Featured Triumph Newb Buying Advice Please

Don’t know much about the Triple, but welcome to the nut house!

 

Robert Summerfield
Welcome to the family. Boy you don't want to be at home here in the asylum all the inmates will keep you here. But do keep us updated and if you do buy the steed then when you stop playing and grinning do hit the upload a file button bottom right corner and let the inmates see the steed.
Joe.

 

"somewhere less specific".....I'll say! Welcome to the forum, Robert. Good luck with our search for that perfect (for you) Street Triple!

 

First off, let me say that none of what you say would deter me completely from considering a purchase of the bike ..... with two caveats. 1 - the price may need to be adjusted down; 2 - you're prepared to do some of the remedial work.

I'm surprised it had a 12k service costing £400 without the clearances being checked - that's intriguing and disappointing. It's not exactly a 'do it by 12k or it'll die!' situation but the schedule is there for a reason. It does need to be done. It's most likely that, depending on how hard it's been ridden/treated, it will need minimal or no changes to the shims but that's never a given and shouldn't be taken for granted. Cost? I'm guessing it will be somewhere close to the 12k service cost of £400 'ish .... maybe less the cost of the oil & filter elements of a 12k service?

The reg/rec and stator costs you suggest are probably a little bit on the low side - you'll be wanting to get decent replacements, there is a lot of cheap stuff out there that should be avoided. I might be able toadvise on that later.

The linkage bearings are non-caged needle rollers and are not very well greased from the factory. They just need to have the grease packed before going back in - you're unlikely to need (though are free to buy) replacements.

To answer your last question "is it worth it or should I walk away" .... well, only you can answer that. In my humble opinion, you're likely to pay considerably more than £3k for a bike with this low mileage and, though you're not going to get a reduction of the likely cost of the required remedial work, you should be able to negotiate some (hundreds?) off this asking price. The only thing I would say is - fix a figure in your mind and be prepared to walk if the seller doesn't meet it. There is almost always another one out there that will be just as good - it'll just take more effort to find it. Oh, and, if it's Roulette Green .... buy it anyway. JUST KIDDING - but it is my favourite ST colour. Other than the Imperial Purple. And the Strontium Yellow. And my Tornado Red ..................

 

Hello and welcome to the forum Robert.

 

I'll send you a PM.

 

Hi Robert

 

Agreed

 

Welcome.
Good luck with your purchase if you decide to buy. Hope you can upload some pics aswell.

 

Hi Red Thunder, new MOT regs, LED lights on any vehicle that are not fitted as original equipment will fail an MOT. New regs for number plates on historic vehicles as well, there is a lot more to come. Along with other forum members we posted some updates regarding the new regs + Highway Code proposed updates.

 

Hi Robert, to check the suspension linkage you will need to "bounce the rear end up and down" to see if the linkage is free, also test ride it to see if the suspension operates correctly (not solid)? there are 2 triangular plates either side of the linkage (shock to arm), it requires the 3 bolts to be undone and taken out, the bearings are inside the linkages, it's usually only a matter of cleaning the bearings in situ, re pack with the correct grease, however you do need to replace the 4 seals, and just re assemble, it's only an hour to do from start to finish. All parts are available, if you need the seals I can let you have a set of 4 (genuine Triumph) for £10 including postage. It's a simple job to do.

 

Get a 1969 Bonnie, it won't fall to bits on ya, you'll get no electrical CON issues, the cases will be ok through rain, salt and mud, it'll keep a thread and the bolts will work, you'll just get experts doing the services, you won't need to worry about the house builder trying to sell you over priced blingy bits and saying he's never heard of those issues before on a Triumph and you'll be the coolest dude not to have sand kicked in your face at the beach.

Oh, and welcome

 

Hi Robert I wouldn't advocate doing that if I were you, there are a number of reasons it could go horribly wrong, the bar could spin on the jacks, this would potentially cause the machine to fall over. Has the bike not got paddock stand bobbins, if it has I would purchase a rear paddock stand (it need not be expensive), it will be a good investment going forward, for example chain maintainance and adjustments. If you are working to a budget I can let you have a set of R&G extended rear bobbins for £10 plus postage, these are a lot dearer (check out the R&G website). I have put a picture of these on for you to look at. You can complete the job of re greasing the rear suspension on the side stand at a push, however I personally always like a more stable platform when I'm working on bike or car.