I haven't owned a Triumph (much less any bike) since 1977. Bought this one about a month ago after being prodded by my wife to do so. Is she just great, or is she looking at my life insurance payout?!! As you can see by the pic, it's been chopped (pretty good job) although I'm not sure about the "colors" on my Britt '77 Bonneville. You know it's so hard to find a fringe jacket nowadays!! Bought it unstartable (broken kick peg) fixed that easy enough; but, I do not have any spark to either plug. Changed out the regulator/rectifier (cheapest route first), still no spark. Anyone out there to give me a method on T-shooting my problem from the get go...please help. I know just about enough on older automobile systems. I know where the points are on this bike, but where the hell is the condenser located? Simple minds need simple tips. Thanks to anyone out there in T140 land.....Cisco Kid
1977 Triumph Bonneville
- Thread starter cisco_kid
- Start date
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welcome to TT im sure you will get plenty of help here the t140 is a favourit with a lot of members , congrats on the buy :
I haven't messed with that exact year T140, but if it's anything like a '75......
Underneath the seat around the battery and near the coils. Looks pretty much the same as a condenser for any older ignition system.
Underneath the seat around the battery and near the coils. Looks pretty much the same as a condenser for any older ignition system.
Hold on.....I just saw the photo of your bike!
I didn't know we were referring to something someone chopped.
For all we know, it may have a Boyer or Sparx electronic ignition.
I didn't know we were referring to something someone chopped.
For all we know, it may have a Boyer or Sparx electronic ignition.
There is a black box that is about 3"x5" strapped to the chassis behind the battery with 4 to 6 wires ( i'll explain further later today). Although I know it is part of the system, is it integral for starting the bike, does this serve to generate a "stored spark"?
I would start by checking the state of the battery. If you have much less than 11v in the battery you will not get a spark no matter how hard you kick!
It sounds to me like you DO have some brand of electronic ignition on this bike.
They require a fully charged and strong battery.
To check and be sure it's an electronic ignition system, take off the points cover and have a look inside. If there's two sets of points in there, then it's a standard system. If you see a round green disc with circuitry in there, then it's electronic. The next step would be to see what brand it is.
They require a fully charged and strong battery.
To check and be sure it's an electronic ignition system, take off the points cover and have a look inside. If there's two sets of points in there, then it's a standard system. If you see a round green disc with circuitry in there, then it's electronic. The next step would be to see what brand it is.
Welcome to the forum!
Before buying ANY parts, you should do basic troubleshooting by the book, starting at the battery.
IF you have a fat blue capacitor near the coils, with a Brown/blue and a red wire going to it, you MIGHT be able to generate enough voltage with the alternator to get sufficient starting spark out of a set of clean points.
What I would do is pull the spark plugs, turn on the key and kick like crazy to charge up the 2MC (blue) capacitor. Then, put the plug caps on and lay the plugs where you can see the gap. A couple of good kicks should generate a fair spark.
Before buying ANY parts, you should do basic troubleshooting by the book, starting at the battery.
IF you have a fat blue capacitor near the coils, with a Brown/blue and a red wire going to it, you MIGHT be able to generate enough voltage with the alternator to get sufficient starting spark out of a set of clean points.
What I would do is pull the spark plugs, turn on the key and kick like crazy to charge up the 2MC (blue) capacitor. Then, put the plug caps on and lay the plugs where you can see the gap. A couple of good kicks should generate a fair spark.
Is there as photo in the first post? If so, I can't see it and there's no red 'x' or any placeholder to denote the photo.
No photo within the post, but cisco_kid uploaded a photo to the photo gallery. It's an American Flag painted Bonneville chopper.
Here it is.
Brings back memories!
Note "correct" flag...
Note "correct" flag...
Long dead thread.
Please explain?
British flag paint job on a British bike.
bananaclip
Well-Known Member
Are you planning on restoring the bike to its original origin or keeping the chopper thing going?
