Tiger Test Ride(s)

 The Tiger rode like it has never had any fueling problems after I hacked the idle control system last time. Idle control is a common problem on 955i Triumphs and I've spent years trying to get mine back into spec even as finding parts for them gets more difficult. Turns out the solution is to remove it.

Ride #2: 40 minutes locally

Second ride this week and the bike idles rock steady and is as smooth as it has ever been, and the backfiring that had been getting worse is completely gone. Today it started on the button, ran from cold with no issues and took me on a 40 minute ride without a hiccup.

We live in an overcrowded little town now thanks to Southern Ontario swelling in size post COVID, so I took the Tiger through a lot of stop-start traffic to see if I could get it to hiccup, but it wouldn't! Makes me want to move more than ever though.

No problems on the back roads.

Pickup up from stops, no problem. Cornering roll on throttle? Smooth as butter. Idle never wavers and I'd forgotten how much fun to chuck around the Tiger is...

So if you're having never ending headaches with your Triumph 955i idle control system, yank the damned thing! Modulating the idle through varying the vacuum between the intake manifold and the airbox (the servo moves up and down revealing the vacuum passages for the three throttle bodies) serves some purpose (perhaps emissions?), but at this point in the bike's life at over 90k and 22 years in, removing the lot and connecting the intake vacuum lines together offers a viable fix for what may be one of the last of these bikes on the road in Canada. I'd be willing to play Top Trumps with any other 955is on mileage too.

Ride #3: Going Long

The next run was a 275 km run up to Georgian Bay to look at a blue horizon. These days it's also a reason to get out of our increasingly overcrowded and traffic jammy town.

The first 45 minutes are straight lining through farm desert, but the geography starts to get some character once you get into the Niagara Escarpment in the Gray Highlands. I didn't throw the 360 camera on until we got to the less tedious bits.

At just under half a tank the Tiger took me 140 kms and two stops to a fuel stop between Blue Mountain and the big water. It was still showing most of the red on the fuel gauge and took less than 17 litres (it's a 24 litre tank), suggesting that this mod isn't hurting mileage.

After the fill up it was some twisty bits over to Creemore for a bite and then the long haul back through farm desert (with its big, juicy flies) and then lines of traffic to get back to my driveway. Through it all the Tiger was mighty.

Flesherton to Thornbury through Beaver Valley (41kms)

Thornbury Harbour to Creemore Brewery (77 kms)

Thornbury Harbour!

Just past the scenic caves on Blue Mountain.

Creemore for a late lunch.

Steady 100km/hr sections, twisties, as big an altitude change as you can find in Southern Ontario and we never missed a beat. Left at 10am, got home just past 4pm, multiple stops, always started on the button whether cold, or or somewhere in between.Temp was mid-teens leaving and mid-twenties returning.

It's been a while since you've heard this on here, but I'm a happy Tiger owner.

1) Bin 2, 3 and 4
2) Remove the top of the servo (1) and leave it plugged in but detached from the airbox.
3) Block off the hole in the bottom of the airbox left by the removed idle control stuff..
4) Plumb the three vacuum lines out of the throttle bodies into each other through a T-junction.

Bob's your uncle! No promises, but it did the trick for me.

Triumph 955i Stalling Issues.... Fixed!?!

 Facebook slapped me in the face with this this morning:

...so I went on a mission.

I pulled the tank (for the millionth time?) and set up the 955i Triumph Tiger so I could try many different things to test if the idle was working. Previously I'd followed the manual, but no longer!

I did the usual checks for vacuum leaks and I continue to suspect the overly complicated and no longer supported idle control system. After trying everything I'd tried before, I decided to go OFF BOOK.

If I can't fix this @*&%ing thing perhaps I can hack it! With the bike in test mode (plugged in and ready to run with all sensors attached), now is the moment to try some alternatives, so I pulled the entire idle control system and tried variations without it.

I plugged the servo back in because I figured leaving it unplugged might piss off the computer. I also removed the end of the servo so it wouldn't interfere with the airbox and then blocked off the airbox with Gorilla Tape.

I'd also done my due diligence by balancing the throttle bodies and making sure everything else was plugged in as normal. I also reflashed the computer through Tuneboy with the South African map I found a few years ago.

