Tango

If the brakes are binding or the disks are warped they'll see it on the brake tester on the MOT....

Did you replace the pins....or at least give them a real good clean and put a thin smear of copper grease on them before reassembly? Also a bit of copper grease on the back of the new pads? What did the exposed part of the pistons look like before you pushed them back in? Maybe they could do with a clean too.

You could also use the old pads to protect the pistons as you push them back in. Remove the cap from the brake fluid reservoir and tie some rag around the reservoir so that any fluid overflowing doesn't get on anything else.....then with some thing to protect the pistons (ie the old pads) lever the pistons back in.

Is the bike charging the battery? Could be your alternator or rectifier/regulator that is shot...

Yeah...I used to use PlusGas or something like that....worked really well. Replace the pin if I were you.....and a little bit of copper grease on it on reassembly, just a smear though not big lumps of it.....

Your disks look a bit scored/worn.....so as above, check the thickness of the disks. If the disks are warped they will bind in one place if you spin the wheel. The surface rust is nothing to worry about.....as CtB says first time you use the brakes it'll disappear.

Set off just after 10am....but very windy up the A1. BonnieBird wasn't enjoying it at all.....so we turned around at Peterborough services and headed back. Just have to look for the bargains at the NEC now......not that I need or want anything, but can't resist a bargain...

The only thing I can suggest is check the routing of the cable as it can be pulling the cable tight. Otherwise try a new cable. Venhill make cables for a lot of bikes....as you don't say which bike it's for I can't check if they do one for yours.

I was at the moment in time......posing for the camera. Well....you do look good on it Neil......bl**dy poseur...... Not that I'm jealous or anything.....

Not gonna make it again this week either.... Had a call from work this afternoon and they want me to go to Guernsey tomorrow......b*gg*r.

I must admit I've never heard this about older Triumph alternators.... Basically the rotor (magnets) rotate on a shaft within the coils (Stator) of the alternator. Normally I would expect that if the magnets were too strong the alternator would kick out a higher current that would tend to fry the rectifier or regulator. Normally failure of the Stator coils is due to too higher load being put on the electrical circuit....this causes the coils to overheat which can either open some of the conductors within the coils or cause the insulation between the conductors in the coils to break down leading to shorting within the coils... Anyway as interesting as this may be...(insert yawning smiley please Colin)....if you don't intend to keep the bike too long I think the £50 stator rewind is probably your best bet IMHO... Good Luck, Bob

Yeah...if your pressures are not dropping significantly every day or 2 the marks are not likely to have breached the inner. I had a screw pulled out of my rear tyre at the bike shop recently...they put a load of soapy stuff round the hole...but as the screw had gone in at an angle it hadn't breached the core, so they said it was OK. And I check the pressures before every ride and it hasn't gone down at all. What tyres are you currently running and on what bike? They look like Bridgestone BT020's? Bob

Nice review Neil.....we'll see you on one up the Marina in a coupla weeks then? There's not a lot of Red on it anyway.....and put the bl**dy side stand up before you put it into gear... Bob

Good advice guys......less than a tenner will get you a multimeter that could save you a lot of money..... I'm not sure how valid disconnecting the battery is while the bike is running as a test.....never tried it and never heard of that before..... There are other components in the charging circuit that also need checking out before you go down the alternator route......Rectifier/regulator. Get a Haynes manual for your bike if you don't already have one coz it'll tell you how to check all these components out once you've got yourself a multimeter....and it could save you a lot more than the price of the manual.... If you need any help with using a multimeter just give us a shout..... Cheers, Bob

Sounds like a plan Roy.......meet ya at the pasty van....

Got a job in Southend tomorrow...so it may be touch and go if i can get back in time. Weather not looking good....so we'll just have to wait and see. Bob

Looks like camping is off the cards for us now....as we don't know what the kids are doing..... So maybe just a run up on Sunday. Don't need anything specific....so probably go on the bikes. So if anyone wants to meet up for the run up there.....prob set off 10ish from Huntingdon. Either meet local to here...or P'boro services if others are coming from different directions? Maybe nearer the time we could arrange a meeting place in the event to catch up with others for a chat and lunch etc? Bob

I fitted a PaintGard kit to my bike recently. It was fairly easy to put on....and once in place is almost invisible....so it doesn't ruin the look of your bike. It is a thin clear high abrasion resistant film that is put on using warm water with a small amount of detergent in it. This means that it can be moved around to position it....and then using a squeegee force the water and air out from under it which then sticks it to the tank/fairing/etc. Very easy to eliminate any air bubbles. If it needs to be removed I think it is fairly easy using a hairdryer....and won't lift the lacquer or leave glue residue behind. Kit for my bike was around £65...which included: Tank knee pad areas, Tank pad, 2 Headlight glass protectors, 3 pieces for the bikini fairing and 2 pieces for the Belly pan. If you want to keep your bike looking pristine from rubbing on the tank or stone chips I would highly recommend this stuff. The Knee pad area on my tank.....you can see a slight rippling of the film and a small lip around the edge of it...

