Carry On

My recent trip to Ireland showed up the TT600’s serious lack of luggage carrying capacity. I know that it’s a sports bike, and not really supposed to do much of that sort of thing, but it’s a pain if you want to go anywhere for the weekend on it.

A quick hunt online turned up the fact that Renntec make a small rack that bolts right on. So, I ordered one from a company in England. It was supposed to arrive in 2-3 days, but there was some sort of problem at their end, for which they apologised, and it took over a week.

It arrived today, and very nice it is too. It’s a useful size without being too obtrusive. There are some simple instructions and a handful of nuts and bolts for fitting it, although I’ll be using stainless ones instead.

Oh, and as an apology for the delay they included a half-decent disc lock. This was nice of them, it will probably get donated to the raffle at whatever rally I next attend.

 

Chilly Digits

That’s the heated-grips gone. Removing them was fairly straightforward as they weren’t spliced into the wiring loom. It took me about fifteen minutes in total.

Simply unclip the various wires which had been cable-tied here and there, remove the leads from the battery terminals, and take off the small plate that had been attached to the left-hand handlebar cluster for the control element.

Having done that, just fit the new rubber grips and tidy everything up.

If you’re wondering about the can of hairspray, I find it really useful for fitting grips. It’s liquid when wet, so helps the grips slide onto the ’bars, and dries to a tacky finish, which stops them moving about once they’re on. 

Edit: I took the bike in to work today and it's a vast improvement. The grips feel "right" and you can now feel the throttle response, where before it was a bit spongy and vague. Much better.

Triumph TT 600: Update

Well, I'm just back from my trip to Ireland on the TT600. The rain stayed off, the sun put in the occasional appearance, and the journey was made without major mishap. I met up with friends old and new and a few beers were quaffed. All told a pleasant way to spend a weekend away. I'll post something later about the event itself.

Stopped with Gareth & his ER6

There were, as expected, a couple of hiccups as regards the bike on what constituted its shakedown run, but nothing that can't, hopefully, be sorted.

The grip rotated round until the cable got caught up on the switchgear

The first problem manifested itself almost as soon as I hit the motorway. I had put the heated grips on as the morning had started out chilly and it seems that the glue holding them on softened allowing the grips to rotate on the bars. This was a bit unnerving until I worked out what was happening and it made throttle response a bit hit or miss with the grip sliding about.

So, first decision made. The heated grips are coming off. I never really liked them anyway, so no great loss. Luckily they are not wired into the loom, but are connected directly to the battery so removal will be fairly pain free. I'll hang on to them should I decide to sell the bike later.

Loudly beeping away in a large steel box

As expected, the Datatool alarm was a pain in the posterior. Either beeping away incessantly or failing to disarm when required. I fully expected it to get on my nerves, and so it proved. If I keep the bike then it will definitely be coming off. This might prove to be a bit more difficult than the grips, but needs must.

Finally, my main reason for taking the TT600 was to see if I could live with a sports bike on a longer trip. The short answer is that, no I can't. The riding position is quite cramped for someone of my advanced age and *ahem* manly physique. After about an hour or so I began to feel it through the hips and the knees. Also, the lack of anything resembling luggage-carrying capacity meant I was reduced to strapping a dry-sack with a few bits and pieces in it to the passenger seat, having removed the kid on seat hump first.

Minimilist luggage

So, will I keep the bike now that I've worked out that it really doesn't really suit? Probably not, but as I'm in no great hurry and, unless someone makes me a reasonable offer for it, I'll wait until later on in the year before making a final decision on that.

I have half-formed idea that I might like a brand-new machine for next summer and the choices out there are many and varied.