Triumph speed triple owners, what should i look out for if buying 2nd hand?

[fimpBIKES]

Gday gents,

got a mate looking for a speed triple, was going test riding this weekend on some.
anything in particular i should be aware off?

i know they wont run without the gauges, do that have other quirks?


thanks

[stiffsimon]

If you're looking at the 2002-2004 models then the speedo drive WILL fail and about $300 to replace. Spark plugs can seize in the cylinder head in these model years also.
These year models can be prone to be thirsty on oil for no particular reason
I've had my 2002 model for 12 years now and it's been extremely reliable with routine servicing apart from one time when my ECU coughed it's guts up but I think that was from a physical impact and possibly letting moisture in. I replaced it with a Daytona ECU, remapped it and it's been good as gold. Don't know anything about the 1050 Speedies though.
Don't let anybody tell you different S3's are awesome bikes and loads of fun.

[hooligan]

I had some problems with the TPS on my 05 model, was a a pain in the arse to get it adjusted right. Could just have been the mechanic i went to though.
The idle suddenly dropped to about 100rpm, so i had to keep revving it at the lights, then it would jump up to about 2500rpm. only happened after one service though.
It also liked to run with the minimum amount of coolant, too. I topped it up before riding to NFR, and it pissed it out at when i stopped for fuel at queanbeyan, and again when i got to cooma. Not while riding though, and it never overheated, it just didn't like to be "full".
The steering lock/turning circle is rubbish, and the front forks and brakes aren't at the same level as jap bikes.

However, i fucking loved mine, brilliant street motor, sounded great (i had an M4 can) and i did far too many bad wheelies away from the lights, including one past a police riot squad bus. Ahem.

[Watto]

Any idea what year fimp?

97-01 pretty reliable though the late 98 onwards got an updated 4th gear- if looking around that vintage would suggest 99 upwards

02-04 was a slight change in motor config but same cc - Simons mentioned the magnet in the speedo sensor (they changed to electronic dash in 02) which can crack and triumph only sell the whole assembly but this can be fixed pretty easily aftermarket just have to be careful when dropping the front wheel in out of the forks

05-07 seemed to suffer from the occasional reg/rec failure and had the new 1050 motor

They don't like low power batteries and can do the sprag clutch if not enough herbs to crank over as a result but keep on top of the battery charge and all ok

In general like any modern bike pretty tough just do the maintenance

[fimpBIKES]

From the budget i think we are looking at that 02-04 range
so you can change the dash on the 02-04 without having the problems that hooli was having?
thats a plus if thats the case

going to try to line up a few rides on sunday, that TPS problem sounds scary as fuck!

[stiffsimon]

If you end up getting one the best mods that I did that absolutely transformed the bike was one tooth down on the gearbox sprocket and one up on the rear and fit a Q/A throttle. The throttle mod was the nuts as the standard throttle is absolutely pants.

[Watto]

Hey mate I think Hooli was having problem with the throttle position sensor so not dash related as such - but can be sorted by a good mech - sometimes vac pipes split and cause some issues but easy fixes - there are a couple of really good software programs for the triumphs - I use Tuneboy from Wayne McDonald in Sydney and there is another one called TuneECU

A couple of good sites to check out are www.triumphtorque.com (http://www.triumphtorque.com) www.triumphrat.net (http://www.triumphrat.net) www.thespeedtriple.com (http://www.thespeedtriple.com)

As Simon said gearing is a must - I went from 18/43 to 18/45 and transformed the fun factor

Plenty of info on these in relation to the triples

Actually just thinking about your post on the dash - no canbus issue on the 02/04 bikes so can change dash no problems - I just converted my bike from analogue/cable setup to the 02-04 digital dash

[fimpBIKES]

yeah, the canbus thing sucks

bike isnt for me but a mate, always admired them so im more than happy to do the testriding :)

i guess if the throttle is really snatchy then it has problems.

stiffsimon, i did similar mods to the TLR
made it nice and lively!

[Tony Nitrous]

If I was testing a Speed Triple one thing I'd look out for....



..... would be trucks reversing over it !


;)..... Sorry Simon !

[stiffsimon]

Lol ;)

[hooligan]

Yeah, what watto said.
It wasn't a big issue, when the mech was putting the tank back down, he knocked it just out of position, so the bike wasn't sure what the throttle was doing, so the revs were all over the place. Apart from that which got sorted out pretty quick, I did 20,000ks in a year and it was brilliant.

[Jockney Rebel]

ive owned an 05 from new never had any issues except the guage thing [my fault tho ] oh and if a headlamp fuse blows it wont start ..safety thing but goes well mine shows 121rwbhp with a straight through pipe and according to the NSW police my top whack is 256kph