Time for some new brake pads

I recently took my bike back to my supplying Triumph dealer for it's 6000 mile/ annual service. My bike is now a year old and needed a service on date rather than mileage. I had done 4736 miles at the time of service.

The bike was ushered away into the workshop while I waited, drinking coffee and catching up on some emails on my phone.

A couple of hours later the bike was brought out to the front of the shop, and the bill for the service was explained to me. On the bill was a charge for brake fluid, which the mechanic had topped up. When I questioned why this had been done, the slightly flummoxed service receptionist explained that it was part of the Triumph service schedule. The Triumph service schedule mentions to check brake fluid levels, not adjust them. The reason for this will be explained in a moment.

After a brief explanation of why I thought this should not of been done, this part of the charges was removed from my bill. I paid the rest and went on my way. Yet again I have had a  technical problem with a dealer. ( I should explain at this point that I am a highly trained motorcycle technician with over 20 years experience. I only take my bike to the dealer for warranty reasons).

You see the hydraulic braking system is a sealed system. The only time the fluid level should be adjusted is when a fluid change is performed, or you have a leak. The fluid level in the reservoirs goes down as the pads wear and more fluid is required to fill the void behind the piston as it moves out to push the pad onto the disc. The reservoirs are made of a translucent material or have sight windows, as a visual guide to pad wear. If your fluid level is getting near the "low" mark, you need to investigate what is wrong. You take a look. There are no fluid leaks. You check the pads. They are low. You fit new ones, pushing the caliper pistons back to do so. Oh look! The fluid level has risen back to the "max" mark in the reservoir again. Simples!

But, if the mechanic tops the fluid up at service time, you lose this visual aid. You also end up with too much fluid in the system. This then has to be drained off to fit new pads. AAAAAAHHHHH!!

So, with this in mind I visually checked the rear pads when I got home. They were a bit worn, but still appeared to have plenty of material left on them. I then used the bike for a couple of weeks of commuting, and a weekend away camping in Wales.

After cleaning the bike after the Wales trip ( it rained a lot!), I discovered this. Less than a thousand miles after the service.

There is about 2mm of pad material left, so time for a change. The front pads were not quite as worn. But, as I am going on my big summer trip I thought it would be best to change all three sets, as I don't want any avoidable problems while away.

Although I like to have the odd spirited ride, these days I am a bit of a steady rider. I do find that I get through brake pads, particularly rear pads on these kind of adventure bikes. It must be something to do with weight distribution, or the style of riding.

Not wanting to give my inept dealer any more of my hard earned cash, I shopped around for new pads. If the dealer had mentioned the pad wear at the service, I would of probably asked him to fit some. But, he didn't so missed out on the business.

Having used them before, and being impressed, I chose a set of Galfer sintered pads from Calsport. As a bonus, they were also on offer with 30% off.

I cleaned up the calipers and greased the sliding pins. The calipers were good to go. I checked the brake fluid levels too. I had to remove 40ml from the rear reservoir, so that I could push the piston back! I then popped the pads in to complete the job. I will see how long this set lasts.

Next another new set of tyres.........

Puig Touring Screen

One of the problems I have with Tiger is a certain amount of screen buffeting. I have tried a variety of screens and screen modifications. But, none of which have eliminated the problem completely.

In one of my previous posts, I modified the Triumph touring screen by adding a MRA spoiler from an old screen. This worked quite well at certain speeds. But, on longer trips at motorway speeds the screen flexed too much and the buffeting returned.

A friend of mine had recently fitted a Puig touring screen to his Tiger and was raving about how good it was. I like the looks of the new screen. And, also noticed that it had additional braces either side. Could this be the screen for me? It certainly looked like it.

I shopped around for the best deal and eventually found a bargain at www.bs-motorparts.de. The screen was delivered within 48 hours from Germany.

What's in the box?

 

The screen came very well packaged from BS-Motorparts

 

 

When I unpacked the screen I was pleasantly surprised that it was already assembled, and ready to bolt on as a direct replacement for the existing screen.

 

What came in the box. Here you can see the screen, fitting kit, the spoiler, and a comprehensive instruction booklet. Being a man, I ignored the last item!

