ZoneIII
Supercharged
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this but, anyway, I happened to think of this while reading a different thread and thought I'd pass it along.
Last summer while on a 6,000 solo trip to the west coast and back on my (then) new R3T, my oil pressure light started going on and off in the middle of nowhere on a mountain road in Oregon. There was no place to pull over (no shoulder) and there was no cell phone service. There was no tappet noise or any other unusual engine sounds and the engine was running fine and I had no choice but to ride on to the nearest town (Sweet Home) about 50 miles away. I hate the idea of even thinking of running any engine if there's a possibility of no or low oil pressure but I simply had no choice in this case. It was a nerve-wracking but the bike was running fine and with no unusual noises.
I could get free towing so I arranged for it to be towed from Sweet Home, Or, to Cascade Moto Classics in Beaverton, OR - about 100 miles. I supervised the loading and unloading of the bike onto the flatbed truck and rode along with the driver. (The guy really knew how to strap down a big bike properly!)
The folks at Cascade Moto Classics were very friendly as it seems all Oregonians are and they took a look at the bike right away and determined that the oil pressure sending unit was bad. So far so good! But they also told me that the water pump was leaking. I know for an absolute fact that it wasn't leaking. How? Because not only do I look under the bike every single time before riding and have never seen a single drop of anything but I also check the fluid levels and I had just done so while in Sweet Home. But, even more importantly, the bike was actually parked on a huge fresh piece of cardboard the day and night before it was picked up at the Motel I was staying at in Sweet Home and the cardboard was still spotless. (I even have pictures of it!) Triumph said coolant was leaking out of the weep hole on the water pump. I know what weep holes are but, as far as I know, there isn't one on a Rocket although I may be wrong about that. The problem was they told me all this in a call to the hotel where I was staying so I couldn't see it for myself. Even worse, they said they had to order a water pump and that meant I had to stay in the hotel for several days which cost me over $700. It also meant I would be several days late to arrive at my son's house and he had scheduled vacation for the days I had planned to be there.
They finally called and said the bike was being test driven as they spoke and they would deliver it to the hotel shortly (nice of them!). They delivered it one morning. I wasn't outside when they parked it. They handed me the keys and left. I packed up and started it and it immediately (I mean, even when it was cranking over to start) began popping and belching from the intake tubes - spitting gas. I could ride it but it belched and popped whenever decelerating. It had never done that before. Rather than have to stay more costly days in Beaverton, I nursed it to my son's house on the coast of Oregon. We found the intake tubes (the rubber tubes) were leaking. We did our best to get them back in place and tighten the clamps. The problem was greatly decreased but there was still occasional burping. It was good enough, though, that I rode it to Triumph in Reno, NV, where they fixed the problem while I waited but it was a big job and took quite some time. (Nice folks!) They said they had never seen this problem with a Rocket before.
I have two issues with Cascade Moto Classics: 1) How did my bike's intakes get displaced while they changed the oil pressure sending unit and (supposedly) the water pump. And how in world could they test drive it and not notice the problem when it happened every time during deceleration and even when cranking it over to start. I mean it belched and spit gas terribly whenever decelerating! They had to have known that since they not only test drove the bike but drove it to my hotel. You COULD NOT drive it without it belching while downshifting.
2) The water pump was not leaking. I know this for a 100% absolute fact. As I said, I actually have a picture of the bike on a huge pristine piece of cardboard where it sat from the time I shut it off in Sweet Home until the next day when it was picked up to be hauled and I have pictures of it, clearly showing the cardboard to be absolutely spotless with no drips of any kind on it. Also, I checked all the fluid levels before it was towed and everything was spot-on. The bike was never started again until it got to Cascade Moto. The only thing I can think of (and I hate to suggest this) is that there was some kind of unnecessary warranty thing going on. Unfortunately, it cost me several days and over $700 in hotel fees.
Nice folks but something was not right.
Last summer while on a 6,000 solo trip to the west coast and back on my (then) new R3T, my oil pressure light started going on and off in the middle of nowhere on a mountain road in Oregon. There was no place to pull over (no shoulder) and there was no cell phone service. There was no tappet noise or any other unusual engine sounds and the engine was running fine and I had no choice but to ride on to the nearest town (Sweet Home) about 50 miles away. I hate the idea of even thinking of running any engine if there's a possibility of no or low oil pressure but I simply had no choice in this case. It was a nerve-wracking but the bike was running fine and with no unusual noises.
I could get free towing so I arranged for it to be towed from Sweet Home, Or, to Cascade Moto Classics in Beaverton, OR - about 100 miles. I supervised the loading and unloading of the bike onto the flatbed truck and rode along with the driver. (The guy really knew how to strap down a big bike properly!)
