1998 T595 Daytona Has Not Run Since 2017

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.

 

Will do! Since I was just laid off, I'll have a lot of free time to work on it.

 

The journey begins...





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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The pecan tree shells and leaves I imported from Texas within the fairings.



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.



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.

 

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.