glued on bottom piece of the fairing is cracked and looks to be of a different type of plastic than the upper part, possible for heat resistance? Not sure why they did it this way. Perhaps the part is easier made with two pieces. In any case, I can repair it with the plastic epoxy.
     
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  19. Bad Billy

    Bad Billy Baddest Member

    Jun 1, 2017
    6,800
    1,000
    Southern Softyville
    Good luck with the restoration mate, will keep an eye on the thread now that I found it, late to the party as usual!! :p:D:joy:
     
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  20. Gladtobebackontwowheels

    Nov 23, 2019
    398
    393
    Dover. UK
    Glued on bottom piece? There isn't a glued on bottom piece.
     
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