more clutch problems

[evil knievel]

Well first it was a melted cable, now the clutch is making a strange sound when I start out in 1st gear. My buddy said its called clutch chatter.And its very noticable. My dad took it to the honda shop in the next town.He didnt come back very happy. The mechanic told him that this wasnt the first triumph that has had this problem.I guess alot of them do he said.He told dad that the parts are expensive for my bike.This is not good news. Also, the new battery is still going dead.So my dad is not happy, as he just put in a new one. So between the speedometer,the clutch cable,the battery going dead,and now this new problem with the clutch, dad says he's putting it in the barn for now. We really werent planning on fixing this much stuff on the bike when we got it.Not sure whats going to happen now. I love this this bike, this sucks.

 

[Kirkus51]

I don't know what year the Bonnie is, but I did hear that the earlier models are prone to that clutch thing. There's a fix out there but I don't know what it is. The guys on the forum can help you out.

 

[sportyone]

Well first it was a melted cable, now the clutch is making a strange sound when I start out in 1st gear. My buddy said its called clutch chatter.And its very noticable. My dad took it to the honda shop in the next town.He didnt come back very happy. The mechanic told him that this wasnt the first triumph that has had this problem.I guess alot of them do he said.He told dad that the parts are expensive for my bike.This is not good news. Also, the new battery is still going dead.So my dad is not happy, as he just put in a new one. So between the speedometer,the clutch cable,the battery going dead,and now this new problem with the clutch, dad says he's putting it in the barn for now. We really werent planning on fixing this much stuff on the bike when we got it.Not sure whats going to happen now. I love this this bike, this sucks.

yeah mate, sorry to hear that, but don't get too concerned yet, how old is the bike and is it secondhand with a lot of miles or something. I wouldn't take much notice of the Honda guy they hate better bikes than their's so they would just hang crap on it anyway. check out what guys on here say or go ring up a triumph dealer, how & where did you get it, private sale or from a triumph dealer ?? go take a break and it will all work out I'm sure. but you do need to give us some info about the bike before anyone can be much help ? :beer:

 

[T-boy]

I was experiencing something similar...1st gear from a dead stop going up an incline, I would hear some sort chatter most of the time. Turning up the idle a tad and increasing the rpm's before letting out the clutch seemed to solve this issue. If clutch is functioning fine throughout the rest of the gear range, maybe this is your problem also?

 

[Speed3Chris]

Evil,
Hate to say it but what you described is extremely rare. I have the same year, model and color bonnie btw. How you ride the bike matters. A melted clutch cable? Why? Was the cable leaning on the header? Outside the cable retainer? Why? Melted clutch cable can = lack of full clutch engagement which will fry the clutch. Bad adjustment and or not using the friction zone of the clutch properly taught in motorcycle classes...in other words how you ride the bike will do the same thing.
As to the battery, the EFI bonnie is sensitive to battery voltage. There is a workaround for this called the Urban Tune. If you have your idle set too low, the stator won't charge the battery if you use the bike for short hops and don't keep it on a trickle charger.
Evil, I know you are a young rider but truth is how you ride the bike and take care of it has a lot to do with how it will perform and how much it will cost you and your dad in maintenance. These bikes are pretty rock solid.
Good Luck to you and your dad.

 

[Baltobonneville]

Triumph might have a fix for the clutch chatter. Is it a 2001?

If the melted cable is from touching the header, the fix is a cable tie or two, just don't bend the cable more than necessary, and leave sufficient slack; check it from lock to lock. While you're fiddling with it, lube it with aerosol cable lube and a lube injector, which you can get from your dealer or on-line, and adjust it properly. Or hang the cable vertically and drip in some oil, until it reaches the bottom, then let the excess drain out.

The battery going dead is more difficult. It could be a simple as bad connections or bad battery, or it could be a regulator-rectifier or stator, more expensive to fix. Or something else, such a constant low drain on it.

There are threads on T-Rat about improving the charging system with heavier wiring, and replacing the R/R with a cheaper and better version, but you should go over the relevant wiring carefully before you start replacing expensive parts. If I remember correctly, one person with an electrical problem eventually traced it to a partially-burned/melted interior of one of the wiring connectors. Others have discovered loose fuses and the like to be causing irritating electrical problems. Every connection point is suspect.

 

[BornAgain]

Fix for charging problem http://www.triumphrat.net/speed-tri...-diagnostics-rectifier-regulator-upgrade.html

 

[sportyone]

Fix for charging problem http://www.triumphrat.net/speed-tri...-diagnostics-rectifier-regulator-upgrade.html

IMHO where the R/R is fitted to this bonneville in the attached post, I don't think the idea is really very good, as the R/R is in line for a lot of dirt & dampness from riding in bad conditions. get the full whack of crap off the rear wheel ? not very good at all !

cheers,

 

[phil]

"Evil, I know you are a young rider but truth is how you ride the bike and take care of it has a lot to do with how it will perform and how much it will cost you and your dad in maintenance. These bikes are pretty rock solid." quote from speed3chris.
I have to agree with speed3chirs , I open my bonnie up once in while and , I do take good care of it and its never yet giving me problems. I have to quote my dad and say" if you take care of it it will take of you" Daily maitaince will save you lots of money. Good luck with youre reapair mate. cheers.

