Sold !

The Speed Triple is gone with a new owner last week. Other plans got in the way of keeping this bike any longer and since it was in a rather ready state it found someone interested rather quickly.

Headstock bearings

Some pics of the headstock bearing change on the triple. A rather easy operation ... well provided you can put a hand on the Triumph special tool to remove the top nut. I would recommend either buying one online or replacing with a hex nut if you're planning to keep your triple for a while.

Old top bearing

Guess ? Yeah, new top bearing

Lower bearing (upper part)

Lower bearing (lower part)

If you're looking back in the archive, you will probably notice that the lower bearing used to be a ball bearing, whereas the one displayed above is a roller bearing. That's because Triumph have supposedly upgraded the roller bearing with a newer designed ball bearing. The problem is that it's harder to fit on the steering stem compared to the "old" ball bearing. Someone in the Triumph community mentioned the All-balls bearing kit as being a quality set, so I ordered one containing a nice and easy to install lower roller bearing.

Bar conversion

The SP3 is currently undergoing a handlebar conversion again. It's being reverted to standard handlebar for practicability. The racer version looks cool and draws a lot of attention, but is a real pain to ride in town.

It might seem like an overkill to remove the tank for a simple bars swap, but the SP3 had had the complete Daytona treatment with clip-ons and shorter throttle cables. With the higher and wider handlebar coming back, those have to move away. They will be replaced by brand new Venhill cables.

Renthal flat bar

Would Renthal flat bars fit a 955i Speed Triple ? No, the hand commands would hit the tank both sides.

I guess it had to be tried before being a hundred percent sure. These bars were sitting on one side of the garage and the SP3 on the other. At some point they had to meet one day. It would have certainly changed the riding position to something sportier and more suitable to my 6"2 frame.

Too bad as it's a nice item and would have been a nice addition while reverting the SP3 to an upright naked configuration. Let's put back the standard bars then.

Work on the forks

Some pics taken while performing some work on the Showa forks in an attempt to improve the Speed Triple's front end.

Speedy's first been put on a jack to help fork tubes sliding down

A fork tube opened 

What's in a fork ?

Pastoral workshop ... 

Standard progressive and K-tech linear

Springs and inner tube

Reassembled tube ready to be filled up with 15 grade oil

Coming next is the headstock bearings change.

Some more inspiration

Exactly what I had in mind ! (the fairing that is)

(Credits Spirit of the seventies)

News from the front

So the front of the Speed Triple feels bad ? Let's put it back on the bench for a complete check up then. To be honest, I had planned a complete rebuild but definitely not that early. The last terrible ride has made to rush the key decision to closely inspect the front suspension.

The one thing that has mainly led the Triumph back on the bench is the much too soft fork setup, something a simple oil drain wouldn't solve. So to cure that, the decision was made to upgrade the fork springs to some with a more suitable spring rate. The standard springs are rated 0.7 kg/mm and I opted for K-Tech's road/race springs rated 0.95 kg/mm. This setup is clearly closer to what's required given the type of usage for the bike (and also my weight). 0.25 kg/mm is a huge difference, but the 955i Speed Triple is known for its harsh rear suspension. Let's hope this change will make both front and rear up again.

But as soon as the front wheel had been removed, I noticed a big play in the steering stem. A quick look in the service manual revealed that this play can be 'adjusted'. This is the first time I heard about such a thing. Either there should be a play and it can be adjusted, or there shouldn't be one and it shouldn't be allowed to adjust it ... Anyway, it motivated a second decision : the steering bearings had to be changed. If that play has been there for a bit of time, then the bearing have been knocked out on every bumps. So on to the World of Triumph shopping list.

Yes ... I know it's a Fag bearing ...

And since there was a growing part list to order from the UK, why not add a left engine bolt and its spacer. They will allow to remove those ugly crash bungs that gets in my knees' way on every corner.

Coming next : these parts are being fitted.

The road version

I took the roughly finished product for a test ride the other day. The only thing I can tell is there's definitely room for improvement, to say the least. The Triple did run a bit last winter and there were already a couple of things to cure back then, but I thought the spring rebuild would have ironed some issues out. Well it did, but not as much as expected, so the main feeling about this 'first' run is a big disappointment. Let me explain that.