Glad you got it sorted Cam......it did sound like an earthing issue...but without seeing the bike it's sometimes difficult to diagnose remotely. Lots of guys do have problems with LED indicators which is why I mentioned it. I agree that most LED indicators are fairly cr*p in sunlight....and I personally wouldn't use them for that same reason. We may see you around....but as you don't have a location I'm not sure where.... Bob

Voltmeter would be best.....but if you start the bike and put the lights on and rev it you should see the lights get a bit brighter (maybe) which would suggest that the alternator is putting out some kind of voltage. Whether it is the correct voltage would need the voltmeter.... Cheers, Bob

Got these earlier in the summer....some may remember me posting for recommendations on gloves.. So far these gloves have been OK. They are not waterproof....as I found out on our ride up to the TMBF rally!.....but to be honest they were never advertised as such....so I can't complain. And they dried out OK anyway. The leather is fairly soft....and the seam up the thumb is not as big as many gloves I've had....so don't leave as bigger dent down my thumb after a longish ride. The finger vents seem to work OK....and the velcro cuffs mean I can tuck them into my jackets or leave them outside. So far I'm impressed with them....but I'm still searching for those elusive gloves that don't have a seam running down the thumb....or at least have a flat seam. Paid £39.99 from MotoBrio as I think these gloves are no longer made....I think their RRP was about £65. Bob

Got rid of mine in May 2011 after owning it for 5 years......sold it to BonnieBirds brother who uses it as his main transport as he doesn't have a car.....and he's just done a trip down to Cornwall and back from where he lives in Essex without it missing a beat... So as far as details go....it was (is) a 1997 Trophy 900 (Triple). I bought it in May 2006 as my return to biking bike. I paid £1200 off eBay. The previous owner used it year round and when I got the bike it had 28000 ish miles on it. It had the Triumph Panniers already fitted and also Triumph heated grips and later on Mandy got a Triumph rear rack for me. A couple of years back I bought the Pannier inner bags while at the BMF show. This is a big touring bike (237Kg it think) and typical of these Triumphs it tends to be a bit top heavy at low speeds....this is not a problem when you get a bit of speed up....but low speed manouvering can be a bit of fun. The seating position is pretty upright, which is good for longer journeys and the fairing tends to keep you fairly well cocooned. It is not high power (98bhp ish) but it has plenty of torque....so it'll pull from low revs in the higher gears no problem....and copes with pillions really well too. When I say not high powered I mean it'll certainly get a move on when you want (top speed around 130mph)....but it won't keep up with most sports bikes 600cc and above. But that's not what it was designed for anyway. It'll cruise at 70-80mph all day and night. I tended to get around 150 miles from a fill up...but I never ran it down onto reserve. I'm guessing that the consumption was 40-45mpg....which is not bad for a bike that size. The panniers could hold a full face lid in each...and were pretty easy to take off and re-attach....so they are a useful size...you just needed to remember them when filtering as they stick out a bit....no wider than the bars, but if you are weaving through traffic... All these Triumphs tend to suffer from poor finish on the engine casings which can peel off. As these bikes tend to be used all weathers corrosion can set in on the exposed engine cases. I removed some of mine and treated and repainted them...but they will never look like new. Fork oil seals are a bit of a weak point on these bikes too....and will leak. I replaced them on mine myself which was a bit of a PITA job...but do-able. Rear calliper seized once over the winter layoff...but I rebuilt front and rear callipers OK and had no more problems with the brakes.....which overall were pretty good (a strong point of Triumphs). The oil cooler ruptured shortly after I got the bike....but this was as a result of neglect by the previous owner....and a replacement was got off eBay for £40 as I remember. I gave it a good coating of Hammerite before I fitted it too....Obviously not on the fins.... As I said above...these tend not to be fair weather bikes...and I've seen plenty commuting into London all year round......so they may not receive the tender loving care that a lot of sports bikes receive....they are a workhorse and can get neglected a bit. The engines on these bikes are bullet proof......I've heard of them topping 100000 miles with no major issues. You can pick these up for £800 - £1200 often.....and it's a lot of bike for that money... So if you are after a summer tourer....year round commuter...or winter hack you could do a lot worse.... Bob

Are the new indicators bulb or LED? If they are LED the current draw is not enough to operate the standard flasher relay....and would require a special LED relay. Bob

I love this bike. I downsized from a Triumph Trophy 900 as I felt it was a bit big and heavy for the type of riding I am doing these days. So I was looking for a smaller Triumph (just wanted to fly the flag for one of our remaining manufacturers) and I came across the Speed Four. Looks are similar to the old Speed Triple with the twin bug-eyed headlamps....The riding position is more sports bike with the clip-on type bars and fairly high rearward mounted pegs. I paid £2250 in May 2011 for an 03 plate bike....one owner from new.....7700 genuine dry miles. The engine needs to be revved to get real go out of it.....redline at 13500rpm. But having said that it will pull from just over 2000rpm in top gear without any problems. 98bhp in a 175Kg bike means that if you want to push it it will get a move on. Maybe not as fast as newer 600's....but plenty quick enough for me. Handling is superb...with fully adjustable suspension all round. Brakes are excellent....although I've not had to push them too hard so far.....and hope I never have to either.... For me and the type of riding I do these days I cannot fault this bike at all.....I would certainly replace it if anything ever happened to it...... It also stands out in a crowd as well....not too many of them around.....and certainly not many Orange ones....

Got this lid at the BMF in May. Been very pleased with it so far... The following are just my opinions/observations Good Points: Very comfortable......lightest lid I've ever known Good Ventilation......with the internal vents open I can feel the air coming through them High Safety rating.....Sharp 5 star, ACU Gold etc Nice carry holdall.....and also a carry sack Thick visor.......good UV protection (even on the clear visor) with good scratch resistance and don't seem to steam up badly/at all either Not so Good Points: Wind Noise......can be noisy, so earplugs recommended Vision.......sideways vision is a bit limited due to smallish opening Visor opening......no lip on visor to help with opening and mechanism a bit stiff at first Bit Expensive.....there are cheaper models available, but I wanted the Black/Orange one. Light coloured lining.....can show dirt easily. But is removable/washable I have no regrets with this lid....easily the best I have ever owned. Barely notice it even after 2-3 hours riding. No tight spots/pressure points....just a good overall fit for me. Cheers, Bob