Triumph Sprint RS Qs

Just bought one (2000 model). Couple of qs which I'm sure some Triumph
owner can help me with:

1) It's got Triumph heated grips. What are the two positions of the rocker
switch meant to represent, since AFAICT the right one is permanently on and
the left is dead regardless....

2) The fan seems to run on for ages after the ignition's turned off. Do
they all do this?

Cracking engine and all that, but I'm concerned for the battery, since I
don't think the dealer charged it beyond enough for a test ride.....only
just turned over this morning, and wot with lights, alarm, heated grips,
overrunning fans...I'm crossing my fingers it'll go tomorrow.....

TIA

 

It is a 2 position switch, low and high

Optimate. get one and look at http://www.t595.net/cm/messageboard/index.asp

 

Sparkes secured a place in history by writing:

Where's off? In the middle, front or back?

Unfortunately doesn't really work for bikes parked on the other side of the
street all the time :-(((

 

I think the middle is the off, I will find out from a friend who has just
had hers fitted and let you know

 

Cracking machines and seriously under-rated. I had one for 2 years
and it was great and very well built!

If I remember correctly the middle position is off and then there's a
high and low setting. What you may find is that the left grip is
colder than the right beacuse the left one sits on the handlebar which
is metal and conducts the heat away.

They all do that sir! I had a Daytona before the RS and despite being
covered in acres of bodywork the fan came on much less frequently than
on the Sprint. This worried me at first, but after a couple of rides
with other RS owners I found their bikes did the same. Top tip is to
not overfill the coolant reservoir. They don't like being overfilled
and mine was most happy when the level was just over the min mark.
Any higer than that and it would generally spit the rest out 'til it
was happy.

Stick it on an optimate or other bike charger then for a bit, but it's
probably ok.

Andy
--
Andy Cunningham
Stockholm, Sweden
R1150GS
UKRMMA#17
The UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmfaq1.html

 

Andy Cunningham secured a place in history by writing:

That's an interesting extra observation, and I suspect you are correct -
since I didn't know I've been fiddling trying to get them both off, and
half-assuming that 'off' should be the 'back' position. After Sparkes
suggested the middle should be off, I left it in the middle after starting
this morning, and detected no heat anywhere. Tomorrow I'll leave it on
long enough to see if some heat makes it to my left hand

Good! Was really bothering me that it was still on a minute after after
stopping

Thanks for that. Garage (not a Triumph dealer) have filled to max, and
I've probably not ridden it enough to have much spit out yet. Seems odd
though - what benefit is there to leaving the fan able to operate after the
ignition is off? Particularly since the option to

is not really available to me as I have a lovely Victorian house (partner's
choice) with no garage or off-road parking (I was shouted down). So the
bike lives on the other side of the street, and it's a bloody good thing I
am of advancing years (well, 37) and experience, or the insurance wouldn't
have been available.

Starter seems to turn the engine over at a chug compared with previous 4s
I've owned, but may perhaps be the nature of the beast - if previous bikes
had behaved the same I'd immediately have worried about the state of the
battery (which was new when I picked it up). But it fires quick enough,
with a bit of luck I'll get a long trip in at the weekend so I can
determine one way or the other.

I'm impressed, after a few days and ~ 100 miles (all of them on wet roads,
natch). 3 years old, 24,000 miles but it's immaculate and has the quality
and solid feel of a BMW. No Jap bike IME would have survived as well on
this mileage, even if garaged throughout (which this clearly has been). And
it handles, and pulls hard in any gear like no other bike I've owned - just
wish I wasn't having to get to know it in crap English Winter conditions
:-(((. In fact, today, the only criticism I can level at it is that there
are no f***ing luggage hooks, which is f***ing appalling on a bike that is
meant to have some (even notional) touring capability. I have resorted to
a backpack for the laptop, since I can't use my tankbag or my seatpack on
it, and am going to have to buy a Triumph tankbag in the longer term (or a
matching topbox at £500....I don't think so....)

