Q: I’m only 25 years old, and for some reason the only bike I get to ride is my dad’s old 1968 (I think), Triumph T-120 Bonneville.
It’s not a bad old thing, besides the vibration that numbs everything after only 20 minutes in the saddle. That doesn’t worry me though because it is a cool thing to be seen on.
But the reason I’m sending this mail to Noddy is that it recently died on me while I was out riding. As I was riding along, at about 100km/h, it just petered out and stopped. I thought it might be a fuel problem but it wasn’t. However, once I switched off all the electrics I could, and pushed the bike, it fired up. It eventually got me home but never felt quite right.
So could you please shed any light on this because my dad will beat me up if I don’t get it fixed?
Oscar Stainworth
A: This is an old and quite common problem with Triumph bikes from around this era. And you’ll be pleased to know that it’s not too serious.
Basically the stator assembly, which charges the battery, has failed.
This will cause the battery to run flat, and that’s why you could push start the bike when the lights were turned off, because there was enough power to fire the bike up again, just. You were lucky to get home.
But the only option now is to buy a new stator assembly, because they cannot be rewound, well not as far as I know. Lucas makes them, so go to your local Triumph dealer and they should be able to help you for around R1,800 for the part. You’ll also need the transmission cover gasket; otherwise it’ll leak oil once you’ve changed the stator over.