 

[Stars&Bars]

Don't trust the Honda Stealership! They will say everything bad about a competitors product that they don't sell to get you on to one of their new Honda's which, by golly, they just happen to have ready to go right now on the showroom floor.
THEY LIE!!!!!

 

[rodburner]

IMHO where the R/R is fitted to this bonneville in the attached post, I don't think the idea is really very good, as the R/R is in line for a lot of dirt & dampness from riding in bad conditions. get the full whack of crap off the rear wheel ? not very good at all !

cheers,

Sporty,as long as the connectors are properly oriented to shed water,the only thing that could happen to the R/R is that it would get dirty. Its an epoxy sealed circuit board with no moving parts and some cooling fins on the outside.Is crap from the back tire any worse than the crap being thrown up front,in the stock location?

 

[Easy13]

+1, the Honda guy doesn't know Triumph from toast, he'll BS you into ditching your beloved Bonneville in favor of one of his souless appliances.

Check the battery connections and the fuses, up the idle a bit (it aint no Harley, it likes some RPM), search around a bit more about the clutch thing, and ride it some at least. The worst thing you can do to a good motorcycle is park it in the barn.

 

[evil knievel]

fixed

Well we replaced the clutch cable.It wasnt working . It was stuck.The clutch seems to be better then when I got it. The idle was low, 600rpm. we adjusted it to 1000rpm.We put in amsoil synthetic oil in the motor to and there is no more clutch noise.I dont know if the oil had anything to do with it or not. I got a new speedometer coming to.That will be nice.So things are kinda looking up. My dad figures the previous owner didnt care to much about the bike.He moved and so I cant even go back and talk to him about the bike.Not missing any riding time, as it has been raining non stop, then it got very hot and humid.We have so much water and mud in the yard that a dirt bike would have been a better bike for this year. The truck is stuck, the tractor is stuck and the semi truck that came to move the cattle to higher ground is stuck too. The bridge down the road is closed as well. They said its no longer safe to cross it.Now there is fear of mud slides in this area as well.The farmers around here said that this is the worst year on record.I had to move the dog house closer to the house, it was full of water.

 

[evil knievel]

fixed

Well we replaced the clutch cable.It wasnt working . It was stuck.The clutch seems to be better then when I got it. The idle was low, 600rpm. we adjusted it to 1000rpm.We put in amsoil synthetic oil in the motor to and there is no more clutch noise.I dont know if the oil had anything to do with it or not. I got a new speedometer coming to.That will be nice.So things are kinda looking up. My dad figures the previous owner didnt care to much about the bike.He moved and so I cant even go back and talk to him about the bike.Not missing any riding time, as it has been raining non stop, then it got very hot and humid.We have so much water and mud in the yard that a dirt bike would have been a better bike for this year. The truck is stuck, the tractor is stuck and the semi truck that came to move the cattle to higher ground is stuck too. The bridge down the road is closed as well. They said its no longer safe to cross it.Now there is fear of mud slides in this area as well.The farmers around here said that this is the worst year on record.I had to move the dog house closer to the house, it was full of water.

 

[sportyone]

Well we replaced the clutch cable.It wasnt working . It was stuck.The clutch seems to be better then when I got it. The idle was low, 600rpm. we adjusted it to 1000rpm.We put in amsoil synthetic oil in the motor to and there is no more clutch noise.I dont know if the oil had anything to do with it or not. I got a new speedometer coming to.That will be nice.So things are kinda looking up. My dad figures the previous owner didnt care to much about the bike.He moved and so I cant even go back and talk to him about the bike.Not missing any riding time, as it has been raining non stop, then it got very hot and humid.We have so much water and mud in the yard that a dirt bike would have been a better bike for this year. The truck is stuck, the tractor is stuck and the semi truck that came to move the cattle to higher ground is stuck too. The bridge down the road is closed as well. They said its no longer safe to cross it.Now there is fear of mud slides in this area as well.The farmers around here said that this is the worst year on record.I had to move the dog house closer to the house, it was full of water.

great news mate ! sorry to hear about the poor dog !

when it all dries up, go ride again man :cheer:

 

[sportyone]

Sporty,as long as the connectors are properly oriented to shed water,the only thing that could happen to the R/R is that it would get dirty. Its an epoxy sealed circuit board with no moving parts and some cooling fins on the outside.Is crap from the back tire any worse than the crap being thrown up front,in the stock location?

yep, sure is, & I bet it would get a load more water and slime tossed at it directly from the wheel mounted at the rear, it receives all the water whipped up from the rear wheel constantly, :eeek:
unlike on the front it only get a bit of rain or spray & nothing directly off the front wheel !! it's always amazing how characters feel they know better than the original designers of these machines. I don't think it was just shoved on the front 'cose they couldn't find anywhere else better ? :chair: