Re: [St] Used Bike Tips (2)

[BrettWilson21@xxxxxxx]

Hey Bill,

One thing I forgot to mention, that has been touched on is the wiring 
harnesses, particularly from the handlebar switch blocks. 

An intermittent electrical fault (the best kind!) can develop as moisture 
gets inside the outer sheath causing corrosion. Triumph used some interesting 
little crimps in these harnesses. The wire will break, usually right at the 
crimp, but as the harness is fairly tight, it will remain in contact - mostly! So 
when you go to start the bike, it may be dead, it may be not. The fix is to 
strip away the outer sheath, said crimps are about 6" - 8" from the switch 
blocks. I replaced the crimps, soldered the joint and wrapped it in heat shrink. I 
also rewrapped the outer sheath to prevent moisture entering.

As for two up touring, the Sprint is a comfy bike and the 99 - 04 series is 
better for this than the 05+, IMHO. However, this bike has always had soft 
suspension from the factory. The springs are usually done by about 40,000kms, less 
if ridden hard. Bear in mind your 190kgs can easily go to 210kgs if you added 
some luggage for a few days away. That certainly adds up once you factor in 
the weight of the bike itself. So its well worth investing in springs rated for 
this weight range and also improving the valving. If you plan on doing a lot 
of two up riding and keeping the bike for a few years, its well worth the 
investment to restore some handling and give you some confidence. Of course that 
neatly flows on to tyre choice...

These two subjects have been discussed...ummm....quite a bit, so a search of 
this forum or triumphrat.net will yeild more info than you can poke a stick 
at!

Hope this helps.

Brett.   
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