[ST] Bike laid up for a year

["Anderson, Neil G (CPR)" <andersng@xxxxxx>]

Just returned to the US after a week in Scotland riding the ST.  It had been
sitting in my father's garage for a year and I thought y'all might be
interested to hear how it started:

No battery problems - it was on an Optimate for the whole year

Slight starting problems - it fired on one cylinder to start with, but then
started fine after a few tries.  I'd have trouble waking up too, after a
year in bed!

Small flat spot on the front tyre - I left it on the centre stand with the
front tyre on the concrete floor.  Couldn't feel any vibrations from the
flat spot and it seemed to disappear once we'd ridden the bike for a couple
of days.  I'd have propped the front wheel off the floor too but there isn't
space in the garage.  (I also found that first gear and plenty of throttle
exiting from roundabouts is good for keeping the front tyre off the ground!)

Fuel - I had left the tank full, to avoid condensation build-up; I think
some of it must have evaporated over the year, as I didn't get quite as many
miles as I expected out of the first tank.  No big problem.

Fork seals - someone mentioned that fork seals used to harden and leak on
older bikes if they were not ridden for some time.  My ST's fork seals were
fine though.

Triumph Veto alarm - had problems with the alarm again when I parked outside
a shopping centre in Edinburgh.  I think it was a combination of radio
interference and a low battery in the alarm remote control.  I bypassed the
alarm, rode the bike home, changed the remote control battery and
re-synchronised the control & alarm and it worked fine.

And the ride report - whoohoo!  Still rides really well and I plan not to
leave it in the garage for so long next time!

Neil

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