Mt first Triumph

[dino76]

Hello. I just bought a '76 Triumph Bonneville. It is being shipped to me and will arrive soon. I have also ordered some manuals for this bike but they won't arrive till after the bike is delivered. Can someone please give me cold and hot start procedures for this bike and any other tips and advice that a novice British Bike Owner should know? Thank you.

[oldbmw]

from cold
1. put bike on centrestand
2. switch on both fuel taps
3. astride the bike pull in clutch lever all the way. slowly turn the engine over with the kickstart until clutch disengages ( probably two turns)
4. tickle both floats until fuel exits
5. with clutch released ( check you are in neutral) feel for compression and very slowly turn the engine until you are just past TDC ( compression pressure eases)
6. switch on ignition. Confirm everything else ( eg lights) are off.
7.depress kickstart all the way smartly ( with force and speed).
8. will probably start first kick. If not start from 5. and repeat, you should seldom have to kick it twice.

from hot
turn on fuel and go from 5.

always turn fuel off when parking.

this will work with any Triumph twin.
If you have a flat battery do as above, but switch to 'emg' instead of 'ign'. and it will start fine, once running for a minute or so, just turn the key back to ign and it wll continue to recharge your battery. you may have to hold off using headlights for a couple of minutes. Make sure you turn the fuel on first, and when you stop. If you do not turn it on, the carb fuel level will be low, and the bike wont start lean. If you leave it on, the fuel evaporates and leaves a lot of poor ( in a vapourising sense) residue which will hamper starting. This applies to anything with a gravity fed carburrettor.

[Mike]

My god, I love this site and the people on it.

dino76 - welcome to the HUBB. Hope you get as much out of it as you will get out of yr Bonnie. All I can offer is: you've bought a beautiful machine -- be aware that a *lot* of people will notice you every time you ride out.

oldbmw - that's concise, complete and reads like poetry.

--Mike

[Dodger]

Sell the Bonny and buy a Norton [ only joking !] .
Welcome to the Brit Bike Asylum ,once smitten - there is no cure .
There's lots of info on line and manuals to download .
One major item to check is the swing arm attachment to the main frame downtube [behind the engine ] .
It can crack and allow oil to leak out of the downtube [ which holds the engine oil ] .
It is hard to spot but the telltale sign is a pool of oil on the floor BEHIND the engine . Pools of oil UNDER the engine are a normal occurence and merely enhance your credibility as a "proper" motorcyclist .

BTW ,Davida pudding bowl helmet and mark 8 goggles are mandatory headgear.

[dino76]

Thanks to all for the information and the heads-up on the possible crack on the swing arm attachment. I'm sure the starting tips will save lots of wear and tear in my old body.
Where would the manuals located that can be downloaded be located? Thanks again.

[Dodger]

It's been a while since I last looked for this stuff and then I was looking for Norton stuff but try :

Help Files
Dan's Motorcycle "Shop Manuals"
TriumphRat.Net :: Triumph Motorcycles, RAT Discussions, Triumph Web Links, Motorcycle News, Events, Triumph FAQ
TECH TIPS

Sorry I can't be more specific ,I'm not a Triumph man , but Pete Snidal has a Yahoo group called Triumph Twins ,he's eccentric [ hope he'll forgive me for that ] but knows these bikes inside out and is full of knowledge .

There are lots of discussion groups out there with members who have articles and manuals you can download .

[dino76]

Thanks for all the answers/support on starting the Triumph. It finally arrived today. I put in a new battery and now I want to start it. So far, no luck. How do I "tickle both floats until fuel exits"? How do I use the chokes. I'm sorry for the elementary questions, but I have no owners manual. I bought a shop manual but that is no help on starting. Can anyone fill me in on the switches in the handle bar, specifically the one on the right with one Red plastic toggle and two black push buttons? Thanks.

[Chris Scott]

1. put bike on centrestand ........7.depress kickstart....

Ahhh, that takes me back to 1977 and my first proper motorbike after a stack or ghastly MZs.... Even my mum liked the Bonnie. Enjoy yours. It was a good starter as I recall.

Ch

[Dodger]

Since my centre stand collapsed during starting I have always started the bikes with both wheels on the ground whilst stood astride .
Also make sure that you don't straighten out your leg at the end of the swing .
If your ignition timing is out [points ignition ] or your battery is low [ Boyer ignition ] the bike might kick back and whack you a good'un .

[oldbmw]

Originally Posted by Dodger

Since my centre stand collapsed during starting I have always started the bikes with both wheels on the ground whilst stood astride .
Also make sure that you don't straighten out your leg at the end of the swing .
If your ignition timing is out [points ignition ] or your battery is low [ Boyer ignition ] the bike might kick back and whack you a good'un .

It helps if you start your kick as I said above, just past tdc on the power stroke. That way you will build up speed and momentum in the flywheels which will help stop kick backs. ( Extract taken from the advanced book of kickstarting recalcitrant British bikes). The old way was to feel the kickstart and watch the ammeter, it always consumed less power on teh power stroke (points open). Oh! and if you had a flat battery the ammeter didn't move at all, so you had to turn the ignition switch to emergency to start the bike. Done discretely bystanders/girlfriends wouldn't know you had left your lights on .

[71triumphT25t]

Just recently when i kick start my trailblazer, it feels like when im on the down stroke, the engine is not being turned over. After a few ( 2-3) times, then the engine turns over... Can someone help explain this to me... Do i have an issue that i need to worry about and one that i need to stop riding until i find the problem?

[palace15]

Does a '76 Bonnie have an amp meter and 'emg' position? can't remember about an amp meter but my '78 Bonnie never had a 'emg' position.