 

Here you can see the difference between the standard Triumph screen on the right, and the Puig Touring screen on the left. You will also notice that I ordered the Puig screen in the light tint option.

 

The Puig screen fitted in just a few minutes. It uses the standard Triumph mounting screws and hardware for the brackets and the lower screen holes. I then fitted the spoiler section. This was again a simple exercise, involving a few screws.

 

All of the holes for the brackets and screws are pre-drilled. The spoiler brackets are the same and will fit either side.

 

 

And here is the screen all fitted. The adjustment mechanism is simple to use, and offers a good range of movement. Combined with the additional adjustment available from the spoiler, I seem to be able to find a good setting for most speeds.

 

The screen braces, with them holding the screen much higher than the Triumph items, prevent the screen from flexing so much at motorway speeds. This makes the buffeting much more tolerable to the point that I hardly notice it anymore. It has taken a bit of experimentation to get a setting that I like. But, for now I am happy. I have a long trip planned this summer, and this screen will certainly help with covering big miles with ease.



R&G Side Stand Shoe

We've all done it. You arrive at the perfect camping spot, or you want to stop while out on the trail in the middle of nowhere. You put your side stand down and dismount your mighty machine. Then just as you have stepped out of reach, your bike falls over because the side stand has sunk into the soft ground.

But, this is more likely to happen when you park on a bit of hot tarmac when nipping to the cash machine, on into the corner shop for a news paper.

To prevent this from happening you need to increase the surface area of the side stand foot. Or, just be more careful where you park! You can place one of the many plastic pucks under the stand. Or, use a discarded beer can / piece of wood / best mate's foot. What ever comes to mind! But, for convenience it is easier to have something fitted to the stand itself.

There are various side stand feet available on the market. However, most of these are not suitable if you have a centre stand fitted to your motorcycle. This is normally due to clearance issues. I looked at what was available, and noticed that R&G had just released a side stand foot suitable for use with a Tiger fitted with a centre stand ( part no: PKS0060SI ).

The Kickstand Shoe, as they call it comes well packaged in the normal R&G blister pack.

It comes with comprehensive instructions and a couple of stickers. All that is needed to fit the shoe is a 3mm Allen key.

As, the side stand on the Tiger is aluminium it has become scratched on the bottom during use. I cleaned up the bottom of the stand with a file so that the shoe would be the best fit possible. Any burrs on the stand could prevent the shoe from sitting properly onto the stand. This could cause the shoe to have clearance issues with the centre stand and swinging arm.

The stand shoe consists of two parts held together with three stainless countersunk bolts. The black top plate is slipped over the end of the stand. The bottom billet aluminium shoe has a recess that the bottom of the stand fits into. The two parts are then clamped together with the screws.

The shoe comes from R&G assembled. The adhesive foam is for placing against the stand stop, if there is play in the side stand pivot due to wear.

 



 

The components ready to fit.

 

 

The shoe fitted to the stand. I used a little thread locking compound on the bolts to prevent them from becoming loose over time.

 

 

Plenty of clearance between the shoe and the swinging arm.

 

 

And clearance for the centre stand.

 

Overall, the shoe fits very well. It is really nicely made, with a quality feel. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

Low Cost Front Fork Adjustment

The front forks on the Tiger are basic non adjustable items. While they offer a reasonable amount of feedback and damping, it doesn't take much to overwhelm them. The forks also suffer from a large amount of stiction. This can cause the front wheel to shake at around forty mph when under a neutral throttle. Touching the brakes, or throttle stops the shake immediately.

There are a few ways of dealing with these suspension issues. One is to part exchange the bike for a new Tiger XCX which comes with adjustable WP suspension. But, this is a costly option. It's almost as if Triumph knew they were cutting corners on the Tiger XC!

The second option would be to revalve the fork internals. There are a few options on the market now ranging from different springs, to combination cartridge kits. This again can be a costly exercise with prices starting around £500.

But, I decided to try the third, cheaper option. The damping of the forks during both compression and rebound feels quite harsh. This harsh feeling gets a little better after an enthusiastic ride, or a longer ride loaded up with luggage. This indicated to me that the fork oil may be a little too heavy. I decided to try changing the fork oil to a lighter weight oil, and experiment with altering the air gap. I already had various bottles of new fork oil. So, it was only going to cost me a bit of time.