 So what happens when you remove the entire (problematic) idle control system in a Triumph 955i engine and simply connect the vacuum tubes out of the throttle body to each other?

Well, it seems to have fixed everything. The bike idles right where the computer sets it, the backfiring problem is gone and the motor fuels smoothly (though this is probably in large part due to that fantastic South African fuel map). Best of all, no more stalling.

That's the work around. I got some silicon tubing from Amazon along with some T connectors (maybe $30 all in?). The last round of Triumph replacement parts cost me north of $200 and when I had to start buying used parts (because Triumph has stopped supporting their own bikes) and getting them shipped over to Canada it cost even more... but this hack is thirty bucks in parts and I also have a pile of unused silicon tubing and T connectors left over. I attached the silicon hoses to the T connector and then into each of the throttle bodies, so it's a closed loop with no chance of leaks.

In the pic you can see the idle control servo (black object above the intakes on the left side). That's what it looks like with the plunger removed. It still moves up and down but has nothing to do with moderating vacuum between the airbox and the throttle bodies which is what has caused me years of headaches.

I'm so jumpy about the motor falling through idle and stalling (it's a perilous place to be when you're on the road on a bike that keeps cutting out), but this hack hasn't just solved the idle problem, it has also resolved all of the other issues. The bike idles steady right where I set it in Tuneboy, but more surprising is that the backfiring that had crept in is completely gone. The bike feels tight, full powered and like it did years ago. My only thought now is that it might hurt the gas mileage, but I'll keep an eye on that as I get some miles under me this summer.

It still starts like normal. I'm occasionally getting a high idle (3-4 thousand RPM), but as I rode it that happened less - like the computer was figuring out the new normal. I'm curious to see if not having that system in affects cold starting but that's not going to be an issue for the next four months, and I don't mind being my own choke if it means a steady idle.

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Finished! (finally)

 It took the better part of four months over the winter thanks to lots of work travel stretching things out, but the C14 is back together again and runs like a top. The engine doesn't feel as tight, which makes sense as all the valve shims needed were to resolve the overly tight valves.

The Bay of Fundy near Saint John (latest work trip)

It still does the clatter when you first start it (it's to do with the cam chain tensioner needing oil
pressure to fully engage - it's part of the engine design). The bike has always done that but now that I've laid hands on the thing itself it's helpful in understanding how it all works. Knowing how complicated just the top of that motor is gives me a new sense of satisfaction hearing it run well.

I'm back from yet another work trip but managed to take the big Kwak for a spin last weekend and it pulls like it always has (which is to say like a nuclear missile). Today I'm going to finally do the oil change it was owed last fall and we should be on track for regular use this summer.

The question now becomes do I sell it on during the riding season or keep it having done this soul crushing maintenance job. Based on what I saw in there I'm betting I was the first to do it (at 45k kms). Considering the complexity of this job, I can understand why.

Part of that decision will come down to whether or not I've solved the Tiger's fueling issues. If I have, I might sell the big (and expsnsive to insure) Kawasaki and do the summer on a dependable Tiger, though the C14 is a much more comfortable two up appliance if anyone wants to come for a ride with me.

A confirmed fix on the Tiger's aging fuel injection system would make me consider going to one bike this summer.

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 3.2: frame reassembly after a valve job

 Some pictures to help me put this complicated 3d puzzle back together again properly.

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/owner-center/parts/5128/2010/ZG1400CAF

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/owner-center/parts/5127/2010/ZG1400CAF

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 3.1 - References for putting the plugs back together again on top of the valve cover

Tools for finding what goes where (it's spaghetti in there!).

The comprehensive disassembly video shared previously: https://youtu.be/5JP0_Kv7x5w?si=Ictk8g8qK3e_hB3m 

Pipe in the foreground right is the routing for the coolant line to the overflow tank.

White plug in black reed valve centre plug.

https://youtu.be/RvQjEvCSGvI?si=CCvs4HMMJBEHfooM

Big grey plug under the throttle cables

Wobbly and somewhat non-linear, but another disassembly video:: https://youtu.be/b-HDezrXSc0?si=hlvAZWdhF7Qg7hoC

Black wire from throttle bodies to cam sensor on valve cover.

