Tag Archives: sprint

Triumph Tiger 1050 Indicators

If you’ve got an old-ish 1050 Triumph, be it Tiger, Sprint or Speed, take a look at the design of your indicators.  Do they look like this?

old style Triumph indicatorRound, opaque, old fashioned?

Then try these!

new style triumph indicatorSharp, clear, new.

These are the new style indicators fitted to the more recent models and are a direct replacement. They can be bought on eBay quite cheaply as people fit LED indicators to their new bikes and flog these off. I picked up a set of 4 (from a Speed Triple) for £20 – they are £26 each from your friendly dealer.

Fitting couldn’t be more easy:

  • Undo the single (rear) screw that holds the lens on the indicator
  • Remove the lens and pop out the reflector
  • Remove old unit by unclipping the two wires
  • Slide the plastic housing off the flexi-mounting, leaving the wiring intact
  • Slide on the new triangular housing, feeding the wires through
  • Clip wires onto the new reflector (doesn’t matter which way)
  • Fit new lens with single (front) screw

Job done. Sparkly-looking new indicators!

SW Motech Rack Problems (Updated 25/02/12)

This thread was started in April 2009.

We’ve all heard apocryphal stories about people who overload their rear carrier and break it. The recommended weight limits do seem to very low and very easily exceeded…

I bought an SW Motech rear carrier and Givi Monokey adapter plate for my Triumph Sprint ST because it looked good and exuded typical German quality of design and manufacture. It wasn’t cheap, with the rack (“Alu-Rack”) coming in at £92.32 and the adapter plate at £25.99 both from Bykebitz in Yateley. This was in April 2007.

The rack fixes to the mounting holes left when you remove the passenger grab rail with some very nice hex bolts.

Here’s what I mean:

SW Motech L/H Bracket

SW Motech L/H Bracket

SW Motech R/H Bracket

SW Motech R/H Bracket

SW Motech Alu-Rack on Sprint ST

SW Motech Alu-Rack on Sprint ST

Givi Monokey Adapter Plate

Givi Monokey Adapter Plate

Givi Box Mounted

Givi Box Mounted

The posted weight limit for this setup is 7.5kg

Skip forwards 18 months and I spent 6 months commuting to St Albans which was 50 miles each way (M4/M25/A405). This included carrying a backpack containing my laptop (and my lunch).

The Givi box weighs 4.1kg empty, my backpack containing the items above weighs in at 7.3kg, a grand total of 11.4kg – just a bit over the posted limit then…

One Saturday morning, whilst washing my bike (as you do), I noticed that the box moved up and down very easily – in fact, you could say it looked loose. Loose it was. Actually, the rack had broken on both sides and the whole thing was only held on by a 1/2″ section of steel bracket… (oops!)

Luckily, a local farmer is pretty handy with a welder (he does keep 3 CX500s and an old Royal Enfield / Indian on the road). He welded them up and I was good to go.

For a few weeks.

Another “flappy Givi” experience (this time with photos):

Broken Brackets (rust is from previous welding job)

Broken Brackets (rust is from previous welding job)

Left Hand Bracket

Left Hand Bracket

Right Hand Bracket

So I stumped up the courage (and the money), went down to Bykebitz and ordered two replacement brackets:

Old vs New

Old vs New

Lovely (expensive) New Brackets

Lovely (expensive) New Brackets

The cost: a mere £54.48 …. (where’s the “gulp” smiley when you need it?)

Anyway. Back, fitted and touring now. I haven’t (can’t) reduce the weight of what I carry, so this story may still have another chapter…

Update 14/12/09: So Far So Good…

The Givi/SW Motech combo is now fitted to my third Sprint ST with no ill effects (so far). I’ve just bought a Givi E52 box which will fit two full-face helmets (and allow me to overload it even more!).

E52 arrives after Christmas.

I will keep an eye on it.

Update 16-January-2012: More Problems

Two years later. Tours of France and Ireland. Sprint ST #4 (a black one this time), and it’s happened again!

Two different problems this time. Firstly, the box is loose on the adaptor plate, largely due to the fact that the “top hat” fittings have worn their way through the cutouts in the plastic on the base of the Givi.

This is the Givi rack and plate from my Honda VFR800. You can see the two “fingers” that fit into the slots in the base of the box.

SW Motech do it differently:

SW Motech Givi Adaptor FixingThis “tophat” slots into the underside of the Givi box (Note that this picture shows the new modified part – more later). Over time and about 20k miles, this has worn the plastic slots in the box:

Givi Topbox Worn Out FixingYou can see the wear around the end of the slot. This caused to box to flap up and down (causing more wear!). I’m sure that any mechanical engineers reading will be familiar with this (I wasn’t) but the soft part can actually wear the hard part (as well as the other way round). Here’s a picture of the old part next to the new one that was fabricated by my neighbour:

Old vs New SW Motech Givi Adaptor FixingsYou can clearly see the worn aluminium on the left hand part.

Luckily I have a very clever neighbour who is pretty handy with a lathe and he made me up a couple of replacement parts. The are larger than the originals to take up the slack in the worn box.

So far, they fit well and have (mostly) stopped the movement of the topbox.

Next…

As I had a broken rear light, I decided to remove the rack and the rear fairing, only to find that the “new” SW Motech rack was cracking in exactly the same place as before:

SW Motech Broken (Again) LHS

Cracked bracket (Left Hand Side)

SW Motech Broken (Again) RHS

Cracked bracket (Right Hand Side)

SW Motech Rack Broken (Again)

Cracked Bracket from Underside

Again, mechanical engineers will probably spot this as an example of a stress fracture. Do I remember from somewhere that Royal Navy engineers redesigned the hatches on their warships to stop this? Nice sharp corners = concentration of stress = fracture

What would be wrong with some nice smooth curves…  ?