I removed the forks from the bike, and started to strip them down so that I could drain the oil. The first job was to remove the top caps. The fork caps are made of aluminium with the same structural integrity as room temperature French brie. They can get damaged very easily. But, the good news is that they are cheap ( less than £5 each ) to replace with nice shiny new ones. Guess how I found out!

An old trick to protect the fork caps while you remove them is to use a spare workshop glove between the cap and the socket. This prevents the socket from slipping and damaging the cap.

Always protect your nuts!

 

With the caps unscrewed they then needed to be removed so that I could get to the rest of the internal components. With the caps removed I threaded on a damper rod puller so that I could pull up the damper rod and remove the spring retaining nut and seat. You normally need a special tool for this. But, the springs are quite weak on the Tiger so this could be done by hand. There is a lock nut just under the dished spring seat. Holding the spacer tube ( tube with the hole in it in the picture below ) with one hand, and pulling up the damper rod with the other allowed me to get a spanner on the lock nut.

 

 

I could of just turned the forks upside down, drained the oil out and added the same amount of new oil. But, this is not best practice, as you cannot accurately measure the oil level/ air gap correctly this way.

 

With the spring retainer removed I could slide the spring out and drain the oil. Before draining the oil, I measured the oil level to use as a guide later. I left the fork to drain upside down for a while. One the oil had drained, I pumped the damper rod to drain the damping cartridge as much as possible.

 

 

Spring and spacer removed. Keep all the parts in the order you removed them so they go back the same way.

 

 

Draining the oil. I measured the amount of oil drained from the forks as a guide to refilling.

 

Now I could reassemble the forks. Triumph specify a fork oil level / air gap of 107mm using a 10wt oil. When I measured the oil level in my forks, I had a reading of 112mm. As, the oil is measured

by quantity rather than the more accurate level during production, this slight discrepancy was to be expected.

I decided to change the oil to a lighter 5wt, with an air gap of 125mm to begin with. I added the 5wt oil and pumped the damper rod a few times to remove any air in the cartridge. I set the air gap to 115mm first with my air gap tool. This is where I expect to find the best compromise once I had test ridden the bike a few times. I then set the air gap to 125mm, and measured the amount of oil I removed between the two air gap settings. This would allow me to add the correct amount of oil to set the air gap to 115mm if needed.

  

Setting the air gap/ oil level. This is done with the fork compressed and the spring removed.

 

I reassembled the forks, which was a simple case of refitting the parts in the reverse order of removal. Once the forks where reassembled I polished the stations with some P.T.F.E. dry lube spray to try and help prevent the stiction problem. I then fitted the forks back in to the bike. With the forks refitted, it was time for a few test rides.

 

Straight away the forks felt much more supple. Fork travel had increased slightly, using more of the damping available. I placed a cable tie around the station prior to riding to give an indication of the amount of travel used. However, when hitting a bump during braking, or when carrying out an emergency stop the forks felt like they were close to their stops.

 

I added the extra oil to bring the air gap down to 115mm. It is only a small amount of oil, but it has made a massive difference. I now feel like the forks are as good as they can be without throwing money at them.  Combined with the new Michelin Anakee 3 tyres I fitted a while ago, the bike is much more confidence inspiring to ride.

It's not a true Adventure Bike without a Tool Tube

Adventure Bikes were designed to enable motorcyclists to carry as much unnecessary crap on their machines as possible. And then ride them to places with exotic sounding names that nobody has heard of except the people who live there. Well, that is if you believe the hype, and the salesman's banter.

In reality, most riders like the comfy upright riding position, and the ability to carry enough luggage for the rider and a pillion on a fortnights touring holiday. Big aluminium panniers bolted to the sides of an autobahn cruising machine, rider and pillion in matching high tech textile suits, clocking off the miles in sumptuous comfort, looking like a lifestyle advertisement for the Touratech catalogue. I have become a convert to this kind of motorcycling. It just seems to make sense to the type of riding I do. I am too broken and unfit to ride sports bikes for any length of time anymore.

But, it doesn't matter how many crash bars, armoured skid plates, or GPS mounts you have, an Adventure Bike is not a true Adventure Bike unless it has a tool tube fitted.

