New To Me: 2005 America

DirtieGirtie

Member
Local time
Today, 08:49
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
15
Points
7
Age
49
Location
Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
First Name
Don
My Ride
2012 Yamaha Raider
2005 Triumph America
Well, I got her home last night!
Here are the details:
- 2005 Triumph America
- 13,400 miles
- Bought from the original owner
- Run VERY infrequently the last 5 years
- Has staintune pipes, AIS block off, and a new ProCom CDI ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QJSO9...olid=32C1KEUWLF3YA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it )
- Very dirty... very, very dirty. :)
- All chrome has the oxidation from sitting, but very little chrome bubbling... should be an easy clean up with steel wool
- Paid $1,500 for her
- She does have a dent in the tank on the top, right

I took two pics and a video that hopefully you can see here:

It's going to be a long road till she's perfect, but I'm thinking just under a year. Wish me luck!
 

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Excellent!!

Looks great in the pics. Good luck with her and keep the battery fully charged to avoid the dreaded idler gear failure.

If you you haven't already, look up my previous thread on my 05 Speedy catastrophic motor failure and you'll see why I say that.

Just a precaution to be aware of.

Tom
 
Not bad looking at all. Those saddlebags look a little worn. Hope the rest shines and buffs up nicely.
Not sure about the steel wool. May cause a lot of scratches. Might I suggest a good chrome polish instead.

PS Like the color. Don't see too many like that.
 
Well, I got her home last night!
Here are the details:
- 2005 Triumph America
- 13,400 miles
- Bought from the original owner
- Run VERY infrequently the last 5 years
- Has staintune pipes, AIS block off, and a new ProCom CDI ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QJSO9...olid=32C1KEUWLF3YA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it )
- Very dirty... very, very dirty. :)
- All chrome has the oxidation from sitting, but very little chrome bubbling... should be an easy clean up with steel wool
- Paid $1,500 for her
- She does have a dent in the tank on the top, right

I took two pics and a video that hopefully you can see here:

It's going to be a long road till she's perfect, but I'm thinking just under a year. Wish me luck!

DirtieGirtie

Love the name BTW

I just watched the video of your new bike and noticed the modular charger plug on the battery.

As I mentioned before, make sure you keep the battery fully charged and by all means, do not try and start your bike with a weak battery where the motor is barely turning over. That's a recipe for disaster and exactly what happened to me on my new to me 05 Speedy. You may want to take off the clutch cover and inspect the idler gear bosses. If everything is as it should be, then consider investing in the TTP piece referenced here. I wish the previous owner of my bike did the same, but noooooooo!!

After my experience I'd hate to read where someones new bike suffered the same fate as mine.

Just looking out
Tom
 
Nice looking bike. Please keep us updated on your progress.
 
Great find man, love the bike hope it gives you some good miles, and much enjoyment.
 
T - I read your thread. Is this an unusual issue or is it pretty consistent ( if you don't install the TTP safe-start)?

I don't mind spending money, but it seems like a pretty simple piece of machined metal for $180. Is there a less expensive version or place to buy it?

This is only going to be a second bike for me, so it won't get more than a thousand miles a year.

Edit: I guess my question is, does every body have this safe start installed? Or 10% of bikes? Or only a few people?
 
DG

sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.We took a road trip from NJ to Fla where I am now for a couple weeks.
I really don't know how many bikes have the issue or the TTP installed but it looks like good insurance against the breakage problem. Obviously it's not uncommon because of the part being made and sold.

I found out about the problem after I bought my bike and it happened to me. Had I known about the possibility of the problem things "may" have gone differently. From what I can tell and what I've read it's a rare occurrence that can happen when you have a low battery.

My best non-expert explanation is that when you try and start the bike with a weak battery the motor turns over slowly and can have a tendency to backfire and kick back just like when you try and kick start a bike and the kickstarter kicks back. That torquing in the opposite direction can break the idler gear shaft out of the weak shaft bosses like it did with mine. Apparently our vintage (04,05's) of bikes were made with a weak point that the factory fixed in later years. I don't know whether 06's and beyond have the issue, maybe someone else here would know.

I'm going to see if I can get mine repaired and add the safe-start. Unbeknownst to me one of the previous owners out of two, had it happen and did a poor repair job. If it can't be repaired then I'll have to go the new motor route and if I get the same vintage motor I add the safe-start just for my piece of mind.

Tom
 
Thanks, Tom!

I think I'm going to risk it and forego the safe start thing. I just ordered a new battery and as this will be a 2'nd bike for me she'll be on a battery tender rather religiously.

Now I have to find the left side perforated metal fake air cleaner cover thingy... Mine must have fallen off at some point and I haven't found a good deal on ebay yet. They go for $55 new!
 
DG

Must be a common thing, I'm missing the same part. Mines been backordered from BikeBandit for a few weeks now.

Let me know if you find any available.

Tom
 
CLEANING CHROME WITH STEEL WOOL: I added a couple of videos to the album. I've been using this technique for a couple years now. I use #0000 wool, the finest I can find. For me, it doesn't scratch real chrome plating... even most plastics that have chrome plating... polished aluminum or polished S.S. is a different story and WILL scratch. Anyways, hopefully the videos will give you a good idea of how easy it is to clean old chrome that has been sitting and has started to oxidize.

T - I just ordered a set of airbox covers off of ebay. They were listed for a 2016-2018 Speedmaster, but the pictures shown are definitely the ones I've been looking for. Mind you, these ones are black, but no problem for me... if they fit, I'll end up painting them to match my color scheme anyways. $50 shipped for the pair... it looks like everywhere is backorderd so I took a chance on these. I actually missed out on a chrome left side cover right after I bought the bike. It was listed at $25 or best offer on ebay (and $10 shipping). I offered $17.50... no answer for 24 hours. I offered $20... no answer again. And before I could make a final offer it sold for $24.06... now that I realize how hard it is to find that darn part I would have just used 'buy it now' and been done with it! Oh well, live and learn.
Oh, do you need the plastic part that the chrome part attaches to on the left side? I think I'm going to end up with two of those if you need one.
 
I wasn't sure I was going to put the new battery in right away, but the current one sat for a couple days and was already low enough that starting was a chore. Then the bike stalled out and the battery was so low that the starter relay just clicked... I certainly don't want to push my luck with the idle gear issue T mentioned, so the new battery went in. I used 'carbon fiber' vinyl wrap on the battery as it was bright red.

IMG_20200715_172139851.jpg
 
If you get a metal to metal “clank” while starting, the boss is cracked. I have a 2016 America LT that sounds like it hasn’t had a manufacturer’s modification. I may be wrong, but my shop manual shows same starter pin and boss. They may have beefed up the boss, but not sure.
 
Looking mighty good, DirtieGirtie.
 
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