Sorry to say these early 955's suffered with valve clearance closing rather than becoming loose an occurrence even the dealers were baffled by. An in reality just believe me the valves do hit the pistons. I know that from experience. Regards Joe.
Are you saying that the bike may produce the loud banging sound in my video clip if one of the plugs isn't firing? I'm guessing to test this i just put the loose plugs in the loose but wired up coilpacks and ground them to the frame, tap the starter and check for fire on each correct?
Joe, think about it. For the valves to hit the piston they would have to be either: A: Lifted far higher than standard or B: Lifted at the wrong point in the cycle. Neither of these can be caused by wear. My bike suffered the inlet valve problem and were completely tight. The issue was the valves themselves being soft. When I stripped the head down the inlet valve heads were so worn that they were like razor blades!
Hard to tell in the video I've now listened to it again and can hear a clicking noise It's just where I would have looked first and also could be an alternator fault or clutch especially if all the valves are ok
The 955 engine may well be more susceptible to valve wear (my experience would suggest that), but unless there's lubrication problems at the cam end then reduced clearances is the norm for any engine as miles go on. That means the valves don't close, but aren't getting any closer to pistons........unless - I imagine cam chain tension would need to be in a bad way for it to jump a tooth but I'm wondering if that has happened and is worth checking out. Remove the rh crank access plug and rotate by hand, locate and check the timing marks on crank and cams for errors. You'll need a workshop manual for proper instructions. Obviously check valve clearances while you're at it. If timing is out then at best it's time to check chain and tensioner. And hope it's not head off for bent valve etc.
I appreciate all the responses. Ive never been involved in an online forum with as many people interested in helping to resolve a problem rather than just flaming people and ending inquiry before a resolution is reached. I will most definitely replace the plugs & check the coils as soon as I can isolate the terrifying noise.
1True The inmates here will stay with you as long as you keep firing the question. I learnt that a long time ago with an old classic. And they were right and put up with me and some of the silly question i had to ask. Great people and fantastic forum. Like I say to everyone welcome to the family and in many ways it is even better as they rabbit bikes all day long. And you know some even sound normal at times. Regards & hope you get sorted soon. Joe.
Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I am way out of town this weekend. I really wish I was home so that I could make some progress on the bike. I posted essentialy the same video and request for help right after I got the bike home last weekend on triumphrat.net when one of the members suggested I try this site. Maybe it was someone else's post you were thinking of. I don't think i ever said anything anti triumph other than that the nearest dealer wouldn't look at the bike because of its age and told me to check back after summer. Not anti triumph just the reality of the situation. Was it this post? https://www.triumphrat.net/threads/hello-all-please-send-help.973625/#post-2004100313
Do you know if there was a resolution to that guys issue. I wouldn't mind reading the thread if you have a link if for nothing more than entertainment.
Sorry for the long absence. No real progress to report. Just trying to make time to tinker with the S3. I still need to do the valve clearance checks. I recently had the idea of getting an endoscope to poke around inside to see if I could find an obvious fault. $20 later and here are the results.
It would fit up most noses. I was able to run it down a drink straw. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PBF6DX5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0hysFbB9FBZRF
After I read the manual a few more times, I will get some feeler gages and check the valve clearances. I'm thinking next I might drop the exhaust manifold and the oil pan to try to get at the other rods to see if that's where the slack is while the engine is still in the frame.
It comes with a hook, a magnet and a mirror attachment so that you can fish jewelry out of a drain or tight spot. That might help you sell the idea.
I hope its that simple. Closer inspection of the drained oil revealed some brass or copper looking particles. ignore the sludge. It all drained as liquid. The oil was in an open top container and some other debris made it into the container.