Tool tubes have become a must have accessory for a serious Adventure Bike. They allow you to carry even more stuff that you probably don't need. But, they do allow you to use some of the wasted space at various points around the motorcycle, and add a certain utilitarian look at the same time.

Humble looking homemade tool tubes started appearing a few years ago, as a means of carrying a few tools and spares on off road bikes for longer rides, conveniently and securely. Before that, it was a case of using a fender bag or carrying them in an enduro tool belt or backpack. Then someone on an internet forum posted a picture of a tractor operators manual storage tube fitted to their bike. Since that day, the "agri tube" has become a phenomenon!

So, I have fitted not one, but two tool tubes to my Tiger. A double dose of adventurism. I'll be able to complete the Road of Bones in a weekend now I they are on my bike!

I had a pair of tool tubes fitted to the pannier rails of my Aprilia Caponord. I used to carry fuel for my camping stove in one, and a tool kit in the other.

Tool tubes fitted to the lower pannier rails of my much missed Aprilia Caponord

As, I am planning a long trip on my Tiger this summer, I thought I could do with a little additional storage for spare inner tubes and a puncture kit etc. I purchased a pair of the agri tubes from a seller on Ebay. I then had to work out how and where to fit them to the bike.

I looked at various places on the bike to decide on the best place to mount them . As, there is some wasted space behind the left pannier rail, this looked like the obvious place to mount the tool tubes.

On the Triumph Tiger 800 there are some blanked off threaded holes on the lower side of the subframe rails. These are the mounting points for the genuine accessory pannier kit. These mounting points just so happen to be the same spacing as the mounting holes on the tool tubes. It was almost as if Triumph had designed it that way!
If I was only going to mount one tool tube, I would just bolt the tool tube straight on to the subframe using the pannier mounting points. But, as I was wanting to mount two tool tubes a bracket of some description would have to be fabricated. Ideally I wanted to mount the tool tubes in a stacked position, so that I could access both tool tubes from the rear of the bike. But, due to the strengthening bar between the two panniers on my bike ( see picture above ), it would prevent me accessing the bottom tool tube. I was also concerned about the clearance of the bottom tool tube with the swinging arm when using the full suspension travel.
So, I decided to mount the second tube facing forwards.
I mocked up a bracket from some scrap steel, and then fabricated the final bracket from some 3x20mm flat steel stock I had. I painted the bracket with some etch primer and a few coats of black stone chip paint. I chose stone chip as the bracket will get subjected to quite a bit of weather and debris coming off the rear tyre.

Bracket all painted and ready to fit

 

I then mounted the tool tubes to the bracket with some stainless button head bolts and nyloc nuts. I have also removed the yellow graphics from the tool tubes with a little bit of brake cleaner and a rag.

 



The lids of the tool tubes screw on tightly and have an o ring seal to keep out water and muck. I did find though that the tool tube caps on my Aprilia Caponord could come loose over a period of time. I decided that I would fabricate and install some safety wires to prevent the caps from unscrewing themselves on rough roads. This would also provide a little security for the contents from opportunist thieves. I am not planning in carrying anything of real value in the tool tubes. But, it can be extremely frustrating to find the tool you need for a simple roadside repair is now occupying some little cretins pocket.
I bought some wire rope and fittings from a chandlers shop. I made up two six inch safety wires with loops at each end. I attached one end of each safety wire to the tool tube mounting bolts using a stainless top hat fitting and passing the wire through a p clip. I will them secure the other end with a small padlock. I have fitted a strap loop to each tool tube cap with stainless blind fittings for a neat and tidy finish.

 

A couple of pictures showing the safety wires fitted

 

And here is the finished assembly fitted to the bike

 

And, the finished job with the pannier fitted

 

Overall I am very pleased with the results. The tool tubes are nicely tucked out of the way, but easily accessible when needed. I bought a little extra of the wire rope, so I will fabricate a PacSafe style security cable for wrapping around my roll bag that I take with me on camping trips. That will be my next project.

