Triumph Tiger 800

[fbj913]

Originally Posted by dogmoon

Any suggestions I was riding my new 800 Tiger today with less than 200 miles on it. I was down shifting coming to a stop when the engine died in first gear. I restarted the engine and noticed the engine light not turning off I shut the engine down and restarted and it stayed on again. I got off checked the fluids and let it set. I then took off the positive cable on the battery thinking it would reboot the computor. I then put the positive cable back on but no luck the engine light would not go off. I rode about 60 miles home with no problem. I looked at the book and it just says call your nearest local Triumph Dealer. I am open to suggestions. Thanks

Yep take it to the dealer. I'm not sure you can reset fault codes on these bikes by taking off the battery cable. It's best to take it in.

[av_mech]

Originally Posted by blacktiger

I've been over and under my bike fitting all sorts of stuff but I ain't seen anything like that anywhere.
With the knurled end it looks like it's to adjust something so if I were you, next time you visit the dealer, take it in and show them.
To me it looks a bit like a Bonnie seat bolt. That's the bolt what holds the seat on.

Im just getting to know my bike and I haven't seen anything like it. It was just weird how it fell on my leg while I was pulling the drain plug. I totally agree that it's an adjustment screw of some kind. It isnt the radiator bleed. That one is still there and not nearly as long. I've been working a ton of ot and I haven't had a chance to really investigate. Thanks Blacktiger for giving me a good feeling it isn't from the bike. There is a chance somehow that bolt ended up in my tool roll, which I pulled out of my tool tube, which is mounted almost directly above where it fell from. Hopefully anyways. I'll let you know if anything blows up.

[The Jerk]

Originally Posted by dogmoon

Any suggestions I was riding my new 800 Tiger today with less than 200 miles on it. I was down shifting coming to a stop when the engine died in first gear. I restarted the engine and noticed the engine light not turning off I shut the engine down and restarted and it stayed on again. I got off checked the fluids and let it set. I then took off the positive cable on the battery thinking it would reboot the computor. I then put the positive cable back on but no luck the engine light would not go off. I rode about 60 miles home with no problem. I looked at the book and it just says call your nearest local Triumph Dealer. I am open to suggestions. Thanks

As you found, removing the battery cable doesn't do anything to clear fault codes (and that's a good thing; otherwise troubleshooting would be very difficult).

Here's a little primer on the check engine light:

The check engine light (CEL) will come on whenever the ECU has detected some sort of fault in the engine management system. This generally happens because one of the components of the engine management system provides feedback to the ECU that was out of the expected range or perhaps has lost communication with the ECU entirely. The ECU will make a note of the issue by storing a fault code. The fault code contains information about what sensor it was and what the problem was. At the same, time, the ECU turns on the CEL so that you know a fault code has been stored. There is nothing wrong with operating the engine with the CEL lit up, it's just there to let you know that there was a problem and you should get it checked out.

The engine management system can still work fine with a sensor down; just perhaps not as efficiently as normal depending on what sensor is out of commission. In other words, you're not going to hurt anything by continuing to ride it as long as the engine is not noticeably running poorly (i.e. misfiring).

If the problem that triggered the CEL happens to go away on its own after a certain number of cycles, then the ECU will turn the CEL off. But the fault code will still be stored so next time the bike is hooked up to the diagnostic system they can see what the issue was.

You can also check fault codes yourself if you have a program like DealerTool or TuneECU (freeware). This will give you an idea of where the trouble may lie, though you should understand that a fault code about a particular component does not necessarily mean the component itself is bad. It's just a lead on where to start troubleshooting.

[Johnny Dakar]

Originally Posted by blacktiger

I've been over and under my bike fitting all sorts of stuff but I ain't seen anything like that anywhere.
With the knurled end it looks like it's to adjust something so if I were you, next time you visit the dealer, take it in and show them.
To me it looks a bit like a Bonnie seat bolt. That's the bolt what holds the seat on.

My brain keeps barking out, "Check the seat! Check the Seat!"

[av_mech]

Originally Posted by Johnny Dakar

My brain keeps barking out, "Check the seat! Check the Seat!"

I'll check when I get home. If I can ever get out of work. These 70+ hour weeks are seriously cutting into my fun time.

[ssevy]

The combination of knurled head and non-threaded blunt end really looks like an idle adjusting screw. Some General Motors screws used to hold seats, etc., also have a blunt end like that, but the knurling only makes sense for something that is going to be adjusted by the fingers.

[Porky]

Has anyone else, besides me, had a problem their throttle. I notice that my throttle is what I would call twichy or abrupt--like there is very little "space" between giving the bike more gas and letting off the throttle. It is difficult to keep a steady speed as it seems like I am either "off" or "on" the throttle. Even bumps in the road cause the "touchy" throttle to give the engine more (or less) gas.

I told the dealer about the problem at the 500 mile service and they (of course) said everything was "normal".

[gkgeiger]

Originally Posted by Porky

Has anyone else, besides me, had a problem their throttle. I notice that my throttle is what I would call twichy or abrupt--like there is very little "space" between giving the bike more gas and letting off the throttle. It is difficult to keep a steady speed as it seems like I am either "off" or "on" the throttle. Even bumps in the road cause the "touchy" throttle to give the engine more (or less) gas.

I told the dealer about the problem at the 500 mile service and they (of course) said everything was "normal".

It's normal.

[bross]

Originally Posted by Porky

Has anyone else, besides me, had a problem their throttle. I notice that my throttle is what I would call twichy or abrupt--like there is very little "space" between giving the bike more gas and letting off the throttle. It is difficult to keep a steady speed as it seems like I am either "off" or "on" the throttle. Even bumps in the road cause the "touchy" throttle to give the engine more (or less) gas.

I told the dealer about the problem at the 500 mile service and they (of course) said everything was "normal".

Have you tried adjusting the freeplay in your throttle? I prefer very little to no freeplay, if I have the recommended freeplay, my throttle seems touchy as well. I adjust out the free play and just make sure I can turn the bars lock to lock without affecting the throttle. This seems to give me much better throttle control and reduces or almost totally eliminates the on/off feeling to the throttle. Also makes blipping for downshifts more accurate and easier.

Seems counterintuitive but works for me.

[The Jerk]

Originally Posted by Porky

Has anyone else, besides me, had a problem their throttle. I notice that my throttle is what I would call twichy or abrupt--like there is very little "space" between giving the bike more gas and letting off the throttle. It is difficult to keep a steady speed as it seems like I am either "off" or "on" the throttle. Even bumps in the road cause the "touchy" throttle to give the engine more (or less) gas.

I told the dealer about the problem at the 500 mile service and they (of course) said everything was "normal".

It is normal to a certain extent but there are a couple things you can do to make it better:

First, adjust out all the throttle freeplay you can get away with. When finished your adjustment, you will need to start the engine and turn the bars from lock to lock. If your engine revs when the bars hit one side or the other, put some freeplay back. So basically what I'm saying is take out as much freeplay as you can but not so much that the steering affects your rpm.

Second, make sure your bike has the latest tune. When I got my bike I thought it had twitchy throttle and I found it was running the first tune (20479 I think). That tune was obsolete by that time and I used TuneECU to load the latest tune (20495 I think) to the bike which helped a LOT. Double-check the tune numbers on your own as they are different for 800 vs. 800XC as well as ABS vs. non-ABS.

If you still have twitchy throttle, get yourself a copy of TuneECU, a cable, and read read read about mapping. You can use TuneECU to disable the oxygen sensor which may help somewhat and you can also use it to edit the fuel maps which is potentially dangerous unless you know what you're doing.

Or you can wait for the development of BoosterPlug for the T800 (if it ever happens). I had one on my Tiger 1050 and it made a HUGE difference in the driveability of the bike.

[dogmoon]

Originally Posted by The Jerk

As you found, removing the battery cable doesn't do anything to clear fault codes (and that's a good thing; otherwise troubleshooting would be very difficult).

Here's a little primer on the check engine light:

The check engine light (CEL) will come on whenever the ECU has detected some sort of fault in the engine management system. This generally happens because one of the components of the engine management system provides feedback to the ECU that was out of the expected range or perhaps has lost communication with the ECU entirely. The ECU will make a note of the issue by storing a fault code. The fault code contains information about what sensor it was and what the problem was. At the same, time, the ECU turns on the CEL so that you know a fault code has been stored. There is nothing wrong with operating the engine with the CEL lit up, it's just there to let you know that there was a problem and you should get it checked out.

