Re: 1983 Triumph T140W 750 TSS; 8 valves & electric start! - GrandPaul
Hello All,
I saw this interesting thread on google regarding the Triumph TSS, so I made the arduous effort of joining Triumph_Talk to hopefully share some info on these interesting motorcycles.
I am the second owner of a 1983 TSS; I made the irrational purchase about two years ago.
For those of you who remember, in the early 1980's, new 4 valve Triumph's were still on showroom floor, but they had very little that was new to offer, or even better than the older models, and the competition was moving on. I remember a new TSS on the showroom floor of Britalia motors in San Jose. It really looked good, and anything of significance would have been enough, but there was dreadfully little info, then and now, regarding the 8 valve triumph. Even to this day, I have never seen a TSS on the road or even in display, excpept for mine.
A quick summary of my bike. I am the second owner, the bike was meticulously maintained, it looks almost brand new, despite having 17,000 miles.
The modifications that the previous owner made are as follows: progressive fork springs, and a slightly larger rear sprocket. It still has the original front tire.
My time working on the bike has been somewhat limited lately due to work and other things, but here is where I currently am on this bike: The electric start worked great for a week and then stopped. After removing the timing cover to inspect, I saw that the sprague clutch was shot. When I removed the timing cover, the intermediate gear fell off revealing a chip in both the intermediate gear and crank pinion. I replaced the crank pinion, however, the intermediate gears are absolutly unobtainable, at least not from any of my sources. I am in the process of converting to a non-electric start timing cover, but I don't trust the timing marks on the timing gears. Does anyone have the cam specs for this bike? I cannot find them anywhere.
Despite the good condition of the bikes external finish, the compression seemed low, about 100-110 per cylinder; however, it does not smoke. When I inspected the valve clearances, they were close to nil. When I adjusted them to factory spec, the compression jumped up to 140 per cylinder. This still seem a bit low compared to my other bikes.
What else, well the clutch is way to sticky, almost impossible to free the clutch plates, and the speedo and tach jitter too much.
That is all for now. I am looking forward to hearing and sharing info on our bikes.
-Pat
Hello All,
I saw this interesting thread on google regarding the Triumph TSS, so I made the arduous effort of joining Triumph_Talk to hopefully share some info on these interesting motorcycles.
I am the second owner of a 1983 TSS; I made the irrational purchase about two years ago.
For those of you who remember, in the early 1980's, new 4 valve Triumph's were still on showroom floor, but they had very little that was new to offer, or even better than the older models, and the competition was moving on. I remember a new TSS on the showroom floor of Britalia motors in San Jose. It really looked good, and anything of significance would have been enough, but there was dreadfully little info, then and now, regarding the 8 valve triumph. Even to this day, I have never seen a TSS on the road or even in display, excpept for mine.
A quick summary of my bike. I am the second owner, the bike was meticulously maintained, it looks almost brand new, despite having 17,000 miles.
The modifications that the previous owner made are as follows: progressive fork springs, and a slightly larger rear sprocket. It still has the original front tire.
My time working on the bike has been somewhat limited lately due to work and other things, but here is where I currently am on this bike: The electric start worked great for a week and then stopped. After removing the timing cover to inspect, I saw that the sprague clutch was shot. When I removed the timing cover, the intermediate gear fell off revealing a chip in both the intermediate gear and crank pinion. I replaced the crank pinion, however, the intermediate gears are absolutly unobtainable, at least not from any of my sources. I am in the process of converting to a non-electric start timing cover, but I don't trust the timing marks on the timing gears. Does anyone have the cam specs for this bike? I cannot find them anywhere.
Despite the good condition of the bikes external finish, the compression seemed low, about 100-110 per cylinder; however, it does not smoke. When I inspected the valve clearances, they were close to nil. When I adjusted them to factory spec, the compression jumped up to 140 per cylinder. This still seem a bit low compared to my other bikes.
What else, well the clutch is way to sticky, almost impossible to free the clutch plates, and the speedo and tach jitter too much.
That is all for now. I am looking forward to hearing and sharing info on our bikes.
-Pat
Please post some pics. And include pics of the rest of your fine stable.
without 