 

 

 

 

Tony Archer Seat

One thing that I find is literally a pain in the arse, is the seat on the Tiger. It seems fine at first. But, after about an hour of riding, or 60 or so miles I start to do the numb bum shuffle!
This is not so good on a motorcycle capable of covering big mileages in a day. And, as I am planning to go on a few long touring trips this year I needed to do something about the seat. The seat foam is too soft and compresses once it gets warm from sitting on it for a while. I would also prefer the seat profile to be flattened off, and made slightly wider in places. There is a plastic lip on the back edge of the seat, and a lack of padding on the bottom edge of the side of the seat. I can feel these bits of the seat starting to bite me after a few miles.

I knew what I wanted, and I knew the man for the job. I have used Tony Archer to reshape and cover a number of motorcycle seats in the past. His work is always top quality, and he has a way of making seats more usable for me. He has also worked he magic on a few other Tiger 800 seats with good results.

Not wanting to use the existing seat on my bike for the modifications ( so it is easier to put back to standard when it is time to sell it ), I bought a used seat from a fellow member of the Tiger 800 forum, http://www.tiger800.co.uk/index.php  and went to see Tony to discuss what I wanted him to do.

About a week later I received the seat back from Tony. It looked amazing. So, it was off with the original seat, and on with the new one. Instantly the seat looked higher, flatter, and wider in all the areas I had asked for. The seat had also been covered in a nice anti-slip tactile waterproof vinyl fabric.

 

 

 

 

The seat is instantly much more comfortable. The flatter profile of the main seating area really makes a difference. The added padding on the rear and sides of the seat help to keep me sat in a more centralised position too. There has been about an extra inch of padding added all over the seat. This means that when the new seat is in the lower setting, it  feels about the same as the original one in the higher setting. I will try it on the lower setting for a while. But , it gives me the option of a little more legroom adjustment if I need it. It could be a bit interesting when stopping at junctions etc though, as I am not the tallest of men.

 

 

Barkbuster Storm Handguards

As I had been neglecting my Tiger for a while due to the recent bad weather, I thought I would treat it to a few goodies. There are a couple of areas on the Tiger that could be improved more to my liking. So, I have bought some new items to hopefully change these for the better.

The genuine Triumph handguards are rubbish. I noticed this when I test rode one prior to buying my Tiger. The Triumph handguards are a cosmetic addition that give the bike that "Adventure Bike" look that everyone craves, but fail miserably when it comes to actually protecting your hands. They are just too small. And, the shape of them directs the air flowing over them at the back of your hands. This is really annoying on cold or wet days, as you get an icy blast or a jet wash of water fired at the back of your hands and up the sleeve of your jacket.

The Genuine Triumph Handguards

 

After looking around at the various options, I decided to buy a set of Barkbusters with the optional Storm plastic extensions. These are reasonably priced, and highly rated amongst the Tiger owners that have fitted them. 

 

 

The Barkbusters package consists of a pair of tough aluminium bars which provided the protection for your bike. If you were to drop it, they would help prevent the levers from breaking. They also protect your hands if you were to bash the handle bars on something like a tree riding through a forest trail, or the side mirror of a van during a hectic morning commute.

 

You then chose from a few different plastic guard options, which attach to the aluminium bar sections. I chose the larger Storm option as these provide the best weather protection.

 

The kit comes with a comprehensive fitting kit ( these Barkbusters are a specific fitment for the Tiger 800 and Explorer 1200 ), and easy to understand instructions.

 

After removing the Genuine Triumph handguards, I had the Barkbusters fitted in about fifteen minutes. The instructions specify that the handlebar clamps need to be fitted in a certain way, and that the handlebars ( which are adjustable ) need to be in the middle of their range of adjustment to provide the necessary clearances needed when turning the steering lock to lock. However, as I have my handlebars in a more forward position to prevent shoulder pain from a injury a few years ago, it took me a few adjustments to get them just so.

 

Barkbusters fitted

 

The Storm plastic guards are simply fixed to the aluminium bars with a small plastic bracket, and some self tapping screws.

 

 



 

The Barkbusters look great. And, seem to be very strong. They definitely look like they could take a proper beating.

 

 

 

And, the Storm guards look like they will provide much better weather protection. If they prove to be a little too warm in the summer, I will consider changing the Storm guards for one of the other smaller enduro style options.