So I’ve been riding motorcycles since 1966 and have owned over 30-40 bikes including Yamahas, Suzukis, Hondas (my favorite), Kawasakis, and exactly one Vespa (the bike that draws the most chicks) and one BSA. Back in the summer of 1970 I had been dying to own an oil leaking, Lucas electric demon possessed used Bonneville 650 (going price $600) but every want ad I responded to said the bike was already sold. Lucky me! I found a BSA Hornet that became the most hated bike I ever owned. Thats a whole different story. Fast forward to December 2023 and I found a 2006 T-100 for a steal. All it needed was a carb overhaul and a new crankcase position sensor to make it run….sort of. After my professional mechanic reworked the carbs, checked the valve clearance and put in a new GPS, it was good to go. Rode it home in a pouring rainstorm yesterday and it only died once. Rode it today and it has only died once. If this can’t be sorted out someone else will be the happy owner of this bike along with two or three of the other bikes in my garage (1976 BMW R-90/6, 1993 Honda CB750 Nighthawk all in perfect running condition) and I’ll maybe get something else I’ve always wanted and get that out of my system. Honestly, I really want to like the T100 but my 6’5” frame finds it cramped. I like the torque and handling better than the R-90/6. Perhaps I'll get a later model T-120.
I have three friends living in the south outside of London. I met them on a bike holiday in 2017. (My mate and I keep older BMW R1100GS bikes stashed in Germany). We meet up with them every summer when we return to Europe for a month of riding.
Welcome! Thanks for a great intro and pic. I hope you try a T120. I love my T100 but I'm a foot shorter than you (and it never dies on me)! I also rode (and still do every blue moon) a 1993 Nighthawk (but a 250) and absolutely love that bike. You sound a whole lot like another person I know from SoCal, my handsome husband. He also started riding around 1966, talks about his former BSAs, etc. Hope you enjoy the forum.
Here’s a short video of the bikes in my garage now. I also have a VStrom in the Nashville area and a BMW in Heidelberg Germany I use for my European trips. https://youtube.com/shorts/fWK3Yph4X9Y?feature=shared
Hi Docsabre and welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of the fact that your T100 has died a couple of times. I had exactly the same thing on my 2005 T100 several years ago. This also happened when riding in the rain. It turned out that the problem was that the vent from the fuel tank was being blocked by spray and road muck. To solve it have a look underneath the bike, there should be (I think) 3 open rubber tubes in the area of the centre stand, at the rear of the engine. Identify the fuel tank vent pipe, make sure it is clear and then cut the end of the pipe at 45 degrees so that the lower end of the cut is to the front of the bike. It appears that when you are riding in wet weather road spray can cause a vortex effect on the end of a straight cut pipe and cause it to block. That causes a vacuum in the tank and prevents fuel from flowing to the carbs. - That's the theory anyway and it worked for my bike, I never had another problem with the bike cutting out.
Hi Docsabre and welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of the fact that your T100 has died a couple of times. I had exactly the same thing on my 2005 T100 several years ago. This also happened when riding in the rain. It turned out that the problem was that the vent from the fuel tank was being blocked by spray and road muck. To solve it have a look underneath the bike, there should be (I think) 3 open rubber tubes in the area of the centre stand, at the rear of the engine. Identify the fuel tank vent pipe, make sure it is clear and then cut the end of the pipe at 45 degrees so that the lower end of the cut is to the front of the bike. It appears that when you are riding in wet weather road spray can cause a vortex effect on the end of a straight cut pipe and cause it to block. That causes a vacuum in the tank and prevents fuel from flowing to the carbs. - That's the theory anyway and it worked for my bike, I never had another problem with the bike cutting out.
I know we're on a Triumph forum but please tell me more about the Honda with the Rotopax mounted on the back. Your garage looks a bit like ours (Norton, 2 Triumphs, HD, 2 Yamahas, 2 Hondas, etc.) except MUCH cleaner and roomier. Sacrificing/selling a vintage P24 Crescent planer (it's monster big and beautiful) to make more room!
The rack I purchased from Amazon. There are lots of styles and prices for my Honda CRF250L. Rotopax sells the mounting plates and locking mechanisms to attach to the rack.
Yup, understand the Rotopax and rack (have an identical one on my Yamaha XT250). Do you ride your CRF much? Where? Just caught my eye in the video because I'm new to riding offroad as of 2021. I admit I enjoy my Triumph on the road more but that's mostly because I'm not adept offroad and at 55 I no longer think I'm indestructible.
I think I ride the CRF the least of all my 9 bikes. But that’s because I don’t get as much time to ride as I’d like. I am busy helping my kids and grandkids. I had plans to use it to do the TransAmerica trail or the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada. I hope to take it to the desert soon but all the rain has been preventing that.