Hi Trident enthusiasts, my name is Rob and I am from the Netherlands. With over 40 years of motorcycle experience and having had many different bikes, we now tour the EU on a Harley Ultra Glide for rally's and holidays. In the seventies I overhauled a BSA Rocket three together with a neighbor and that is where the love for the three cylinders came from. So after having many twins and four cylinders and sidecars, a Trident has finally been added to the garage. From an estate, I bought a 1992 750 Trident with only 10,000 miles on the clock. So the engine has stood still too much and I don't know anything about the bike's past. However, I have a problem with the engine and I hope someone in the forum can help me further. After cleaning and adjusting the carburetors, the engine is still not running properly on all three cylinders. In the low revs, 2000-35000 rpm, it often seems to run on 2 cylinders. At higher revs suddenly the power is released and the engine runs much better. Does anyone have any idea how to fix this phenomenon? The engine is completely original and all basic adjustments are made in accordance with the Haynes book. If anyone is familiar with these problems and knows a solution, then I would highly appreciate it with sharing the solution with me. Thanks in advance and greetings from the Netherlands. Regards, Rob
Thanks for welcoming me. Yeah the bike looks great and i like it a lot. If I could only fix the problem.
Hey Rob. That's a great looking Trident - the 750 was far less popular than the 900 so there aren't very many around. It's worth persevering!! The symptoms you've described are classic 'gummed up carburettor jets' - usually pilots. I know you've said you've cleaned the carbs but I suspect that one or more jets still has some residual blockage from fuel emulsification. The only sure fire answer is to remove the carbs, strip all the jets out and have the whole lot - jets and all - professionally ultrasonically cleaned. Hopefully that should clear it up and you can get out and enjoy that machine!
Thanks Adie for you help, I appreciate it. I guess you are right with the gummed jets. I’ve cleaned it very carefully and used carburetor cleaning liquid mixed in the first tank filling with shell V power. So I was hoping all would be fine. Sadly at the firsts shake down it ran worse after a few miles. I will give it a try tomorrow again when I ride the bike to my workshop an few mile from home. I’ll let you know if it worked well. Rob
Hi and welcome Rob. If it runs well with some revs on the clock it is bound to be your pilot jets, as others said is not enough to clean using chemicals, ultrasonic is the way or if you are confident, remove and clean. Thereafter I would use fuel additive, redex, lucas, forte or seafoam to keep them clear. Also tank filter or carb may be blocked or just bad fuel.
Welcome to this little community, as the people says some ultrasound will probably make miracles . Regards Jan
Thanks Bikerman, it’s great to read all about the Triumphs at this forum. Thank you all for welcoming me and the good advices. Today I add some Wynns injection cleaner to the petrol.. it was the best possible to buy during our lock down. The bike starts to run better and better but still not perfect. I love the sound and power when the revs hit the 6000 +. Next weekend I will do some extra miles on this tank and then refuel it with Forte 1 and 2. If that will not help i will remove the carbs again to inspect them and clean them again. Thanks again and I’ll keep this updated.
Hello, Rob, and welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing the photo of your "new" Trident. I'm sure that there are folks who will be able to help you get your bike's problems sorted--as some have already been doing. Hope you enjoy the forum!