Triumph Bonneville T140: Start of season pre-ride checks
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- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- My Triumph Bonneville T140 has been garaged over the winter.
Today I am checking the bike and prepared it to go back on the road for the summer. In this video I will take you through my start of season pre-ride checks.
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I saw that exact colour combo and model in the front window of Tommy Robb's dealership in Warrington in the late Seventies. Great guy was Tommy - top ex-racer and used to indulge us teenagers ogling his bikes.
I’m so glad I found your channel. My father bought his t140v brand new in 1978 for $2000. It never ran right since the day he bought it. It was sitting in storage for about 20 years. I finally convinced him as a kid to wheel it out and get it back on the road. We had extensive work done to it by several mechanics over the years. It still never ran correctly. Luckily CZcams came around and I was able to watch videos and work on it. I installed reproduction Amal carbs that lowbrow customs sells and now the bike runs amazing. It had been sitting for the last couple of years off the road. I would start it every now and then. It starts and runs great but like I mentioned the front brake is sticking now. I watched your videos on how to rebuild the caliper and master. I will continue to watch your other videos! I thank you so much for posting them. I know there is still a gear oil leak I have to fix but just not quite sure how to do it yet.
Just wanted to add the bike has been in the family since 1978 and had 3,500 miles on it lol. Again I thank you for posting these videos!
Wow! Great to hear. Thanks for sharing. I hope you get the bike sorted and can enjoy riding it. They are very ridable bikes.
Nice overview.
Nice, methodical process, happy riding!
Thankfully, I live at 1700m or 5500ft above sea level, low humidity, summer rainfall and 320 blue sky days...winter storage? Not a chance, it’s the best time to ride over here! Lovely Bonnie, I have a September 1975 Cycle Guide magazine with that Bonnie as the month’s feature test...I’ll have to dig it out and give it a read again! Ride safe 🏍👍☀️🇿🇦🍺
Thanks for the brilliant video mate.
I will be pulling mine out in a month or so and will go through the same checks as yourself.
Appreciated 👍
Great. Lot's hope for no issues.
Nice job Simon, I'm over half way through a complete engine rebuild and wiring loom replacement on my 76 t140, you've inspired me to get my finger out and get in with it.
Sometimes it's easier sitting and watching other people working on their bike 😁
Hi Simon. Great vid. I’d just like to mention that there are two grease nipples for the swinging arm. The one for the drive side bushing is on the underside of the swinging arm (and a swine to get at).
I did a similar routine on my T140 last weekend. There were a couple of minor electrical issues but all else seemed fine. So I turned the fuel on and started to kick. It thumped once or twice, then drooled fuel all over the floor. Oh well. I had bought in carburetor kits last year with the intent of doing them over Winter. That did not get done, so now I’ll be doing them in the Spring. I’m guessing there’s a stuck float on the right. I’ll do the manifold and air cleaner rubber as well. Not a huge job, hope to have it running on the weekend.
Love the cable greaser, I’ll have that on the shopping list.
I’m in the fortunate position that the bike shed is insulated and heated. And as I ride the bikes through winter. Fuel additive probably not needed. But all your tips very useful. Ride safe bud. Tony
Chain seemed totally w/in specs. As I recall, shop manual calls for 1 3/4 inch play when on center stand. Additionally, there are two swing arm grease fittings. The Timing Side fitting doesn't provide grease all the way through to the Drive Side of swing arm. The grease fitting on the Drive Side is a SOB to get the grease hose onto it as the chain is in the way. No real easy way around it. I hate disconnecting the chain to do it, but....... (BTW, Phil seems to have hit onto this very issue!!! 😀)
Great info, thanks for your effort! I pick up a 76 Bonnie tomorrow, looks pretty much exactly like yours, same paint scheme at least!
Welcome to the happy family! let the fun and frustrations begin!
@@SongsFromTheSaddle oh I know the frustrations mate, I’ve previously owned three TR6’s… but to honest they were pretty trouble free! Subscribed!
Good advice and general info there, but I'd like to add a couple of points: it's good practice to flush and change all the brake fluid once a year (2 years maximum is the general recommendation). It can be a bit of a pain on the rear, because of having to pull out the rear spindle and let the caliper hang upside down to bring the bleed nipple to the top, but it gives you peace of mind to know it is fresh. The other thing is, do you realise there is a grease nipple on the left hand side of the swinging arm, as well? It 's underneath, and very difficult to get the grease gun connected to it, but your flexi-hose should be able to do it. I changed the right hand one from straight to angled, to make it more accessible, but you can't do that with the left one because of clearance to the chain.
Thanks for your helpful comments Rick. If you watch my other videos you will see that I gave my brake system a complete service last year, stripping down the master cylinder and calliper and replacing all the seals. In one of those videos I covered replacing the brake fluid and bleeding the system.
did Triumph change the switchgear / levers and warning light cluster that year?
@ 12:55 clutch cable and adjuster look well pissed at the handlebar lever?
@ 31:42 possibly the cable route or cable length is wrong? or both.
either way there's a slight kink and distortion to the inner cable at the same place where the adjuster has re-seated itself 30 degrees out from straight, look for a more neutral centre exit for the cable than forced under the clocks on the left, it'll give all that grease an easier task and maybe even lighten the clutch too.
what plugs do you use for your bike? looked like BP6ES. I have a T140E 1982. Thanks. also could you tell me where you purchased the cable grease gun and wheel alignment tool. Great videos. Please keep them coming. Have you or would you do a video on balancing Amal Mark 2 carbs ?
Yes BP6ES. Just a bit hotter than standard. I buy most of my tools at bike shows. I only make videos when a job needs doing, so carb balancing when I next do the job. At the moment the bike is running beautifully, so I'm not going to disturb the carbs!
@@SongsFromTheSaddle thank you very much for the reply. Looking forward to your next videos. They are excellent
Is there not a grease nipple on both sides of the swing arm? Or is that something they changed on the later OIF bikes?
Yes there is a grease nipple at both sides. The other one is on the cutting room floor, together with oiling the throttle cable. Too hard to film.
@@SongsFromTheSaddle Great video, thanks. I have a 1973 T140V, previous owner had it completely restored with mostly new parts and an engine rebuild, so virtually a new bike with 5k miles on it! I bought a 2021 T120 3 months back, a chance to own what is regarded by many as the best Bonnie ever made. But have now decided to sell it on and keep riding the T140, have had 4 of them over the past 20 years and I prefer them, mine does not leak oil even! Vibration issues at high speeds, but thats ok, I don't get out on the motorway too often. One little stupid issue are the two tiny attaching screws on the rear light housing. If you change a bulb and then replace the lens, it can be almost impossible to line up the screws into the metal bracket within. So I will do a mod on that today. Your choice of tyre pressures varies from the handbook? That states 24/25? Thanks again, Liam
@@detectoruser with tyre pressures, the factory workshop manual says that the quoted figures (28 psi front, 32 psi rear for the 4.10-19/4.10-18 combination, 24 psi front and rear for 3.25-19/4.00-18) are based on a rider weighing 140 lbs. Heavier riders should increase front tyre pressure by 1 psi for every additional 28 lbs, and rear by 1 psi for every 14 lbs. This applies to both size combinations (I believe the narrower tyres were fitted on some US models).