Appreciate the input Andy, TVM.

 

Immediately after you switch off is when the engine will get hottest. No
airflow through the rad and no water pump moving the water around.

 

Gunga Dan secured a place in history by writing:

Understand - but still don't understand why you would want to cool it
hereafter, it isn't going to get *hotter*. What are you protecting by
continuing to cool the engine afterwards? (1)

(1) I'm no engineer, so may be held up for ridicule at this point.

 

Because it can get hotter for a period after you switch off, and because
there's no (or very limited) circulation, some areas will get hotter than
others. And more heat, means more pressure in the system too.

 

Try and imagine what might happen if you got a very localised heat
build-up then re-started the engine a minute or two later?

 

Ace secured a place in history by writing:

I'm still struggling with this - unless the risk is that a hot component
will transfer heat to a component generally kept cooler by motion/fan. The
heat energy in the engine overall can't increase once it's off (unless the
external temperature is > than the engine), so I'm not sure what you mean
by 'localised heat build up' - there isn't anything to generate the energy
once the ignition is off. And the Sprint fan actually comes ON when you
turn the ignition off....

 

Heat soak. There are numerous small components in the engine which are
still near or at red heat when you switch off and nip in for a paper.
These slowly dissipate their heat to the surrounding metal which, in
turn, will be cooled by the coolant jacket, which is (perhaps, if you're
lucky) undergoing a little bit of thermosyphon action to the radiator,
which is being slightly cooled down by the laughably inadequate fan.

HTH.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19

 

2) The fan seems to run on for ages after the ignition's turned off. Do

Mine as well, if I don't slow down and toodle through town before turning
off.

 

The clue was 'Localised'. When the engine's running it's generating
loads of heat in specific parts, which are designed to dissipate some
or most of that that into surrounding areas or directly into the
cooling system. It may therefore be possible, if no additional cooling
is taking place, for some parts of the engine to get much notter than
would normally be the case when oil and water are circulating. This
could lead to expansion beyond normal tolerances, and in turn if the
engine is restarted could lead to damage until such time as normal
temps. are restored.

My Sprint ST only ever did this when the coolant level was low (due to
a radiator leak). Seems from other comments that the RS is more prone
to it, perhaps as a result of different aerodynamics, as the ST has
more of a scoop effect onto the rad.

 

Thus spake Grimly Curmudgeon unto the assembled multitudes:

The fan on my '93 Trident 900 only ever comes on if I'm stuck in traffic
for more than a few minutes, and it never runs on when the ignition is
switched off so I guess mine doesn't have that capability. It doesn't
seem to have done the bike any harm.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Ace

You really, really need to read the article in this month's "Bike"[1]
where they drain coolant and oil from an engine and rev the **** out of
it. They really were quite unkind to it. Then they filled it up again
and ran it with no apparent rattles.

Not recommended, for sure, but quite an eye-opener.


[1] I recommend borrowing Champ's copy, saves a fortune.

 

Interesting that one was. But they were surprised that when draining the
oil, after trying to make it overheat, that the oil was hot and melted the
drain pan. Silly fuckers.

And which **** has moved my keyboard around? It's taking twice as long as
usual to type, as I keep getting the wrong fucking letters.

 

Oddly enough, I have read it. Luurved the exploding exhaust bit, but
was astonished that they'd not thought to rig up a remote cut-out
switch, so they had to risk life and limb to turn it off. I guess they
thought it would die and save them the bother.

Not _quite_ what they said, IIRC. It ran, yes, but they didn't make
any comment on the state of the engine other than that. I don't think
I'd like to actually use it.

I find getting them delivered slightly easier - the spy satellite's
been playing up something wicked recently.

 

My recollection is closer to Nigel's - I'm sure the phrase "no
apparent rattles" was in there.

 

I quote ...

"A day later, when everything had cooled down, we top up the oil and
start the engine. It runs smoothly and doesn't sound too bad either.
The bike's won. We leave it alone."