Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Multiple newbie questions. (be gentle)

Hiya,

I just switched from a ZX6R to an America 08 with fuel injection. Love love love the bike, all concerns about missing speed and power long gone

I do however have a couple of questions that I hope you knowledgeable lot may be able to help with.

1) How concerned do i need to be about grounding out? My wife put this worry in my head with "the exhausts look awfully low"

2) In the manual it says using the engine kill switch can lead to electrical damage. Is this really a likelyhood? I'm going to use the key but i'm used to going for the switch (I beleive this may have been a bad thing ).

3) Again in the manual it warns of severe damage if you run out of fuel due to the catalytic converter. A likelyhood? obviously i have the low fuel light and use the trip counter and have never run out of fuel before....but..well..you know.

Anyway, hi and thank you for any help.

Hiya, Matt. Welcome to the forum.

Bit of a change of pace for ya, going from the Kwak to the America. Still, now you can enjoy the scenery rather than worrying about becoming part of it!!

1.Don't worry about it. It's a Triumph so they handle really well but obviously, don't expect sports-bike levels of lean. And if you do push it too far, hey, that's what the hero blobs are for!!!

(You listen to your wife?!!! )



2. 2 schools of thought on this:
-If you don't use the switch, it may corrode/stop working/etc. when you come to need it.
-If you do use it, it'll wear out.
At the end of the day, it's a switch. Personally, I use the key.

3. Pushing your bike to a garage or phoning wife/mate to come bail you out is a pain in the derriere so don't do it for these reasons alone!! As for damaging the cat, I can't help ya there.

Check out the "September Rally UK" thread in the "Rides..." section and hopefully see you there.

Neill

First welcome you bought a great bike. I never have hit the exhust in 18000 miles so i think your ok
The bikes with fuel injection are new to most of us so forgive the lack of knowledge but they are trouble free bikes with not a lot of issues
Welcome to the best site on the web and enjoy your new ride!!!!

Thanks for the warm welcome and reply guys.

Quote:

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Bit of a change of pace for ya, going from the Kwak to the America. Still, now you can enjoy the scenery rather than worrying about becoming part of it!!

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Loving the ride. I had got to the point where i prefered to look at the Kwak instead of ride the beast. Love glidin' the twisties in cornwall

Good news about the exhaust then. anyway, thanks for the answers time to go for a ride. thanks again Chris and Neill.

Neill, will have a look at that thread and hope to see you.

Cool forums, lots of helpful info.

p.s. the wife is cool, she loves to pillion and encourages my obsessions. what more could i ask for?

With EFI, I thought you shouldn't run out of fuel due to the chance that your fuel pump can sieze up.

I guess I missed that in the manual as I've been using the switch vice key to turn off my bike. I stand learned.

So how do you get to a pump 'inside' the gas tank?

or a new tank will be needed..... which is more likely.
But, I don't know that for sure... just opining on the way of the world these days.

As for scraping pipes, you can do it.. but the hero pegs on the foot pegs / footboards will hit first. You'll feel your foot rising upward.
I turned my footboards around to extend them forward a bit and my pipes will scrape way before the hero nubbins ever make contact - and at that point - I'm going down!

As to using the kill switch and causing electrical damage...?? There must be a caveat there somewhere. Otherwise they wouldn't put the kill switch on the bike in the first place.....?

Welcome to the site, and enjoy the ride.

The kill switch bit is related to the electronic mapping adjusting itself at shut down. If you use the key as your primary source of shutdown, it stands a better chance of proper internal calibration, leaving the kill switch for emergency use.

If the pump is like other bikes it's mounted on a "trapdoor" through the bottom of the tank, an involved but easy replacement.

I doubt they would make you replace the tank to change a fuel pump. Just like in cars and some other bikes I have seen there will be some sort of access door. I would imagine a plate with several screws around it and a fat O ring seal it mabe a cam locking ring like on a car that holds the door. One of the EFI owners will pull the tank sooner or later and can enlighten us. I suppose it is even possible you may have to fish it out the filler neck but doubt that one.

Or, it just could be "this guy in a little boat"

Hi Matt,
I've also got the EFI BA and you're right the manual does say that running out of fuel can damage the cat. I did a bit of a search and other manufacturers of other vehicles do state the same. I also read that repeatedly running out of fuel may lead to failure of a cat so I think Triumph are probably overstating the case to cover their rear. I've had the fuel tank off, there are some quick release fuel pipe connectors that took me a while to figure out and there is a large access panel under the tank to get to the pump.
I know of at least one person who has run out when the warning light failed and the bike seems OK.
The same guy gave me the heads up about the light failure on the same day that mine also failed. The warning lights in the speedo and the speedo and tach illumination lamps run off the same 5amp fuse that feeds the accessory-lightbar connector under the tank. If you fit a lightbar upgrade that fuse to 10amp as advised by two dealers and you'll be OK.
John

wow been away a little while and you lot are nuts i want what your smoking "little man in a boat"

top advice from all though. stopping from using the switch was easier than i thought and have been pushing the lean on the corners with absoultely no problems. So a big thank you guys.

nice to hear that it'd just be the pump, it acessable and it's still a "maybe" gets damaged.

John, sure your loving the bike as much as me. Don't have plans for the lightbar but good advice and you never know. This place is lethal for "hmm... wonder if i could just change this...and that"

Excuse the hijack, but could someone please s'plain to me - why do so many vehicle manufacturers put fuel pumps inside fuel tanks?

Don't let your "over ambitious" bone head husband attempt to adjust valve clearances....

1. the pipes may look low, but they're tucked in enough that you will drag the footpegs first.

2. The kill switch isn't as hardy as the key switch. I think another reason for this warning is that using the kill switch for normal shutdown can easily lead to forgetting to shut off the key. This will leave things on that will drain the battery and could overheat.

3. Along with the pump losing the cooling effects of the fuel, the mixture will start to lean out as the pump starts picking up air bubbles. This lean mixture will cause excessive heat in the exhaust system and fry the converters.