Dora the Explorer does not want to play
by Andrew Dalton on Oct.30, 2012, under Andrew Dalton
I think the Triumph Explorer 1200 is a very fine motorcycle. However, I didn’t think that this morning when for the second time in 4 days she stalled pulling out of my garage, and then took 10 minutes to re start. With the ECU light remaining stubbornly on for my short ride into work. The first time this happened I took it into Palmers Triumph in Hemel Hempstead, as the dealer I bought it from. OnyerTriumph is now sadly no longer trading. The technician there ran it through the diagnostics and said that the throttle butterfly had stuck momentarily but the engine management stops the bike re firing up for a period and then the ECU stays on for at leat 10 start up cycles. He also said “Take it easy if the ECU light is on, because the bike can go into limp home mode and you don’t want that kicking in when you are pushing out of a corner on acceleration” – I didn’t buy a 1200cc bike to ride it like a scooter. Anyway I have written to Triumph to see if they can sort it oit, but if anyone else is having these ECU problems I’d be interested to hear. on Buckinghamshires greasy rural roads, complete with desnse patchy fog, riding gently is something I would be doing anyway but I don’t want to ride like that all the time.
About Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton is a highly experienced trial lawyer who delights in taking on difficult and demanding motorcycle cases. He has a tough and relentless litigation style and is utterly focussed on getting the best possible outcomes for his clients.
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November 2nd, 2012 on 6:17 pm
Had a browse round the net using various derivatives of ‘Triumph Explorer throttle butterfly sticking.’ So far, Andrew you are the only sufferer I can find.
More significant is what, if anything, the dealer proposed as corrective action – if it has happened once it could happen again. If Dora were mine I would be registering the problem with Triumph Customer Services (or equivalent) and asking for the machine to be expertly checked. At least it didn’t happen in the fast lane of the M1 – but could it next time?
November 9th, 2012 on 6:25 pm
As someone who relied upon a motorcycle for his living I reached the conclusion long ago that for reliability and good service one should always buy Japanese, even the so called ‘Rolls Royce’ of the bike world, BMW, let me down on many occasions, so much so that my bought from new RT1150R got traded in for an FJR1300 before it’s warranty expired.
November 10th, 2012 on 5:46 pm
You didn’t mention if you warm the engine up a little or try to set off with it stone cold? All fuel injected bikes seem to benefit from even 30 secs warm-up, say while you put your gloves on, before setting off.