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I have a 2009 Triumph Speed Triple with 6500 miles on it and like a good British motorcycle, it loving blew up out of no where. Firstly the battery in my bike pretty much died over the winter, was old, totally flat. Secondly about a month and a half ago I replaced all the fluids in my bike. Brake, oil and coolant. When the fluids were done, the bike overheated a couple times that day. Nothing catastrophic, but was out of the ordinary. We figured out that some air was trapped in the system and cleared it out. The oil was slightly overfilled, but only by a tiny bit. This bike is really temperamental with that and the oil light will come on when the bike is on the sidestand if there's an ounce of extra oil, but as soon as it's level it's fine. I rode the bike about 2000 miles in the following month and never had an issue. About two weeks ago I went to ride the bike and the battery was basically kaput. It started, but it wasn't happy about it, made a note to order a new one. On Sunday I went for a ride with some friends. When I got out to my bike, I noticed that the cover, my bike and the area around it were covered in some kind of red fluid. It hadn't rained in a while so it was obviously that something was dumped on the bike. Thought it was some kind of soda, but it had a really slimy, kind of a brake fluid feel to it and smelled like something that came out of an engine. It soaked through the cover and was all over the bike. I live in a big city so vandalism isn't uncommon (people are always loving with the bikes parked in my lot) but I thought it was weird that someone would dump that kind of poo poo all over my bike. It was the hottest day that I'd ridden it so far this year, about 90 out. The bike really hesitated to start, but it cranked over eventually and ran fine. Nothing sounded weird. Rode a good hour or so before we had to stop for gas. Bike would not start after that, battery was toast. We bump started it fairly easily, got going again. Shortly after that I noticed a light ticking or rattling coming from the engine which I'd never heard before. No lights on the dash. I pulled over and saw some white smoke coming off the side of the bike, but equated it to the water leaking from my camelback onto the bike which happens sometimes. I killed the engine at this point and had to bump start it to get it running again, this time the clicking was a bit worse. I rolled it off the street and bump started it again, listening for the ticking. At that point it sounded like a cable rattling. Revving the engine I could tell that it wasn't, but something metallic and internal to the engine - revving caused a bit more white smoke to come from the top of the engine, but the clicking was non existent at idle. We were in the middle of nowhere with no service so we made the decision to try to ride back to civilization as carefully as possible. We got about 20 minutes before the clicking turned into a clanking and things got way worse. Riding down a hill going about 45 I put the bike in neutral to give rest the motor and it completely died. Since I was rolling I dropped it into 3rd and it fired right up, but this time the clicking was much worse. I made it about 1 more mile before it died at a light and wouldn't bump start, seemed like the engine was seized. At that point the bike had a very strange metallic sound when it was cranking over, almost sounded like the engine was hollow. Luckily I had a friend nearby with a truck and he got me back into town. Once I got home and the bike had cooled down, it still wouldn't start (flat battery) but it sounded more normal at this point, not like a metallic hollow sound. I replaced the battery immediately and did some reading. Some things said that the bike overheated and the pistons expanded to the point of seizing, and back to the normal size when the bike cooled down. Somewhere else I read that it sounds like an oil pump failure, but that doesn't explain the white smoke. After I replaced the battery today, I went to start it. The clicking is loud as gently caress, definitely metallic and I only ran it long enough to take the video below. Has anyone run into this issue before and have any idea what it could be? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg9T_3b-mmk BusinessWallet fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Jun 20, 2015 |
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Jun 19, 2015 01:01
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 20:25 |
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It sounds less like it "blew up out of no where" and more like you ignored a long and storied series of red flags that at least should have been checked out. Instead of "and then I beat it into running submission every time, changing nothing". Either way, I still feel really bad for your situation. That's no fun at all, and I wouldn't wish a lack of a good running bike on you.
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Jun 19, 2015 01:07
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Sounds hosed. Grats, now you have a project to learn on!
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Jun 19, 2015 02:05
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Thats broken. Metallic sounds are bad.