The engine management system can still work fine with a sensor down; just perhaps not as efficiently as normal depending on what sensor is out of commission. In other words, you're not going to hurt anything by continuing to ride it as long as the engine is not noticeably running poorly (i.e. misfiring).

If the problem that triggered the CEL happens to go away on its own after a certain number of cycles, then the ECU will turn the CEL off. But the fault code will still be stored so next time the bike is hooked up to the diagnostic system they can see what the issue was.

You can also check fault codes yourself if you have a program like DealerTool or TuneECU (freeware). This will give you an idea of where the trouble may lie, though you should understand that a fault code about a particular component does not necessarily mean the component itself is bad. It's just a lead on where to start troubleshooting.

Thank you for the infromation that makes me feel at ease somewhat. I am going to call the Dealer Tuesday. The bike ran fine today I put three hundred miles on it, again thanks for the infro. It is now ready for the 500 mile service. What a machine.

[ElNorto]

I plan to get one of the G2 throttle tamers to take care of this. Not a big deal on the street but its way too abrupt off road with the amount of power the Tiger has.

http://www.g2ergo.com/g2-tamer-throttle-tube-121.html

[akula802]

Last week, I moved to Red Lodge, MT for work, and I brought the Tiger with me on a hitch-mount carrier. I'd have ridden it from Minnesota if I didn't need the truck and all the stuff that's in it.

So far she's taken me over Beartooth pass twice, no problem. The XC is a pleasure on the twisties and a riot in the hairpins. More than adequate power to fly around above 10,000' elevation. Today she found her first Montana gravel, a couple of forest service roads as I was out looking for rock outcrops and trout fishing spots. The XC performed beautifully in the softer stuff, and the suspension soaked up all the deep, wide ruts and large rocks I encountered. I only stood up off the seat a handful of times (I'm a slowpoke though).

As a few have mentioned, the kickstand shakes about and rattles over bumps. Slightly annoying but easily fixed I suppose. Other than that, no complaints whatsoever. Great bike. I've already found a few steep, rocky places where I'd fear to tread with it, but my WR will be here soon

[TerraUnFirma]

Originally Posted by Porky

Has anyone else, besides me, had a problem their throttle. I notice that my throttle is what I would call twichy or abrupt--like there is very little "space" between giving the bike more gas and letting off the throttle. It is difficult to keep a steady speed as it seems like I am either "off" or "on" the throttle. Even bumps in the road cause the "touchy" throttle to give the engine more (or less) gas.

I told the dealer about the problem at the 500 mile service and they (of course) said everything was "normal".

I had the dealer load the latest FI map when I had the bike in for the 500 mile service and that helped a little. Also adjusting out most of the freeplay helped, too. What really got it to where I'm ok with it, especially off-road, was putting a rubber O-ring between the end of the throttle grip and the metal bar-end that the handgaurds mount to. Adds enough friction to take all the abrupt out of the system...you have to consciously move the throttle. Works for me, may or may not for you. I'm used to the feel of it because I've done it to my BMW RT, which I did as more of a cruise control than to solve throttle problems. Don't really need to on the DRZ, it's pretty smooth as is. YMMV.

Cheers!

[Lion BR]

Took the tiger out for a spin on some gravel roads. It seems to do fine, considering its weight. It showed to be relatively well composed. And it sounds great at it. But definitely not the most appropriate tool for the job. To the Tiger's defense: no knobby tires, and tires were fully inflated. On the other hand, on ball bearing gravel roads there isn't much that will hold traction anyway.

On corrugations such as in minutes 0:39 and 2:05 and 2:35 and 3:06 you can hear how it makes a lot of noise, coming from the front and the back of the bike. Not much traction on acceleration either (most bikes won't have any traction at all either). I need to check the adjustments for the rear shock.

I was not pushing it, and I don't think I will take it on too many dirt adventures. I know now it can do it, so there it is. But it feels great on pavement and that's where it will spend most of its life.

Lion