I don't think it's supposed to do that

[Antony Charles <antonyc@xxxxxxxxx>]

I had just joined the dual carriageway and got up to speed (70-80). I
changed up to 6th and the engine revs shot up whilst I slowed down. 

Probably a false neutral, which I sometimes get between 5th and 6th. So
I de-clutched and pushed up the gear lever and tried again. No
improvement. I glanced behind to see if I was being caught up by cars
and saw a cloud of blue smoke. 

So, probably not a false neutral then. 

I coasted into a nearby layby, stopped and got off to check the damage. 

The lack of drive was probably explained by the chain trailing off the
back of the bike. It had snapped in two, not just a link come undone,
but one of the link cylindrical cross pieces (there's probably a better
term for that) had shattered. 

The blue smoke was explained by the 2cm wide, down to the carcass,
channel that the chain had cut all the way round the  tire sidewall. 


So, after a nice sit in the sun for 1.5 hours, the RAC arrived to tow me
to the dealer. A bit of explanation and a taxi ride later I arrive at
work, 3 hours late but glad to come off (well, stayed on actually) so
lightly. Broken chains usually catch in back wheels or lock the engine
up and flick the rider off with great rapidity. 


The dealer checked for other damage. The total amounted to the chain,
the tire and a functional but scarred wheel. 
The broken chain was the OEM Regina which had 7.5K miles on it. Triumph
agreed to pay for 50% of the new chain and pay for a new tire and wheel. 

So I now have a DID chain, which apparently is what Triumph now fit and
a new tire, the wheel is on backorder. 

The only downside is that I only put two new Dunlop 207's on 2K miles
ago, and all the dealer had available that day was a BT 57 rear - they
don't normally stock Dunlop's, but I had hoped for at least one of the
newer Bridgestone's - 010 or 020, which I'm told are better. Having said
that, for the 50 miles or so I've done since with a BT57 rear and the
207 front, it seems to handle fine. 


Antony

Blue Y2K ST
not so sunny Scotland

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