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Jun 19, 2015 04:18
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Most people think an oil light has something to do with oil level. What it is actually indicating is low oil pressure. It sounds like you ran the bike multiple times with an overheating and low oil pressure condition, spinning bearings and possibly throwing a rod through the block that you can't see. The white smoke was coolant invading the combustion chamber.
astrollinthepork fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Jun 19, 2015 |
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Jun 19, 2015 04:32
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Well, when my 675 spun the bottom end bearings bad enough to lock the whole motor up when I started braking for a very fast corner at a trackday it acted a little similar to yours. Hard to start when hot, very occasionally flickered the low oil pressure light when it was >110* out. Never smoked in any way or made noises other than the loud CCT slapping though. Sounded the same as yours does now when I got it started the next day. BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Jun 19, 2015 |
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Jun 19, 2015 04:58
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BlackMK4 posted:Well, when my 675 spun the bottom end bearings bad enough to lock the whole motor up when I started braking for a very fast corner at a trackday it acted a little similar to yours. Yeah, that's exactly what mine did. What'd you do to fix it?
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Jun 19, 2015 05:17
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It got a new motor.
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Jun 19, 2015 05:27
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What did that cost you? I've never really worked on anything this serious because I've never had something like this happen. I was just going to take it to a shop but I have no idea what to expect.
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Jun 19, 2015 05:29
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I had an 06 675, in 09 they changed the head design of the motor and some other minor details resulting in better reliability and more power. I bought an 09 motor for $1500 shipped, an 09+ header for $100, and spent a weekend figuring out how to run the motor on the old electronics. In your case, you're probably going to spend $2000 (I haven't actually looked yet) for a motor and a lot of money in labor.
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Jun 19, 2015 05:42
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Motor for motor swaps are easy though. Just do it yourself. Buy a book and take lots of pictures as you take it apart.
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Jun 19, 2015 07:35
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Yeah the engine is totally hosed, no way around it. Engine swap is the best option for you by far. If you're meticulous about what you take off, pictures, etc, you should be fine even if you haven't done work like that before.
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Jun 19, 2015 16:29
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/05-06-07-08...a79bb65&vxp=mtr Here's a motor for less than $850 but you'd have to swap your stator in. edit: also check to make sure an '08 motor fits in your '09.
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Jun 19, 2015 16:49
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builds character posted:http://www.ebay.com/itm/05-06-07-08...a79bb65&vxp=mtr I was going to link that but look at the stator housing, there are gouge marks. I wouldn't touch that motor... but I'm overly paranoid.
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Jun 19, 2015 18:04
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BlackMK4 posted:stator housing, gouge marks, overly paranoid. No ya ain't. From first hand experience, rash and evidence of trauma to that section of the motor can be a money pit you'll never climb out of. I'd ride a Hyosung 4 life over anything that had been slapped down on the stator housing.
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Jun 19, 2015 18:55
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Fair enough. Maybe this one then? http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-Triump...4aada7d&vxp=mtr
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Jun 19, 2015 19:23
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builds character posted:Fair enough. Maybe this one then? http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-Triump...4aada7d&vxp=mtr Street triple is a 675, a speed triple is a 1050.  If he had a Street Triple I'd tell him to buy the newest Daytona 675 motor he can afford.
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Jun 19, 2015 19:29
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BlackMK4 posted:Street triple is a 675, a speed triple is a 1050. 
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Jun 19, 2015 20:05
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You hosed it when you overheated it and kept riding it. You should never ride/drive something that is overheating.
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Jun 20, 2015 00:15
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On the plus side after you sink all the money into fixing it, you can probably strip down the first motor and eBay the remaining good parts to recoup some cash, or sell the whole thing as-is for less money. Someone will want it.
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Jun 20, 2015 13:47
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n8r posted:You hosed it when you overheated it and kept riding it. You should never ride/drive something that is overheating. I never rode it when it was overheating. The day it blew up it never overheated, unless the thermostat was hosed, it never went over normal riding temps.
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Jun 20, 2015 14:47
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BusinessWallet posted:When the fluids were done, the bike overheated a couple times that day. Nothing catastrophic, but was out of the ordinary. We figured out that some air was trapped in the system and So what's this mean? Regardless you disregarded a shitload of signs things weren't going well.
