Hello all! So here's what I've got. I just bought a 2006 Tiger 955i with 24k miles and "seemingly" well cared for and in excellent running condition..."Seemingly"... The PO stated that he had not performed any maintenance or service to the bike in his short term ownership (August 2017) and I'm not real confident that any of the required service/maintenance (beyond oil changes) was done either. Here's the problems (and I hope they're at least not big problems). 1) I noticed on the highway ride home that the gears were very clunky. Neutral was also very hard to find but I attributed some of this to needing a proper oil change.There also seemed to be a fair amount of road noise but I thought maybe that was mostly from the hard, 9 year old tires that were on it or just my lack of experience with motorcycles (two short seasons). Is this normal? 2) After getting home (60 miles) I observed more concerns but not sure if, again, it's just my lack of experience. With the bike on its stand and in neutral, pulling in on the clutch created a change in sound. The real odd thing is that I hear it more distinctly and loudly coming from the exhaust. ??? 3) The most concerning is the engine sound and vibration. When revving her up to about 3k and above, the engine really starts sounding and feeling rough and gets exponentially worse as the revs get higher and I get real nervous going past 6k. I may just be over sensitive, but not having a lot of experience hinders my opinion here. I don't recall my Z750 ever sounding this rough though and she was very willing to rev to 13k. Could this be a symptom of number 4. v 4) I'm planning to change the oil so I wanted to check the level before changing anything. I was disappointed when I didn't see oil on the indicator so I started adding oil and measuring how much I put in. I was shocked and a little pissed to find out it was about 1.25 quarts low. Well crap... Is the engine ruined? Is that why it sounds and feels so rough? What should my next step be? 5) The engine rpm's want to climb up when holding the throttle. It idles just fine but when I twist the throttle to just under 2k and physically hold the throttle in position, the rpm's quickly climb up to about 3.3k on its own. It's not nearly as concerning as the above issues but still seems like something that needs to be addressed. Well this is all... for now. I really hope ya'all can help me out. I'm already investing another $600 + on tires, brakes/fluid, oil, and coolant flush/fill. I'm going to do all this myself to save on cost and I really can't afford to pay a mechanic to diagnose all these issues. I would super duper appreciate any advice you all can give. Thanks! Marty
Hi Marty, welcome to the forum! The clunky gearbox you noticed on your way home could very well be due the the low oil level you noticed. The roughness and noise you describe is concerning I agree, you mentioned that it's especially when you pull the clutch... So what I would do first is drain the oil and see if there is any foreign objects present. If not I would fit a new filter and top up with the correct oil for the motor. I would also remove the clutch cover to inspect, it could just be adjustment or perhaps something more serious. The hunting (climbing) of the revs could be that it's not sealing somewhere on the intake and that's where I would start looking first. Let us know how it goes and what you find, members with similar bikes will soon be along I'm sure to offer advise. Top forum this by the way !
I agree with above... do a few little investigations... take the spark plugs out (noting which cylinder) and look at the colour and wetness of them, see if they differ... check the gaps whilst you’re there... you want to see that they’re all equally coloured. They shouldn’t look wet, or black n sooty... see picture below... but they should all look the same, you don’t want one pot running different to the others. A nicely warmed up engine should not be smokey... check your exhaust output. Once you’ve changed your oil and filter, keep an eye on oil consumption over the next few weeks, if the engine received excess wear, but not terminal damage, it may be a bit oil thirsty. I don’t know your riding conditions, but it would also be worth changing the air filter on a 24,000 mile bike with poor service history
Hi Marty, here's a few thoughts on the points you mention: 1. Clunky gears changes - at what revs do you change up through the gears? If it's below 3000rpm, that will be the problem. I found with my 2006 Tiger 955i it needed slightly higher revs to achieve liquid-smooth changes. 2. With the engine ticking over, pulling in the clutch will change the engine note because there will be less drag. 3 & 4. If I remember correctly, to measure the engine oil level you need to use the dipstick. The bike must be upright and the dipstick screwed fully home. If you add any oil, give it time to work through to the sump or you'll get a false reading. Re the engine mechanical noise, don't make any decisions until you done the service and she is running with new oil and filters. Hope that helps, Cheers Dave
Thanks everyone for your comments/suggestions. I haven't had much time to work on the bike but this is what I've done so far. I rode the bike several miles after adding the oil and it did sound a little better (or I'm just getting used to it). I re-checked the oil level and, I'm embarrassed to say, that it was actually over filled. I mistakenly checked the oil while on the side stand the first time. I drained the oil and checked it's condition, it seemed to be free of any foreign material. I'm letting it completely drain until my supplies come in. After an oil change I plan to have new tires put on, change brakes and fluid all around and flush the radiator. I'll probably replace the air filter and spark plugs a little later this year. I should probably have the valves checked too. Is there anything else that I should probably have done? I don't have much money to invest in the bike so I would like to keep any shop expenses to a minimum and a "as needed" basis. Thanks again!