The folks at Cascade Moto Classics were very friendly as it seems all Oregonians are and they took a look at the bike right away and determined that the oil pressure sending unit was bad. So far so good! But they also told me that the water pump was leaking. I know for an absolute fact that it wasn't leaking. How? Because not only do I look under the bike every single time before riding and have never seen a single drop of anything but I also check the fluid levels and I had just done so while in Sweet Home. But, even more importantly, the bike was actually parked on a huge fresh piece of cardboard the day and night before it was picked up at the Motel I was staying at in Sweet Home and the cardboard was still spotless. (I even have pictures of it!) Triumph said coolant was leaking out of the weep hole on the water pump. I know what weep holes are but, as far as I know, there isn't one on a Rocket although I may be wrong about that. The problem was they told me all this in a call to the hotel where I was staying so I couldn't see it for myself. Even worse, they said they had to order a water pump and that meant I had to stay in the hotel for several days which cost me over $700. It also meant I would be several days late to arrive at my son's house and he had scheduled vacation for the days I had planned to be there.
They finally called and said the bike was being test driven as they spoke and they would deliver it to the hotel shortly (nice of them!). They delivered it one morning. I wasn't outside when they parked it. They handed me the keys and left. I packed up and started it and it immediately (I mean, even when it was cranking over to start) began popping and belching from the intake tubes - spitting gas. I could ride it but it belched and popped whenever decelerating. It had never done that before. Rather than have to stay more costly days in Beaverton, I nursed it to my son's house on the coast of Oregon. We found the intake tubes (the rubber tubes) were leaking. We did our best to get them back in place and tighten the clamps. The problem was greatly decreased but there was still occasional burping. It was good enough, though, that I rode it to Triumph in Reno, NV, where they fixed the problem while I waited but it was a big job and took quite some time. (Nice folks!) They said they had never seen this problem with a Rocket before.
I have two issues with Cascade Moto Classics: 1) How did my bike's intakes get displaced while they changed the oil pressure sending unit and (supposedly) the water pump. And how in world could they test drive it and not notice the problem when it happened every time during deceleration and even when cranking it over to start. I mean it belched and spit gas terribly whenever decelerating! They had to have known that since they not only test drove the bike but drove it to my hotel. You COULD NOT drive it without it belching while downshifting.
2) The water pump was not leaking. I know this for a 100% absolute fact. As I said, I actually have a picture of the bike on a huge pristine piece of cardboard where it sat from the time I shut it off in Sweet Home until the next day when it was picked up to be hauled and I have pictures of it, clearly showing the cardboard to be absolutely spotless with no drips of any kind on it. Also, I checked all the fluid levels before it was towed and everything was spot-on. The bike was never started again until it got to Cascade Moto. The only thing I can think of (and I hate to suggest this) is that there was some kind of unnecessary warranty thing going on. Unfortunately, it cost me several days and over $700 in hotel fees.
Nice folks but something was not right.
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But it's not nice to rip someone off and I have no other explanation for what happened to me. I wish I had been at Cascade when they told me the water pump was bad. I would have loved to have them show me where it leaked - because it most definitely didn't. I also find it hard to believe that they sent me on the road in the middle of a long trip with the intake coughing and spitting like that, let alone, how it got that way. On the way back home, I rode the whole length of "The Loneliest Road in America" - highway 50 across Nevada. What a beautiful ride. But there's no way I would have tried it if I still had problems with the intake. I called Triumph in Reno before I got there and they made arrangements to fix it as soon as I got there and they did. Great folks. I wish my local Triumph dealer inspired confidence like that. They don't seem to know what they're talking about and I wouldn't want them to do any work on my bike unless it was warranty work and, even then, I would check it over. The service guy didn't even know how many oil drains there were for the engine (3). He also told me the day I bought it that I had to use only Castrol in it or the warranty would be voided. Of course, that's not true as long as you use an equivalent spec oil - which I do - Mobil Racing. They also sent me off the lot with my new bike with the front tire at 18 pounds and the rear tire at about 24 or so. Also, the nut holding the shifter was ready to fall off. Luckily I got it home before it did. Not a good setup, to put it mildly! Also, when I've called a couple times about something, the manager has been less than friendly. It's as if you're bothering him. They also didn't send in the paperwork that got me $400 worth of free accessories. I had to straighten that out with Triumph USA. BTW, that dealer is, in case anyone is interested, Windy City Triumph in St. Charles, IL. They also carry HD and a bunch of Italian names but I think of themselves as an HD dealer and don't care to much about the other brands.
