Prioritizing Work and Saving My Patience for What Matters

I was talking to Alan Seeley on email who now writes for Classic Bike (UK) Magazine. I told him about the s*** show that was trying to order used parts from eBay to keep the old Tiger in motion. He put me in touch with Chris Jagger and also put my issue into the letters section of the magazine. Chris's advice is that there are weak points on these bikes and as they age they get retired because of the lack of support. If you're going to take on a Hinkley Triumph, even a relatively recent one, don't expect the kind of support you'd get from other manufacturers.

I've sorted out '90s Fireblades and Honda never blinked when I was looking for parts. Suzuki is legendary with how they look after their engineering history, and Kawasaki has also been nothing but solid when I was working on older machines. I actually found it easier to find parts for a 53 year old Meriden Triumph than I have with much newer Hinkley machines. I've said it before and I'll say it again, for a company that markets on their history so heavily, Triumph vanishes when it comes to providing parts support, even for recent machines.

I took Chris's advice and went looking for backup used parts. This time around I found a throttle body that looked like it has spent some time in an archeological dig, and it arrived in a beaten up box but this time the seller padded it well and the plastic bits were intact. I cleaned and dismantled the unit and now have spare throttle bodies, fuel injectors and a complete idle control housing along with all the other odds and ends.

When I put the Tiger back together I tried putting pins in the broken wires on the fuel sender but it didn't work. I got a replacement fuel sender, but this time from a US eBay parts provider. I foolishly thought the shipping would be less but eBay surprised me with a surcharge on delivery that was 3x the shipping costs. Both the throttle body and the fuel sender came in on the same week. The throttle parts were much bigger and heavier and came from the UK with no surprise surcharge and the shipping cost was 30% lower. The moral here? Don't buy used parts on eBay if it's from an American based seller - you'll get caned by US Post surcharges. No so with UK suppliers.

The good news is the new part works well, but not without other teething problems. That age of this bike is really starting to show. The wires had broken in the sender unit but unbeknownst to me they'd also broken on the other side of the connector, so when I first plugged the new unit in I got nothing. After taking the tape off I discovered the broken wire, cut off the connector, crimped on new plugs and it works a treat.

While I was waiting on parts I pulled the valve cover and checked the valves just to make sure they weren't what might be causing the stalling and hesitation.

I'd last done this perhaps ten thousand miles and a couple of years ago - everything was still within spec. It's an afternoon to do it but worth knowing that the valves aren't the issue. That also gave me a chance to go over the seals on the airbox and pipes, clean and check the spark plugs, put a spacer on the throttle return to stop it stalling and wire in a bypass to the battery so it's showing 13 volts when running now (the wiring for the battery is byzantine and loses voltage over time). I also rebalanced the throttle bodies while I was in there.

With the new fuel sender in, I've had the Tiger out multiple times over the past week. It doesn't stall! It starts reasonably easily, Shows 12.8-13.2 volts when running (it used to hover around 12), and the throttle action is close to what it was before things went sideways.

How am I able to apply such patience to the Tiger? I sold the Bonneville!  Got what I paid for it and took a hit on some of the new parts I'd purchased, but with it gone I've got more room both in the garage and in me head to work on the Tiger.

The old Bonnie was interesting to work on during COVID but I'm still young enough to be motivated by riding rather than spending endless days in retirement hunting for expensive parts and installing them. Having two frustrating Triumphs was one too many, and since the Tiger's going to start demanding engineering rather than just mechanics if I want to keep it in motion, it was time to let go of my first attempt at (the eye wateringly expensive world of) vintage restoration. I like my projects to be more recent sidelined bikes - the '97 Fireblade remains a highlight (that I made money on!).

The Bonnie project had stalled out when I realized I was a grand in on new parts and nowhere close to being able to ride the thing. In retrospect I should have picked one of the other running options, but I went for the romantic Triumph option... and regretted it. An alternate reality Tim went for the BSA trials bitza and is deeply involved in vintage trials right now.

Links & Pics

Valve cover off on the Tiger. It's pretty easy to get into - other than having to wiggle the cover out the right side under the frame - which actually caused problems on the reinstall when the gasket didn't sit right and the bike barfed expensive synthetic oil all over the garage floor when I restarted it- but I'm not going to mention that in the blog.

With the Bonnie and bits gone, there is much room (both mentally and physically) to get on with keeping the Tiger in motion. The Kawasaki remains rock solid.

Used on Triumph models up until  four years ago - they don't make these any more.