Agree that valve clearances should be checked. Should be done every 12,000 miles. It really can make the engine much sweeter. Mine were checked at 48,000 miles and I could feel the difference immediately. Definitely recommended if the service history is sketchy!
Just picked up my new (to me) 2003 spiked wheel 955. Rode it 35 miles Home and loved it. I was surprised how easy it was to manage as I’m only 5”10 on a good day. Seemed very similar to my previous 2014 v-strom 1000. However comparing the bikes despite been a lot older the triumph is so much better at low revs and doesn’t feel like it’s gonna cut out on you at slow speeds. Felt light and nimble to my surprise. Think I’m going to love it, Should I get engine bars just to be safe??
My Tiger came with the Heed bars that wrap around the lower half of the fuel tank. I don't really care for the way they interrupt the lines of the tank and it really does take away some of the sporty aesthetics. Not to mention that you have to partially remove them if you ever want to remove the fuel tank for regular servicing. Just one more thing you have to deal with I guess. If the opportunity ever arose, I would definitely switch mine out for a lower mounted set.
Ok thanks. Sound advice again. I guess I was attracted to the Heed bars due to price. I’ll look at alternatives. Cheers
So here's a quick update. 1.) Drained oil and changed oil filter but I'm waiting for BikeBandit (extremely slow shipping) to deliver replacement washers for the plug. 2.) Had new tires put on the rims but then discovered that one of the wheel bearings was shot. This was most likely the cause of the unpleasant noise at highway speeds. Unfortunately one of the circlips broke when I was removing a bearing and now I have to wait again for BikeBandit to deliver replacement circlips, presumably from the UK. Two weeks?? 3.) I went ahead and pulled the front cowling off with the intention of replacing the headlight and instrument bulbs with LED's. That's when I noticed that the bottom left side of the cowl had broken off. It's not noticeable unless you really examine it but disappointing nonetheless. 4.) Waiting for brake pads from BikeBandit. I will also be flushing the old bf and renewing. 5.) I will flush out the engine coolant last. It's been super frustrating so far but I'm trying to be patient and hopeful.
My S3 developed an issue with burning oil and a weird chugging when just going down the road at maintenance throttle (just enough throttle to maintain given speed) where it would be smooth and then would start to sputter, if you will. Turns out that when I replaced the spark plugs, I did not properly seat the air box onto the risers that come up off the cylinder heads, and there is a small phalange under the air box, that also was not seated into the little female connector that that male phalange needed to go into. After getting the male end properly inserted into the female end and the risers properly into the airbox, the chuggyness went away. But still have troubles starter her. She runs great now that the air box is seated, you might check that on your bike. due to the improper seating of the air box, it was creating a vacuum strong enough to suck oil up into the air box and then that oil was getting burnt too.
Engine crash bars can cause vibration. I found most triples ive rode have clunky gear changes. The engine will change it's note when the clutch is pulled in. This is normal. In the old days, we used to call it clutch chatter. Sounds like a good 24k service will sort everything out for you.
