Hi I'm Ade, I'm new here but have dipped in from time to time in the past as a non member for tips from the many posts and found it very useful. I live in Carshalton which pretends to be in Surrey but it's actually in the London Borough of Sutton. I've been riding bikes on and off depending on finances since 1977 with my first bike being the legendary FS1E, and I continued to be a 2 stroke hooligan until my early 20's when marriage and kids meant no bikes for a while. Over the years but I migrated to Jap 4 strokes with everything from a ZXR75O to a Fireblade. Growing up in the 70's British bikes seemed like dinosaurs to me and my mates, and it's fair to say I was in the, 'wouldn't be seen dead on one of those' camp. But times change and so did I and it was the Thunderbird Sport that first caught my attention and growing desire in the 90's. However it wasn't until yet another biking comeback for me 5 yrs ago that I finally saw the light and got a T100 Bonneville SE, followed by a Speedmaster for a dabble in cruising and finally 18 months ago I got what started the Triumph passion, a 2000 Thunderbird Sport, and ironically it turned me back into a teenage hooligan! It's great fun and in my opinion a better retro than the long running twins. Currently I'm having some problems with rough running that I may well need to ask for help to cure soon. Thanks for letting me join.
Hello Ade! Welcome to the community, and it's fantastic to hear about your journey through the world of motorcycles. The Thunderbird Sport is indeed a classic, and it's great that you've found joy in it. Enjoy your time here!
Hello Ade, I'm Ade too! Or Adie. Or OY-Shithead! Or Thieving Scouse Git! Or any of a number of sobriquets that relate or refer to my age; my diminutive stature; my birthplace and, occasionally, my actual given name! Thunderbird Sport? Hmmmmm ....... Yeah. Arguably the most "accessible" of the T300s and absolutely loaded with character, charisma and charm. Not quite as much character as the Mk. 1 Speed Triple but very much easier to ride and not far behind on the 'retained value' charts, I reckon. There were probably a lot more TBS's made than the Speed (and a lot fewer thrashed, bashed or crashed, perhaps?) so I doubt they'll retain the same cachet levels but, values seem to be holding or steadily increasing now that they're pretty much all in their early twenties. If the bike is left for any length of time with, in particular, E10 fuel in it then the rough running is likely to be attributable to gummed up jets and the most practical answer will be to remove; strip and ultrasonic clean the complete carb set. If it's not fuel then the other T300 weak spot is the coils - reach out to Paul MESSENGER on this forum ; exchange some coin and fit the stick coils he can provide. That should be job done. If it's not, I'm out of luck and ideas. Let's see the T'Bird, Ade. Regards, Ade
Fresh E5 fuel with some redex fuel cleaner in it might be a start. Redex is good at de-gumming carbs and injectors.
Hi and welcome to the forum. I lusted after a T'bird Sport for a while last year then I saw a Legend TT (the laid back cruiser cousin of the T'bird) in Imperial Green and I was hooked. Okay, it's a bit heavy and not as powerful as the Sport but it still has enough go to make it enjoyable. I've also got a 2012 T100 which is surprisingly perky, loads of torque and I reckon it's got a better engine than the current T100. I suspect that's because the 865 air/oil cooled engine couldn't be made Euro 4 and above compliant, whereas the current 900 water-cooled engine has been strangled to make it pass Euro 5+. I had a 2019 Street Scrambler for a while with the same engine as the current T100 and it wasn't as perky as my old T100. Hope you get your problems with the T'Bird Sport solved. I run all my bikes on E5 petrol whenever I can, I find they all run better with E5 than with E10, and I get somewhat better fuel economy. Over the winter I drained the carbs on the Legend and then filled it with fresh E5 a few days ago. After a minute or two of cranking it started OK and has run fine ever since.