Definitely white plug in black reed cover.

Kawasaki Concours C14 1400GTR Valve Check Part 3 - Putting it back together again

It's a slow process putting all this back together again. Even with a prolific number of photos and copious notes here on the blog I'm finding this a fiddly and frustrating process. My current plan is to get everything plugged in, top up the radiator and run it to make sure it's back together right before buttoning it up (there are a f(@# ton of  buttons).

The latest fun has been plugging the plethora of plugs over the valve cover back in.

I've got a couple of plugs (21) left after connecting everything else. The question now becomes: are oxygen sensor plugs not used on a 2010 Canadian market bike? 

Got the plugs in, except for those two top left of the rat's nest.

Here's a close-up. That white one has me baffled but perhaps it's the front cam sensor.

Tomorrow (assuming the late March ice storm we have in store doesn't throw us back to the stone age), I'll check for oxygen sensors on the exhaust, and if not there I'll know that one of those plugs is probably unused.

The ice storm was persistent but mainly pretty - no hydro lines down around here.

Other things to check are the front cam sensor (7-R on the diagram) which was very difficult to reinstall with a new o-ring. That plug is probably dangling down the front and needs to find a mate on top of the motor (looks like it's plumbed in under the front plastic guard). If that's my missing plug and the other one is an unused oxygen sensor then I'm about there.

After that gets settled I'll do one last look around for anything I might have missed before topping up the radiator and seeing if this thing'll run. If does I'll reroute the wires properly and should have it back to a point where I can start reinstalling all the fairings - which is a whole separate pain in the @$$, but at least one I've done before.

Then things get philosophical. Work has picked up and I don't have the patience or headspace to spend hours each weekend keeping these old bikes in motion. The temptation is to get $10k (CAD) between them and then buy something that can go when I need it to without so much TLC. 

I can save the wrench turning for when I retire. I enjoy working on them but trying to do a job this complex when I'm having to leave it for weeks on end while travelling makes a difficult job more so. Had I the time and space to do this daily when I wasn't juggling a demanding job, it'd have been an entirely different experience.

I'm loving the travel opportunities and my work is something I enjoy, but the deep bike maintenance doesn't fit with it at this point.

Haliburton was magical...

Flying out to the maritimes is never a bad thing...

...but those weeks away mean I'm coming back to an incredibly complicated job sometimes 20 days after I last touched it.

I've never made enough to be sentimental about vehicles and keep everything (I'd rather put those resources toward travel anyway). Time to simplify the bike stable to let me focus on riding when I can squeeze it in. I'll save the time suck that is older bike ownership for when I have more time to suck.

Tiger Success (!) and first ride of 2025

 Last fall I took the fuel injection apart on the 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i. It wasn't fueling properly and was unrideable. I barely got any mileage on it last season, so I replaced every o-ring in the system and got a new fuel pump for it. It also got new throttle and clutch cables last year. If this last hail Mary attempt to resolve the atrocious fuel injection on this old bike didn't work, it was out the door.

The good news is it fuels nicely again for the first time in a year! I've still got to tune it and get the idle right, but it feels fantastic. Look back over the posts in December and earlier to see the details and where to get parts. If you're trying to keep an old Triumph 955i on the road (Triumph doesn't support them with parts any more), try this, it seems to work!

Battery needed a kick, but once charged up it ran like a top.

The clawed hands of winter still twist into the sky.

First chance to try out a new Shark helmet. My first and I'm not disappointed.

Still got snow on the borders.

The Grand River is swollen by the spring runoff - that's the camp ground underwater on the other side.

That grin is involuntary. The first time you lean into a corner after a long winter on four wheels is magical.

Amy knows how it feels...

Nice to have one road worthy. The C14 valve job continues when I have time, but work has picked up and I'm travelling again, so my weekends are seldom my own.

Here is the radiator loosened so I could get to the front cam sensor to change the o-ring. The Murph's Kit came with an oversized one. That was 40 minutes of sweat and swearing before I gave up and stepped away (again). This was a giant time suck at a time when I don't have a lot of... time.