Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Problem With Cutting Out

Hi All,

I bought my 2004 TBA in June of 2005. I've loved the bike, and ride it fairly often (5300 miles so far.)

Here's the problem. I can be riding along, either in town or on the highway, and the left cylinder just dies. Then it comes back, sometimes dies again. This can also happen while coming from a stop.

Engine cold or warm, cold or warm weather, wet or dry weather makes no difference. I can't seem to find a pattern, and the problem is intermittent.

I've had the bike to the dealer (Cycle Riders Orlando) twice. The first time, they changed the coils. The problem came back within 200 miles. Then they changed another part, sorry can't remember what, I'd have to check. I thought the bike might be fixed, but it did it again pulling away from a traffic light. It's been about 750 miles since the last repair attempt.

The problem is unsafe and irritating, to say the least. The bike has been down 2-3 weeks each time waiting for parts to come from England.

Any ideas? If they can't get this resolved, I'm tempted to lemon law the thing (need one more repair attempt) and buy a Rocket III.

Don't get me wrong, I love my TBA, but this is driving me nuts.

Thanks,
HiFiGuy66

Have a look at this thread to see if this helps.

Oh yeah, and ask Moe all about Cycle Riders - he loves those guys!

Hi All,

I think it was the ignitor they replaced on the second attempt, but I'm not totally sure. I'd have to check the paperwork.

Actually, they guys at Cycle Riders have treated me just fine. No complaints with them at all other than the fact that they are slooooww and they have no loaner bikes. Other than that, I have no complaints. They certainly treated me better than the folks at the local Harley shop..."First bike? Let me show you a bike you can afford!" I'm not kidding, they really said that.

HiFiGuy66

i've had that problem on other bikes it could be dirt in the carbs
small amount of dirt can block your carbs when it stops the dirt floats to the bottom of the float bowl thus letting you start her up again as the float bowls fill and the engine sucks it will suck dirt up to the jets blocking the jets then the bike stops so the problem keeps repeating it self
leaving you scratching your head
if you have a spark it cannot be electrical
first thing i check is spark followed by fuel flow be it the fuel tap or carbs if all is ok then it could be electrical at that point i take it to an expert as electrics is not my forte

i still think it's electrical. i know the newly designed wires are supposed to be very reliable, but it sure sounds like a spark plug wire to me.

cat

If you can, pull the plug as soon as it dies, check for moisture. That will show you if it is gas or electrical. I am betting on electrical. Gas would usually make it die a little slowly, electrical and it just turns off.
Good luck with it.

Take the spark plug wire off the side that it's happening on and look at the coil side connection. The type of connector Triumph uses has a tendency to keep spreading and become loose. Take a pair of pliers and squeeze it closed a bit. Pull the boot back about an inch. Pinch the wire just behind the connector with your fingers and plug into the coil. You should feel it snap on tight. Then push the boot forward over the coil nipple. If you still have problems buy a new set of wires from Brent.