Featured What you been doing with your TRIUMPH today??

This morning I decided to brave taking out the pannier rail bolt the other side to the snapped one, thought I'd try up to 50% more than correct torque setting and stop if it didn't budge - to avoid sheering it. As it turned out it needed negligible force, so it was too loose. Also discovered it was the wrong bolt, it was the original 20mm long bolt for fixing airbox, not the longer 25mm bolt that comes with pannier rail kit. (This rail was fitted by dealer before I picked up bike from new, other rail they added a few months later and that looks like it was the correct length bolt.)

I also found seal on the right of swing arm pivot isn't in straight. Fortunately it's part of the replacement seals and sleeves I ordered which is arriving today. So that's this afternoons job.



(Seal sticks out a bit on right which is also shown by angled pitting in sleeve - which is rotated 180 degrees in photo.)

 

try s21s they last longer are cheaper and are a great tyre.

 

Was hoping to have swingarm back in today, but one of the seals wouldn't press in with thumb, or with bolt+washers, so tapped it in with old seal as a drift, but it went in half a mm too far and inner seal lip got pushed up by bearing and snagged on sleeve when I pushed it in. So now got to wait for new seals to arrive tomorrow.

I also realised I'm probably not going to be able to torque things up in the correct order without a ratcheting torque wrench, so ordered one from Screwfix, hope they get it in tomorrow.

Total money spent so far as a result of that broken bolt: £535. Though £220 of that is on some tools I've been meaning to get anyway.

 

Except I have nowhere to store them and will probably end up buying and building more storage!

 

Fitted bar end mirrors to mrs Vulpes' striple... €49 from Amazon (Well, China, actually), look good and an easy fit.

 

Today I re-assembled my bike

New seal arrived 10am and got it in with seal presser improved by tape and some practice with old seal.



Then got swingarm back in. This required tightening this adjuster to 7Nm



so made...



Then royal mail delivered new long bolts for pannier/airbox fitting, so put those in. Followed by an SMS from Screwfix saying the torque wrench I'd ordered had arrived so off to pick that up and torque up properly everything I'd assembled. Was really, really fiddly doing suspension linkages, needed various combinations of adaptors to get wrench on bolt, and then only had enough movement for one click of ratchet.

Finally, bike back together and thought I'd fire it up to check all was OK and had a bit of a heart stopping moment when engine warning light came on, feared I'd done something to all the innerds I'd had exposed (ECU, regulator, etc). I got the cheapo OBD2 reader I got for car and it said 'air intake temperature sensor', phew, that's what I'd disconnected for getting airbox off, so cleared error and all OK.

Bike still in conservatory on stands, it'll have to wait until tomorrow for manoeuvring it out and a test ride...

 

It was chucking it down today, but it cleared up later so went for a wee blast through to Dundee. Photo with the Tay Rail Bridge in the background

 

I took off the silly cosmetic oem "handguards" on my Tiger awhile ago, and replaced them with Barkbusters, which actually do some good if the bike goes down offroad. I'm pleased with those.

I also replaced the stock mirrors with some foldable ones from Touratech. Unlike the new handguards, I was entirely displeased with the Touratech mirrors. I loved the easy adjustability of them (you can just click them inboard if you go offroad so they don't snag on stuff or break if the bike gets dropped). That part was great. Unfortunately, the mirrors were completely unusable as *mirrors* at anything above about 30 mph. At freeway speeds, they vibrated so much that you literally could not see a damned thing behind you in the mirror. Useless, and I think they were a complete waste of money.

So, yesterday I replaced them with a set of doubletake adventure adjustable mirrors. ( https://doubletakemirror.com ) Now *these* are excellent mirrors, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them without hesitation.

I also added the bar-end weights from Barkbusters, which finally cut down the handlebar vibration enough to where my hands don't go numb when riding, which they have been doing ever since I got the Tiger. That should help a lot when I go on the road trip up into the Colorado Rockies I'm planning for this August.

 

Up in Braemar no other bikes On a lovely night like this !

 

After having bike propped up on bricks for two weeks, today I finally got to ride it, yay!

Following a successful solo test ride me and Mrs mouse headed out with a packed lunch for a few hours riding. Bike felt so much more stable and smooth in corners, that'll be me doing up that loose suspension linkage bolt I found I reckon. It must have been like that for a long time, because I've been nervous in corners for absolutely ages. I thought it was me, but today it went round corner like it was on rails, and Mrs mouse commented that it felt more stable and she wasn't nervous even though I was going round corners faster than normal

 

I gave my love some wax today

 

Thanks! I did

 

It is extremely satisfying

 

I had to see two clients today, and as the weather is gorgeous I took the Striple to the first, and the Speed to the second. Just because I can...

 

Had a great run up north today, stopped of in Edzell and noticed an unusual police car ..he must have got lost



Stopped off at kildrummy Inn on the A97 great stretch of road

 

With the almost sudden emergence of that strange orange ball in the sky over the last 2 days I decided that the strange orange bike in the shed should also make a brief appearance. And why not, eh?

Brushed off the cobwebs and washed off the ACF50 it's been wearing all winter then gave that 'inyerface orange' paintwork a coat of DiamondBrite (thanks to @DozersDad!). Hope @RonAshurst can see how much better his original mirrors look than the repro's that were on there! Thanks again Ron.



Also managed to wash and scrub up the black beast ...but it wasn't polished in time for this picture.
And with a 'virtual nod' to another former member, @stevethegoolie might remember this one that also finally got a bit of long overdue TLC having been caught in the wet stuff on its MoT trip a couple of weeks ago.



Yep, love my T300s ..... especially the Gonzales brothers "Naranja y Negro".

 

Was he lost too!
Edit: just noticed it's the same car,whereabouts was this?

 

Cracking bikes you got

 

hi @Vulpes !
I too have the same satnav and I bought this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153898628403 for it.
Works great all well recommended sir!

 

While it's out would it not be easier to drill the hole out and insert a helicoil?