RE: Belly scrape

[Paul Master <master@xxxxxxx>]

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Yup, although my scrapes were quite a bit smaller than Bruce's.

Now for my bad news. I took Flash in because of a fuel leak. Actually, I was
relatively furious with the dealer on Saturday, when they called and said
the fairing parts were in. (A tab had broken, and they are replacing under
warranty). I asked about the radiator parts, "What radiator parts?". They
looked up the service record, and ordered a thermostat assembly on Saturday,
which apparently has a pin hole leak, about two weeks after they found it.

I had taken the bike in to replace one of the inner (black) fairing pieces
which surround the radiator. On the way down, I noticed water droplets on
the left hand fairing where the large vent allows air to exit the fairing. I
also pointed out that I had noticed a gasoline smell when I started the bike
sometimes. They looked into both, supposedly, and told me they would order
the part, and fix the fairing at the same time. They couldn't find any trace
of a fuel leak.

Last Saturday, I decided to give Flash a proper bathing, so I removed all
the fairings, gave the engine a good once over, and decided to see how bad
the water leak was. So I started up, and let it idle for a while, expecting
to see some dribble of water coming out of the cooling system somewhere.
Then I noticed little puffs of white smoke. Going around to the right side
of the bike, something was dripping on the exhaust pipe just after where the
three pipes join into one. White smoke? So I picked up a drop about to fall
with my finger and sniffed. GASOLINE?!?!?! So I immediately shut off the
bike and wiped up all traces of fuel. Then I went looking, and found the
high pressure port out of the tank was leaking. When I turned on the
ignition and got some fuel pressure, you could see the drops formulating.

About this time the dealer called with the fairing info. We talked about the
lack of placing the parts on order (two weeks ago), and then I told them
that I was now doubly pissed, because they hadn't spotted the fuel leak, and
I have been riding around with fuel dripping on my exhaust pipe for two
weeks.

So, anyway, we agreed that the fuel thing needed immediate attention. They
said call 1800RIDETRI and have the bike towed in. I called, and much to my
dismay, they cover up to $50 of the tow. When I asked how much it would cost
to tow, after about 15 minutes I got the reply, between $210 and $230. Not
ouch, OUCH!!  So I called AAA, and of course, they don't tow bikes. So, I
rigged up a paper towel, stuffed it up all around the fuel pump lines, and
taped it in place. My theory was that the small amount of fuel would get
soaked up by the towel, and then evaporate before it could form a drop and
drip down the engine. (Looks like it worked just fine). On Tuesday, I rode
the bike the 60 odd miles to the dealer, and picked up a loaner bike
(BMW650). I also notified them about the foil on the lower right belly pan
melting. They hadn't heard of this problem, and I told them several people
on the list are fighting melting plastic, so they said they would check it
out with Triumph. Later that day I got the call. Needs a new elbow, will
take 6 weeks to get here. "How is that possible?", I asked. It turns out,
Triumph just send a BOATload of parts to TOA. They have to go through
customs after the week long journey, yada yada yada. So I did get them to
critical order the part, but don't yet know how long that will take. I asked
them if they could temporarily fix it, but they didn't want the liability of
that not working and Flash, well.... flashing, as into flames. I can hardly
blame them for that. I think I would have just wrapped the threads in Teflon
tape and re-installed, but.. Oh, and of course, they needed the loaner bike
back. So I arranged for someone to go with me and give me a ride back. Smack
into a horrendous traffic jam, an hour and a half to go the first 13 miles.
Arrrrghh. So I am travelling for a couple of days, and have no idea when I
get my baby back. Boohoo.

Oh, here is my theory on belly scraping, melting etc. Triumph is caught in a
bit of a squeeze here. The belly pan scrapes where it bulges to accommodate
the exhaust system. It cannot bulge any more, because it will make scraping
even more prevalent. And they can't make it bulge any less, because then
they will melt the thing. I also was wondering, is it possible that the
melting belly pans are also those with the biggest scrapes. Could the
mounting system be tweaked by the pavement, causing it to end up even closer
to the pipe, hence more heat through direct contact, hence melting aluminum
(aluminium to you blokes) foil, leading to bubbling plastic? Any thoughts?

Oh, and one last thing on scraping parts in turns. Does it just mean we have
to hang our butts off the saddle a bit more, to keep the bike more upright
in turns. I confess I haven't tried that riding style yet, and a track day
would probably be a good way to try it. 

Oh, and thanx to all you rallyers, for the great write-ups. I hope Eric can
post some of them on his site. And my fervent wishes for speedy recoveries
to those injured. What actually happened to cause such an awful result? I
hope your spirits are up, and many are praying and wishing the best for you.
Take care.

Paul Master - Red 99 Sprint ST "The Flash"
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
email  master@xxxxxxx <mailto:master@xxxxxxx> 

- -----Original Message-----
From: Bruce McCurdy [mailto:bmccurdy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
I have significant scrapes along my right-side lowers.  These were almost
certainly a result of some deep right-handers going up the back-side of Mt.
Hamilton near San Jose, CA.  With me that day were two other listers, Paul
and Evan.  I believe Paul also experienced some scraping.

