Hi all, Recently bought a quite heavily modified Triumph Speed 4 and I'm just digging in to what's been done and what's different from standard and I've hit a wall trying to find out what this filer is for? (See attached photo) - I can find no reference to it in the service manual other than one diagram where it has a hose attached rather than a filer. The diagram itself is unrelated talking about the lubrication system. It's obviously an air intake of some sort so I'm think maybe the original had a hose from the airbox to here?! Also could just be one of the minor differences between the speed 4 and the TT600 as the service manual is mostly TT-centric. Anyway, a head scratcher for any of you out there that like them!
Hi Rick. I'm no expert and don't know much at all about that series of Triumph motors but I think what you've pictured there is unlikely to be an "air intake" as you suggest. I suspect it's actually a crankcase breather that's been heavily modified - surgically removed, in fact. The picture you've found with a pipe/hose attached is more likely the standard set up which would allow crankcase fumes to be vented via a rubber pipe to the airbox. Looks like the standard set up has been removed and the filter has been placed on there to prevent dust being dragged into the crankcase and also prevent oil mist being vented to atmosphere then slowly but surely deposited on your engine cases and right leg! Somebody with a lot more knowledge (not difficult!) will be along shortly to advise further .........
It's a crankcase breather to replace the standard setup which usually vents into the airbox, not an uncommon mod on tuned engines but usually done with a bit more thought than that. Tuned engines can generate higher crankcase pressures which in turn increases oil mist/vapour through the breather. Oil catch cans are sometimes used on cars which is better than just venting the pipe to atmosphere underneath the vehicle which I've also seen done and really makes my p*ss boil!
Pegscraper describes this mod spot on, now not wishing to upset you in an way shape or form, but the machine has had a hard life and unloved, hopefully you can can reverse the neglect, firstly and personally I would remove that crankcase breather and discard it to the bin, purchase a new breather pipe and install it, in my mind and this is without delving into the machine is that aftermarket crankcase breather looks new, that suggests to me that it has been installed to mask an issue within the airbox, probably oil, if the crankcase breather mod was part of a wider range of modifications, then this may make sense, that said the machine does not look to be one that has been lovingly modified, people who tend to modify their machines take great pride in build quality and aesthetics, so this sounds of alarm bells for me, as said you can get her back to how you would like. The Speed 4 is just a stripped back later TT600, and pre curser to the Daytona 600 and then the Daytona 650, yours has the balance pipe pipe on the headers so tells me it is a later model rather than the first run of engines, they are a fantastic machine, the handling is superb, it hold the road great into 3 figures, although wind is an issue. Parts are readily available (apart from the bodywork), they are also reliable. I would start by taking off the tank and inspect the airbox to see what the previous owner has done (or not) as may be the case, as mentioned get the new hose and fit this, inspect the plugs, as these will tell a tale, then the air filter, close inspection will also reveal any anomalies, drop the oil and have a close look and feel the oil through your fingers, you get a good idea if all is well. The engine electronics are fairly basic, by this I mean that changing anything performance wise will affect the running, and not for the better as the ECU is unable to re calibrate to say a new end can or aftermarket free flow air filter, the machine is capable of a genuine 135mph and a little more dependent on rider weight and conditions so tuning for road riding is a bit of money not spent wisely, better to invest in upgraded front and rear suspension, once you have that breather back to standard you can run the machine up and hopefully all will be well, you can then over the winter start on the rest of the machine. I would give priority to making sure there is no signs of impact damage anywhere on your machine and then proceed, I take it you checked that the chassis and engine numbers matched those on the registration document, I say this as a lot of unscrupulous people (not on this forum) are out there that swap engines and or frames and then the unwitting buyer is faced with the headache of parts replacements. Good luck and keep the forum posted.
Thanks for the detailed info here, sorry for the late reply! I kinda forgot about this post and didn't have notifications turned on. I've had the tank and airbox off a few times. Airbox looks ok, no sign of any modifications from stock so I will replace that breather hose as the little filter thing just looks odd to me and I don't really like the idea of venting oily mists onto the road. I had an issue with a blocked water drain in the tank cap and water got into the fuel system so had to get that drained and cleared, then the bike stopped charging the battery so I'm going through replacing the stator and R/R - actually replaced the R/R but that wasn't it so I'm just going to change the whole system - hoping the rotor is ok but will find out when I get the cover off I suppose. Yes, had quite a few problems with the bike already, the routing of some of the speed clock cables is....interesting! Had to peel that wiring apart to find a few shredded wires causing the speedo to flicker. And then the bracket holding the speedo broke hence why I now have my electrical tape solution until I can find something that works! Ah well...I got the bike fairly cheap so can't complain too much - Who doesn't like a project! Thanks also everyone else for the help!