The roughly finished product

First thing, not everything is bad on this bike. The brakes are strong and the new EBC HH pads really bite the rotors hard. Also, the engine is pulling really hard and now sounds good with its new - even though baffled - Mivv exhaust. The latter seems to have cured the surging issues felt last winter when equipped with the standard Triumph exhaust. It might be that the ECU was mapped for the use of an aftermarket can already. Finally the throttle cables were fixed during the winter and now move more freely, which gives proper control on the gas.

But then, the whole experience is wasted by dodgy suspensions. Touch the brake lever and the front literally dives literally locking the steering. It feels too soft and completely uncomfortable at the same time. Plus, there's a rather worrying clacking noise when riding over big bumps. It feels so bad, you have to concentrate and pay extra attention to what you do when approaching a simple roundabout. And that's just for the front suspension ... I can't even tell about the rear because of how bad the front felt ...

I need some time to rethink the project as a whole and either sort things that were let down for too long or ditch the bike. It seems to me that the forks haven't been touched for a long time and could do with good servicing.

More parts, more work, more time required to make it the sharp bike I intended it to be. Maybe it's worth  it after all.

Mivv titanium exhaust

With the wrapped rear end in place, it's about time to fit the dusty Mivv exhaust on the triple. It's a rather nice addition and it shaves a bit more than 3kg out on the overall weight.

Although certainly a little loud ...

... it's a rather tempting configuration

A more reasonable option : the Mivv titanium exhaust in place

The bike's almost ready for a spin.

Bar ends

Putting some new bar ends is just one required step in the process of turning the Speed Triple into a rolling road bike again. Now equipped with clip-ons, standard mirrors couldn't be simply fitted back on the bars for obvious aesthetic reasons (even though these have never guided the project). R&G bar ends will help bolting new bar end mirrors and since the right clip-on couldn't be saved, another one has been sourced from the Bay.

The sourced Daytona clip-on with its standard conical bar end

R&G bar ends for Daytona this time ...

Installed bar end ready for mirror to be clamped

Speed's rear end

While there's not much improvement on the front end, the work on the rear end has jumped giant leaps forward recently. First, the 3M vinyl-wrapped seat unit has been reassembled to be presented on the bike. Then the license plate holder has now a plate on it. 

And finally, the race seat unit has arrived from Skidmarkz, though it's been ordered back in February. But don't get me wrong here, the guys have really been great providing help and apologies just when they needed to, so I won't blame them for a delayed delivery. Add to that that, unlike what we were initially planning and expecting, the race version of the Speed Triple is finally the one that still requires the most work, and you'll get why this late arrival isn't that of bad news.

This race seat unit is for the previous generation 955i, but it should fit the same way. I haven't been able to find a post '01 Daytona or Speed Triple race seat unit anywhere except in the US meaning $250 shipping costs. This one will do it fine.

A case of bad design and cursed resolution

These 2 pictures say it all. Bar ends bolts are too skinny and can't survive a severe impact with the concrete. The result of such brutal encounter is a bent or broken unremovable bolt almost every time. This is what can be seen just below.

So the bolt needed to be drilled out before the use of a tap would help fitting one back. But the tap broke inside the newly drilled hole ... Failure again !

Road trim parts

... well sort of ... Would you really tell this kind of bar end mirrors show anything else than a blurry representation of your own elbows ?

Oh and these are not the correct bar ends anyway. These are for hollow Speed Triple wide handlebars, not for Daytona clip-ons ...

And another typical part for road use : a race fuel cap without any sort of locking system ... very handy, really ... Ok, but it's CNC machined and really light. Does it count ?

Chain reaction

It all started with a dirty chain and partly worn sprockets.

Then come some new parts to replace them.

And finally, the chain is washed from years of abuse, dirt and sticky old grease.

Please, clean your chain before respraying grease all over the links. Please ...

Handy spares

These new rear wheel nut and clip are going to replace the knackered and rusted originals. These spares were ordered from World of Triumph.

By the way, if you're located in France and looking for Triumph parts and want them quickly, don't go to your local Triumph dealer. Instead check out their website and have your parts delivered to your door within 48 hours. Much better than the "one back order per week" policy in the Triumph shops.

Next challenge

 The next challenge in pictures. Check, change, clean, lubricate, ...