Re[4]: [ST] ST Centerstand on RS, clearance issues?

[Keith Winter <keith_winter@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, April 28, 2004, 5:05:52 PM, ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Ouch !  what kind of mechanical problems ?  I am breaking in a
> brand new 02 RS , and wonder what I may be in for....

Well, to try to make a long story short, since many on the list
are well aware of the issues I had, here goes:

Upon returning from the first digest Western Rally in June of
2001, the bike was surging quite badly, but intermittently.  I
took it to my dealer/mechanic (California BMW/Triumph, Mt. View,
CA) for diagnosis; they couldn't make it surge and therefore
couldn't diagnose the problem.  By August, however, it was not
only surging pretty much all the time, but was stalling at most
stops.  I took it back at that time and they worked on it off and
on for three months, each time thinking it was fixed, but then
the problem would reoccur.  By January of 2002, just prior to the
end of the factory warrantee, California BMW/Triumph threw in the
towel and Triumph of America had it shipped to LA to a factory
"expert". To this day I don't know if it was sent to Orange
County Triumph, or South Bay Motors, or ???

The mechanics there, wherever "there" was, replaced a whole bunch
of stuff, then said they detected excessive oil use (even though
the bike had never used a drop of oil before) and proceeded to
replace the valve seals.  Then the bike was shipped back to
California BMW/Triumph and delivery to me.  To my surprise and
joy, the surging and stalling had disappeared.  However, over the
next few weeks, the bike used a tremendous amount of oil, like
well over a quart in 1000 miles.  I brought this to California
BMW/Triumph's attention, and they brought it to ToA's attention.
I was told this was "normal" oil use, and that was it; plus, the
warrantee had expired, so I was told I was on my own.

I put up with this oil use for a year, then had it looked at by
another shop; the mechanic could find nothing obvious
(compression and leak-down tests were negative), so I lived with
it for a while longer. Then, in August of 2003, I took it back to
the second mechanic and had a tear down, with cylinder honing,
new rings, and new valve seals.  During break in, the engine used
no oil. Then, when I changed the break in oil for synthetic, the
oil use returned, big time.  At that point, I quit.  I purchased
the Blackbird, which uses nary a drop of oil, and never looked
back.

That's it, in a nutshell; I could go on about the lack of
customer service from ToA, but to what end?  Sour grapes, they'd
say.

- -Keith
'03 Blackbird



     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=