Micksan
Supercharged
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2010
- Messages
- 473
- Location
- Del City Ok
- Ride
- 2023 Triumph R3 GT, 2022 Moto Guzzi V85TT,
First of all those of you who offered constructive suggestions while I was trying to trouble shoot the problems with my bike , I would like to say thank you.
Now for a little background . I started , when I was , riding right after I got out of boot camp in Sept of 1961. Right off the bat I learned that if you ride you better learn how to fix them , because you will have to fix. Not if but when. I was lucky because I had a pretty good basic mechanical knowledge. Plus the bikes were very basic.
Over the years I have owned and worked on many bikes. Not for profit but as part of the sport. Back in the mid 60s I would go hill climbing in Apple valley California. To do this we had to modify old Junkers that we would fix up experiment with the suspension, carb ect. Can't say I was that great at it . Spent more time falling down the hills than . But it was fun, plus we learned a lot. Got transferred to Chareleston SC. Got introduced to trying to get the bikes through the swamps. Another good learning experience.
All this time I was also street riding. Still could not afford the price of taking my bike to a dealer. I was stationed in the Philippines, Naples Italy, and Japan. All challenging places to ride.
I rode BMWs for almost 30 years after having gotten off a Norton 850 , and a few Harleys , Hondas. Then on to Moto Guzzi . Then the Triumph which I had been lusting after since it came out.
Right after I got it I started hearing some noise. Was planning to head to Bike week Daytona. Dealer checked it out , and suggested that I not leave the city limits. It needed the it needed the kit for the output shaft bearings ( balancer) I had to drop the engine to get at it. Open face bearings should have been OK . Dropped the oil pan , and saw the two wire screens were at least 50% clogged from factory filings . They did not was the engine properly. That would mean the bearings would not get the amount of oil they needed. That put the bike down for a good part of the summer.
Next came the electrical problems. When I purchased the previous owner game me a new ignition switch. Seems his had burned up. He told me not to use it because it would also burn up, and triumph would not replace it. Instead of a key , he had rigged up a toggle switch. I soon found out about eastern beaver. There was still transit electric bugs. Seems that circuits( wires) , had been added then removed, and a quick wrap of tape was used.
It seemed like it was running pretty good. A guy buy the name of Tripp, made an appoint and traveled to Alabama. He put it on his Dyno. Said there was something wrong in the system. He did his best. Plus he gave me the up graded electrical plug kit. On the way home you could not ask for a better bike . I just knew the problems were solved. That is until I washed it with my yard hose. All sorts of problems. I decided top install another harness. So back up in the stand ( lift) . Another 2 weeks no rocket.
The harness solved a lot of the problems. Found a map that seemed to work pretty well. A couple of weeks later the bike dies on a back road . The battery was dead. From past experiences with the Guzzi , I was pretty sure it was the Volt Regulator. My wife had het trike , and we keep a set of jumper cables in it to help other bikers. We got it up to a convenience store, and went after the truck & trailer.
(30 miles) . Got it home swapped out the Regulator with a Electrosport. Problem solved , for awhile .
Next was the starter, last June . Again the trailer. Then a month ago with the Regulator & CPU. Spent a week hoping it was not the CPU , going pin to pin. every wire pointed to the CPU. I put out a call for help to test it. Another Okie was kind enough to let me put it in his bike. Blew fuses, right off.
Now I am coming to the reason of this long thread. I am not crying about it. I have crashed a few bikes that ended up junk. I really appreciate the honesty concern & help from the guys on the Forum the help cam not only from the USA but other countries.
My concern is the notes posted by people who did not know the history, telling me that I am rushing in to junking the bike. I have been around the track a bit. Probably more than most of the detractors. There comes a time when you have to face the fact that you are throwing good money after bad. I could not see investing a $1000 to $1500 of my money in a bike that I can not trust. Another option would be fix it up good enough to run and sell it. That does not work either. I still have to look at me in the mirror. Goes back to a old foolish word "Honor". Plus you also say that many of us around here carry guns.
Now for a little background . I started , when I was , riding right after I got out of boot camp in Sept of 1961. Right off the bat I learned that if you ride you better learn how to fix them , because you will have to fix. Not if but when. I was lucky because I had a pretty good basic mechanical knowledge. Plus the bikes were very basic.
Over the years I have owned and worked on many bikes. Not for profit but as part of the sport. Back in the mid 60s I would go hill climbing in Apple valley California. To do this we had to modify old Junkers that we would fix up experiment with the suspension, carb ect. Can't say I was that great at it . Spent more time falling down the hills than . But it was fun, plus we learned a lot. Got transferred to Chareleston SC. Got introduced to trying to get the bikes through the swamps. Another good learning experience.
All this time I was also street riding. Still could not afford the price of taking my bike to a dealer. I was stationed in the Philippines, Naples Italy, and Japan. All challenging places to ride.
I rode BMWs for almost 30 years after having gotten off a Norton 850 , and a few Harleys , Hondas. Then on to Moto Guzzi . Then the Triumph which I had been lusting after since it came out.
Right after I got it I started hearing some noise. Was planning to head to Bike week Daytona. Dealer checked it out , and suggested that I not leave the city limits. It needed the it needed the kit for the output shaft bearings ( balancer) I had to drop the engine to get at it. Open face bearings should have been OK . Dropped the oil pan , and saw the two wire screens were at least 50% clogged from factory filings . They did not was the engine properly. That would mean the bearings would not get the amount of oil they needed. That put the bike down for a good part of the summer.
Next came the electrical problems. When I purchased the previous owner game me a new ignition switch. Seems his had burned up. He told me not to use it because it would also burn up, and triumph would not replace it. Instead of a key , he had rigged up a toggle switch. I soon found out about eastern beaver. There was still transit electric bugs. Seems that circuits( wires) , had been added then removed, and a quick wrap of tape was used.
It seemed like it was running pretty good. A guy buy the name of Tripp, made an appoint and traveled to Alabama. He put it on his Dyno. Said there was something wrong in the system. He did his best. Plus he gave me the up graded electrical plug kit. On the way home you could not ask for a better bike . I just knew the problems were solved. That is until I washed it with my yard hose. All sorts of problems. I decided top install another harness. So back up in the stand ( lift) . Another 2 weeks no rocket.
The harness solved a lot of the problems. Found a map that seemed to work pretty well. A couple of weeks later the bike dies on a back road . The battery was dead. From past experiences with the Guzzi , I was pretty sure it was the Volt Regulator. My wife had het trike , and we keep a set of jumper cables in it to help other bikers. We got it up to a convenience store, and went after the truck & trailer.
(30 miles) . Got it home swapped out the Regulator with a Electrosport. Problem solved , for awhile .
Next was the starter, last June . Again the trailer. Then a month ago with the Regulator & CPU. Spent a week hoping it was not the CPU , going pin to pin. every wire pointed to the CPU. I put out a call for help to test it. Another Okie was kind enough to let me put it in his bike. Blew fuses, right off.
Now I am coming to the reason of this long thread. I am not crying about it. I have crashed a few bikes that ended up junk. I really appreciate the honesty concern & help from the guys on the Forum the help cam not only from the USA but other countries.
My concern is the notes posted by people who did not know the history, telling me that I am rushing in to junking the bike. I have been around the track a bit. Probably more than most of the detractors. There comes a time when you have to face the fact that you are throwing good money after bad. I could not see investing a $1000 to $1500 of my money in a bike that I can not trust. Another option would be fix it up good enough to run and sell it. That does not work either. I still have to look at me in the mirror. Goes back to a old foolish word "Honor". Plus you also say that many of us around here carry guns.