I'm taking the broken one to bits and measuring all the bits. I currently have two plans: 1) digitally 3d model the part and look into 3d printing options with fuel proof materials. Nylon filament printing seems to be the fuel-proof material of choice. Lots of services out there. 2) is to build my own copper/steampunk version of this plastic bit using copper piping and fittings.

My pins in the connectors attempt with the old fuel sender didn't cut it.

I thought the C14 might have an oil leak, but it turned out to be the oil in the fairing after the spring oil change. After a thorough cleaning it's running like a (oil tight) top.

Here are some details on the voltage fixes for 955i Tigers. Running the wire from the reg/rec to the battery was straightforward:

Sasquatch voltage fix:

https://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php?topic=3843.75  is lost to the internet (those Hinkley Triumph support forums are dying out).

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/sasquatch-link-please.1267616/

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/tiger-electrical-upgrades.496199/

Reg/Rec update:

https://www.triumphrat.net/threads/charging-system-diagnostics-rectifier-regulator-upgrade.104504/

This is the Fuel Level Sender: Part Number: T2400526 that needed a swap...

Thanks to the massive shipping surprise it would have been cheaper for me to buy this new from a dealer (assuming they haven't discontinued it). Don't buy used parts from U.S. based eBay parts providers! It's not their fault, but eBay makes a mess of US/Canada shipping.

Targeting Repairs on 2010 Kawasaki Concours C14: windshield motor and hydraulic clutch gasket

Windshield Motor Details

Concours Parts Diagrams.  Handy for working out how
things together.

Video breakdown of how to get into the windshield motor on a C14 Concours:

"There are two relays (up and down) that are identical.  They're on the bracket that blocks the air filter removal.  Looking at them with the fairing off on the left side.  They are the first two that look alike.  I rather doubt that both of them are bad as you said it wouldn't work at all.  If only one direction worked then you could swap relays to see if you could narrow down the problem to one relay."

There is a connector to the motor.  Disconnect it and check the following:

    +         -            switch position     standard voltage

green     red              Free                      0

green     red              Up                         battery voltage

red       green            Free                       0

red       green            Down                     battery voltage

"30 amp fuse for the windshield motor: I would start at the connector to the motor and work backwards if the voltages aren't there or right.  Older model," but:  http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=10532.0

***

The long and the short of this is that I need to test the wiring and then jump the motor to see if it works.  If it doesn't, taking it out looks like a pretty major operation, but then everything on the C14 looks like it's over engineered, which isn't a bad thing.

I can't believe how over-engineered the battery holder was!  Heavy and much more complicated than it needs to be, but that's kinda the vibe of the bike.

Pneumatic Clutch Cover

The former owner thinks it's leaking, but it seems pretty happy (no drips under the bike).  I'm going to torque it on properly to begin with and then keep an eye on it.

https://www.cmsnl.com/kawasaki-zg1400caf-concours-14-2010-usaabs_model21885/partslist/#.YH9iJehKiHs

***

Another angle to take is just to remove all the electrical plumbing added by previous owners in order to ensure the bike is to spec.

Other Resources

C14 Common Issues:  https://motorandwheels.com/problems-kawasaki-concours-14/

Kawasaki plastic rivet: Manufacturer # 92039-0051

This have gotten fragile on this 11 year old C14 that's enjoyed 11 freezing Canadian winters followed by 11 boiling Canadian summers.

This kit from Amazon is automotive clips, but there are 50 in it that are a very close match to the Kawasaki part.  The OEM clips are hard to find.  For what that kit costs, I'm going to give it a shot and see if they work with it.  If not, I have some handy clip removing tools and a pile of optional sizes for the future for not much money.  The Kwak parts are $4US each.  50 of those (if I could find them) would be over 200 bucks, so I'll give the generics a shot.

Some of the louvred electronics pins have also broken (like I said, the plastics are starting to get fragile on this thing), so having a multi-pack is handy in other ways.

***

I'm just going to keep chucking GTR1400/C14 Concours/ZG1400 windshield details on here as I find them online.

The windshields on these seem to run into problems, especially if they're stressed while fully extended while operating at high speeds.  I hope something on here gives you what you need to figure out the problem.  COG members tell me the windshield motor assembly costs north of a thousand bucks, so this is a DIY situation (unless you've got thousands to chuck and an older bike).

The solution came in the 2015 model when the windshield came with a vent that reduces back pressure and stress on the unit.  Putting in an aftermarket or updated stock windshield will probably help you avoid windshield motor headaches.  It's on my to-do list for this bike.