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Jun 20, 2015 14:57
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You said I rode it when it overheated, but I wasn't sure where you got that info. I immediately fixed the air pocket in the cooling system and it was fine after that for over 2000 miles. Regardless, just looking for technical advice, you don't have to be a dick.
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Jun 20, 2015 15:10
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n8r is always a dick, don't worry about him. A flickering oil light is basically always a bad sign, as it means you're getting crazy wear on the plain bearing surfaces, so it was probably that. Could have also been that if it was overfilled, the crank was dipping into the oil and causing it to get aerated, meaning the plain bearings were breaking down due to inconsistent oil feeds.
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Jun 20, 2015 17:33
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BusinessWallet posted:You said I rode it when it overheated, but I wasn't sure where you got that info. I immediately fixed the air pocket in the cooling system and it was fine after that for over 2000 miles. Regardless, just looking for technical advice, you don't have to be a dick. Yes - saying don't let a bike overheat, and don't ride a bike that is obviously having issues makes me a dick. I agree w/ phat albert regarding taking a look at the current motor to see what the damage is. Your best bet is to drop the motor, then take a really good look at it and see what's going on. Odds are pretty good that your crank is hosed, but you won't know until you tear everything down. There are some options for repairing these things, especially if you haven't damaged the block/heads. You may be able to source engine parts used. In the grand scheme of things, you will be better off repairing your motor with known good parts instead of buying a used engine that is an unknown quantity. It appears that there are a fair bit of engine parts available on ebay, so you do have options. Taking apart a motor is pretty easy, just keep track of the parts. I would encourage you to seek professional help to have the motor re-assembled. The other option would be to part the bike out, once again you can figure out if this is worthwhile with some trolling of forums/ebay. Be prepared to spend at least $1500 to fix this. Best of luck.
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Jun 20, 2015 18:14
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Don't listen to n8r. I think you are fine to just bump start it again. Pick along downhill to do this on so you can give it a good rogering. If you are tired of dealing with it, I'll give you 1500 for it.
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Jun 20, 2015 22:00
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Yeah I don't wanna be a dick like n8 (nobody wants to be n8 of course) but these motor swap suggestions seem awfully grandiose for someone who thought an intermittent oil light could be dismissed as just a "temperamental" bike and who thought a bike that cranks and starts but runs badly was just a battery issue. I think buying a motor could be setting up for even more spectacular failures here. Everybody's gotta learn some way, I've made some big mistakes too, but let's look at this honestly: some fairly big things were missed here during or after home maintenance, and you're thinking about stepping it up hugely on the next repair. This is a complicated modern water-cooled EFI engine. Be aware of what you're getting into.
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Jun 21, 2015 17:53
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Please document your future endeavors for us.
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Jun 22, 2015 00:35
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The good Rev speaks truth. Sell it for scrap or send it to a mechanic. If I were you id dump it and find a $2500 10 year old bike to replace it with, then go to your local community college or vo-tech and take a class on basic motorcycle maintenance/repair.
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Jun 22, 2015 07:00
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Or read the manual at least. Find out what all those little lights and gauges mean.
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Jun 22, 2015 07:03
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Isn't an oil light coming on the universal symbol for "oh poo poo, not good"?
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Jun 22, 2015 07:36
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Naw man that red light means your oil is ready to race.
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Jun 22, 2015 13:04
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Wow you guys are brutal. Thanks to those that helped, gonna wheel this thing to the shop.
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Jun 24, 2015 03:04
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The truth hurts.
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Jun 25, 2015 03:45
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That's CA, it's not like we can help fix your bike anymore, the "low oil pressure light" is more like the "my engine is hosed light" once it actuates, might've well have a big ol' dick fuckin' an engine for a symbol.
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Jun 25, 2015 05:31
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My oil light comes on some times for a second or two, usually when my oil is a oval office hair below the middle of the sight glass and im going up a hill
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Jun 25, 2015 12:00
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Yeah my old Vulcan would starve if I braked hard going down a hill, even with the right amount of oil.
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Jun 25, 2015 18:43
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clutchpuck posted:Yeah my old Vulcan would starve if I braked hard going down a hill, even with the right amount of oil. See this is why you don't use your front brake on cruisers.
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Jun 25, 2015 21:04
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