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<TITLE>RE: Belly scrape</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Yup, although my scrapes were quite a bit smaller =
than Bruce's.</FONT>
</P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Now for my bad news. I took Flash in because of a =
fuel leak. Actually, I was relatively furious with the dealer on =
Saturday, when they called and said the fairing parts were in. (A tab =
had broken, and they are replacing under warranty). I asked about the =
radiator parts, &quot;What radiator parts?&quot;. They looked up the =
service record, and ordered a thermostat assembly on Saturday, which =
apparently has a pin hole leak, about two weeks after they found =
it.</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>I had taken the bike in to replace one of the inner =
(black) fairing pieces which surround the radiator. On the way down, I =
noticed water droplets on the left hand fairing where the large vent =
allows air to exit the fairing. I also pointed out that I had noticed a =
gasoline smell when I started the bike sometimes. They looked into =
both, supposedly, and told me they would order the part, and fix the =
fairing at the same time. They couldn't find any trace of a fuel =
leak.</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Last Saturday, I decided to give Flash a proper =
bathing, so I removed all the fairings, gave the engine a good once =
over, and decided to see how bad the water leak was. So I started up, =
and let it idle for a while, expecting to see some dribble of water =
coming out of the cooling system somewhere. Then I noticed little puffs =
of white smoke. Going around to the right side of the bike, something =
was dripping on the exhaust pipe just after where the three pipes join =
into one. White smoke? So I picked up a drop about to fall with my =
finger and sniffed. GASOLINE?!?!?! So I immediately shut off the bike =
and wiped up all traces of fuel. Then I went looking, and found the =
high pressure port out of the tank was leaking. When I turned on the =
ignition and got some fuel pressure, you could see the drops =
formulating.</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>About this time the dealer called with the fairing =
info. We talked about the lack of placing the parts on order (two weeks =
ago), and then I told them that I was now doubly pissed, because they =
hadn't spotted the fuel leak, and I have been riding around with fuel =
dripping on my exhaust pipe for two weeks.</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>So, anyway, we agreed that the fuel thing needed =
immediate attention. They said call 1800RIDETRI and have the bike towed =
in. I called, and much to my dismay, they cover up to $50 of the tow. =
When I asked how much it would cost to tow, after about 15 minutes I =
got the reply, between $210 and $230. Not ouch, OUCH!!&nbsp; So I =
called AAA, and of course, they don't tow bikes. So, I rigged up a =
paper towel, stuffed it up all around the fuel pump lines, and taped it =
in place. My theory was that the small amount of fuel would get soaked =
up by the towel, and then evaporate before it could form a drop and =
drip down the engine. (Looks like it worked just fine). On Tuesday, I =
rode the bike the 60 odd miles to the dealer, and picked up a loaner =
bike (BMW650). I also notified them about the foil on the lower right =
belly pan melting. They hadn't heard of this problem, and I told them =
several people on the list are fighting melting plastic, so they said =
they would check it out with Triumph. Later that day I got the call. =
Needs a new elbow, will take 6 weeks to get here. &quot;How is that =
possible?&quot;, I asked. It turns out, Triumph just send a BOATload of =
parts to TOA. They have to go through customs after the week long =
journey, yada yada yada. So I did get them to critical order the part, =
but don't yet know how long that will take. I asked them if they could =
temporarily fix it, but they didn't want the liability of that not =
working and Flash, well.... flashing, as into flames. I can hardly =
blame them for that. I think I would have just wrapped the threads in =
Teflon tape and re-installed, but.. Oh, and of course, they needed the =
loaner bike back. So I arranged for someone to go with me and give me a =
ride back. Smack into a horrendous traffic jam, an hour and a half to =
go the first 13 miles. Arrrrghh. So I am travelling for a couple of =
days, and have no idea when I get my baby back. Boohoo.</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Oh, here is my theory on belly scraping, melting etc. =
Triumph is caught in a bit of a squeeze here. The belly pan scrapes =
where it bulges to accommodate the exhaust system. It cannot bulge any =
more, because it will make scraping even more prevalent. And they can't =
make it bulge any less, because then they will melt the thing. I also =
was wondering, is it possible that the melting belly pans are also =
those with the biggest scrapes. Could the mounting system be tweaked by =
the pavement, causing it to end up even closer to the pipe, hence more =
heat through direct contact, hence melting aluminum (aluminium to you =
blokes) foil, leading to bubbling plastic? Any thoughts?</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Oh, and one last thing on scraping parts in turns. =
Does it just mean we have to hang our butts off the saddle a bit more, =
to keep the bike more upright in turns. I confess I haven't tried that =
riding style yet, and a track day would probably be a good way to try =
it. </FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Oh, and thanx to all you rallyers, for the great =
write-ups. I hope Eric can post some of them on his site. And my =
fervent wishes for speedy recoveries to those injured. What actually =
happened to cause such an awful result? I hope your spirits are up, and =
many are praying and wishing the best for you. Take care.</FONT></P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Paul Master - Red 99 Sprint ST &quot;The =
Flash&quot;</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>email=A0 master@xxxxxxx &lt;<A =
HREF=3D"mailto:master@xxxxxxx";>mailto:master@xxxxxxx</A>&gt; </FONT>
</P>

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2>-----Original Message-----</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>From: Bruce McCurdy [<A =
HREF=3D"mailto:bmccurdy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx";>mailto:bmccurdy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx</=
A>]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>I have significant scrapes along my right-side =
lowers.&nbsp; These were almost</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>certainly a result of some deep right-handers going =
up the back-side of Mt.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Hamilton near San Jose, CA.&nbsp; With me that day =
were two other listers, Paul</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>and Evan.&nbsp; I believe Paul also experienced some =
scraping.</FONT>
</P>

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