So now I’m faced with a choice of replacing them again or switching to a (better designed?) alternative system. I will forward this to the guys at SW Motech and see what they say. They still make these racks (4 years on) so must believe that they are OK.

So…

Box refitted and a close eye being kept on the cracks. But it still moves up and down!

Update 25/02/12: … and this is why

The adaptor plate is fitted to the rack with three quick release clips which are very useful for switching plates (never done it) or removing the whole thing (once) – unfortunately, these fixings are not as robust as good old-fashioned bolts…

Here’s the SW Motech rack from underneath:

SW Motech rack - undersideAnd here is the offending fastener:

Camloc fastener V50R3You can see that the seating is worn. The effect of this is to allow the rear of the box to move up and down.

Ordered a new part. Naturally you have to buy the whole fastener which comes in a natty bag from SW Motech in Germany (even though it’s made in China). The cost? £6…

Looking closely at the part and Googling, I discover that it is actually made by Camloc (Part number V50R3-1-1) and can be found on their website. Download the pdf for full details.

Unfortunately, you can’t buy online direct from the manufacturer. Clicking the “Buy Online” link on their website merely lists their three UK distributors who, even though Camloc insist that they offer “our full range of products and accessories“, do not list these parts (and don’t have very helpful “Search” facilities).

I’ve paid my £6 so will fit my replacement part, but if anyone else out there gets any further with buying these, let me know!

My Bikes

I have decided to write the definitive history with the help of a recently-discovered photo album from the 70’s and some of my old mates at the time.

1978 - Brighton & Hove Albion Scarf!

You can read it here (opens in a new page)

The bikes described include:

Raleigh Runabout RM6

Honda CB125S

Honda CB175K4

Honda CB500/4 (four of them)

Honda CB550K3 (three of them)

VFR800 Fi-1

Triumph Sprint ST 955 (4 of them)

Triumph Tiger 1050

Honda CB900FZ

 

 

Triple Ripple Burble ‘n’ Pop T-Shirt

It is generally accepted that one of the best things about Triumph motorcycle engines is the “triple ripple burble ‘n’ pop” that you get on the overrun.

Some of us have decided to make our own t-shirt.

This is the Sprint 955 version (I wanted Tornado Red to match my bikes)

Triple ripple burble 'n' pop

This is now known as my “321_Dib” t-shirt in honour of the designer and manufacturer.

My wife wanted to know what a “Ripple Nipple” was, and then suggested that she should try on my new t-shirt.

Coincidence?

The “Ripple Nipple” line points to the exact spot tha…..

[this text + photo has been censored]

🙂

Motorcycle Tyres – Should you be able to see the canvas?

Bit of a surprise this afternoon when I was cleaning my bike (first time since Christmas). I knew that my rear tyre was down to the wear marks and had been asking around for prices on a set of Michelin Pilot Road 2s as I’ve heard good things about them. I’ve had BT020, BT021 and BT023 up to now.

Fancy a change.

Soon.

Rear BT020

This is what they call "Part Worn" on eBay...

BT020 Rear

Is that canvas? Do they have canvas nowadays?

Solus Rideout (?)

OK, I know the weather forecast was dreadful and that the actual weather was wet and windy, but this is the first time in 3 years that absolutely no Bulldog RATs have shown up for an organised rideout.

so·lus
[saw-loos;  Eng.  soh-luhs]
adjective Latin
(referring to a man) alone; by oneself

I hope that you are all ashamed of yourselves…

So, quickly back home to catch up on the Japanese MotoGP on the Red Button and/or iPlayer (plus coffee and a warm dry house of course)

Triumph Sprint ST 955 Heel Guard

The rear brake light switch on a Sprint 955 is “protected” by a rubber cover that sits right next to the rider’s right heel. After a while, constant movement of the rider’s boot destroys the rubber cover – check next time you see a 955 – there won’t be many that aren’t trashed!

I had seen some bikes fitted with what looked like a carbon heel guard or protector but have failed to track down where these came from.

Then I bought my black Sprint STealth

First thing I noticed was that it had one of these phantom heel guards fitted!

Even better – the previous owner had kept the fitting instructions and they were included in the documentation pack.

So, if you are looking for one of these:

The good news: It’s a Triumph part.

The bad news: It’s obsolete.

Here are the part numbers:

Heel Guard Kit Part number: A9728003
Heel Guard: A9720007
Spacer: A9750109 (2)
Flat Washer: 3550180-T03 (2)
Instructions: A99000093

Triumph Sprint STealth – White Van saga now closed

I have replaced my “White Van” Sprint ST with this black beauty:

Sprint STealth

I have had three Tornado Red Sprints over the last 4 years and decided to go for something a little different. Black was only available for two years (1999-2000) and although you see them around, this one lived in Kent and had only 9,955 miles on the clock with a full service history, MOTs, the lot.

I rode it home through what the weathermen had warned as a  “severe weather warning” – it was certainly severe; picking your way between/around the standing water on the M2 and M20.

Funny thing is, by the time I got to the M25/M3 junction, the sun was shining and there hadn’t seemed to have been any rain all day.

I have fitted the SW Motech Rack and Givi box and the TOR race can and my local dealer has checked the current map (well out of date) and uploaded the TOR map.

Jobs to do:

  • Front brake is soft and squeals – suspect pad contamination as the previous owner kept the bike well sprayed with WD40 to protect against corrosion
  • Fit heated grips (no rush)
  • Fit Givi touring screen and bar risers (again, no rush as this one seems perfectly comfortable as it is)
  • Fit rear fender extender

Done the rear fender extender and the front brake. Now I’m filthy. How is it that servicing brakes is such a dirty job?