Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

[Pooksta]

Was riding the 1200 Trophy home from work this morning. Sitting at a set of traffic lights when I noticed my right foot was getting warm. Looked down and observed a large amount of steam coming from the overflow pipe under the bike. No warning lights on and the bike was ticking over normally! Took off and the bike stopped steaming. Then every time I stopped at lights/intersections after that, off it went again. Still no warning lights on the dash? I managed to get it home and as I had just finished nightshift I parked it and went straight to bed totally knackered. I did notice though that horrible HOT engine smell... Oops!!

I haven't had a chance to take a look at it today but I did check the coolant level in the overflow tank and it looked normal. Don't get any days off until next Wednesday so I'll have to use the car until then. I'm thinking a head gasket or something like that. Any one got any ideas? thoughts appreciated.

Lee

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Was the cooling fan running Lee?

Another thing would be if the water pump quit pumping coolant.

Perhaps it didn't overheat to the point that the head gasket blew...fingers crossed!

 

[CarlS]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Lee, let us know what you find.

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

The trouble is that when you have a helmet on and the engine is running, you can't really hear the cooling fan, so it's hard to tell if they are running or not. They'll also run after you shut-down the motor, even if the key is off, until the coolant cools down.

When it's a hot day and I get in stand-still type traffic, I always put my hand down along the fairing hot air vents when I'm stopped to see if I can feel the hot air being pushed out of them by the fan.

But even if the fan is working, if the water pump quits, you're going to overheat.

Oh...and it could also be just a bad thermostat not opening!!??

I've never seen a warning light for an overheated Trophy engine and don't really know if they have them or not. Mine's never overheated before. I'll have to look at my Owner's Manual.

 

[shanered6]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

i have no idea if mine works ! it never gets hot enuf up here for it to come on .

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

i have no idea if mine works ! it never gets hot enuf up here for it to come on .

If you ever come to a stand-still on a really hot day, it ought to turn the fan on.

If you're not sure if it works or not, the only way to tell for sure is to let the bike stand idling on it's centre stand for 10-15 minutes...the fan should come on.

By the way.....I checked my Owner's Manual and there IS a high coolant temperature warning light that should have come on. It's between the left turn indicator and the neutral light.

The fact that it did not come on leads me to think the problem is with the coolant temperature sensor which turns on the fan first, and then turn on the warning light at a higher temperature. That's an easy to replace sensor once you remove the left fairing.

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

I stand corrected...there is a cooling fan switch (mounted on the back of the radiator) as well as a coolant temperature sensor which triggers the warning lamp.

 

[Pooksta]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

The bikes done 123,000 kilometres now. I got it 5 yrs ago with 11,000 on the dial. When I first got it, I had to get the sensor replaced as the fan failed to cut in. Never had a problem since, until yesterday.

As it's currently winter here, it was a cool morning, only about 12 deg centigrade so I'm hoping this helped a bit. When I get a chance next week, I'll pull the left side fairing off again and have good look to see what I can find. With the high mileage I can expect things to be subject to wear and tear. I recently had to have the starter motor rebuilt as the bike was getting really hard to start at times. I thought the battery wasnt charging enough but it turns out the the starter wasn't getting enough power due to its worn state. It was an easy job but a bit fiddly. I'll post on here what I find sometime next week.

If the bikes stuffed, I'll investigate rebuilding the motor as there is no bike currently in the Triumph range that suits me more than the Trophy. Even the new Sprint GT is not as comfortable as the Trophy series. I really think the mob at Triumph are a bunch of knobs for letting the Trophy go from the range. Lets hope they re introduce it at some time but keep it looking something like mine with classic lines and curves and a great riding position.

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Hey Lee,

I'm really happy to hear that you'll have the head gasket job done if it comes down to it. I would as well as these bikes are KEEPERS.

I guess another way to tell if the head gasket blew would be to see if there's anti-freeze mixed in with the oil.

I never mentioned something obvious here too......check your FUSES as the warning light and the fan both are fused circuits.

PS: While you're checking the fan and/or temperature switches, you may want to see if just isn't a bad ground causing it.

 

[Pooksta]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Thanks AJ, I'll check all these things out when I strip her next week. I'll be sure to let you know what I find. As I mentioned previously, The Trophy suits me perfectly. I researched a fair bit before I purchased her in 05 and my hard work paid off. Even the seat doesn't bother me So tired of hearing people whinging about the Trophy seat. A sheepskin seat cover fixed it all for me.

Take care up there and I'll be online next week when I get some time off.

Lee

 

[DaveM]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Well Lee if it is a goner then you could always look at one of these

New Triumph Trophy spy shots!

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Now THAT would be the only thing that would cause me to trade my Trophy!!

From that photo I can see they'd be doing it right......an upright riding position and an adjustable windscreen. An adjustable windscreen is the only thing I wish my Trophy had and is what all it's competition in the Sport Touring range have.

But I wonder what engine they'd use? It would have to be at LEAST a 1100cc water-cooled to compete with the BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha STs.

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Hmmmmmmm......single-sided swing arm, analogue gauges, and shaft drive!!

 

[CarlS]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

I think the single-side swing arm and the shaft drive are essential for it to be competitive. The digital gauges would not be a selling point with me. I am fine with either analog or digital. I prefer digital because they are easy to scan and get the full picture.

 

[DaveM]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

I am surprised they have analog gauges

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

I love good old fashion DIALS!!

The best thing about the old Trophy was the analogue CLOCK (and having a fuel gauge)!

PS: Can we split this topic and put the talk of the new Trophy into the other thread....don't want to hijack Lee's cooling system thread.

 

[Pooksta]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Don't worry about it AJ, I just put a deposit on the new Trophy

 

[The Seeker]

Re: Bugger, think me Trophy's dead

Don't worry about it AJ, I just put a deposit on the new Trophy

I think I may have to also!

The only thing is that I'd have to decide who I'd buy one from?

Triumph took away the franchise of the dealer I really liked and the nearest one to me is a dealership who I don't trust and wouldn't care to give my money to.

 

[CarlS]

Very cool, Lee. Congratulations!

 

[DaveM]

Very cool Lee