Doing a build diary to a Triumph Forum about my latest purchase but figured as I`m somewhat known here too I won`t get crucified of putting it here too...

Apologies for any possible foul language still left in there, they`re not as tight about it in the triumph forum and I tried cleaning it up the best I found...
So:

Last saturday was a day long awaited, as I finally got to take my new baby home! Even though the taking home part didn`t go exactly as planned... But first of all a few pics, I know you all love pics






A 2002 Daytona 955i. Well, most of it anyway... Bought it as a project and a project I dang sure got! Someone`s started trying to make some kind of a naked version of it, emphasis on the trying part... It`s butt ugly but should be mechanically sound, 25tkm on the clock but man, it`s gonna need a whole lotta love during the winter...

The first thing that I noticed when I and the previous owner started taking it apart to get to the battery was the appalling craftsmanship everywhere, tape spun around electric connectors that are clearly broken, wrong/different size screws and bolts everywhere, broken tabs fixed with flatiron and wood screws... shi$$, this is gonna be a bit of a project just to take apart and see what has to be done with it...

I didn`t get to take it for a spin yet, cause it has been standing for the whole summer so the battery was completely dead, we got it running after a bit of a battle but as soon as I disconnected the jumper wires from my car it immediately died, I had bought a new battery but as it happened, forgot it in the charger in the garage so I had to go fetch my lorry, load it up in there and truck it home. As I got home I took it in the garage, changed the battery only to discover it does crank happily but does not start! I gave some start pilot spray to it and started again, what I got was a MASSIVE backfire, and I mean HUGE! The exhaust shot about a foot long flame out and the bang got my ears ringing for a good while in the garage, like someone had shot a pistol right beside my head! Even fresh fuel didn`t help so I decided to start digging into the bike to see what I have to do to get to the plugs, I lifted the tank up and heard a stream of liquid dropping into the floor. Gas, ****! One of the quick-release plugs going to the fuel rail had disconnected from the pump plate and fuel was gushing out! I tried pushing it back in but the bugger just refused to lock on no matter what I did, after a quick but fierce battle this happened:



*snap* FUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

How the FK those connectors are supposed to lock on, I consider myself to be a proper gearhead but I could not manage to reconnect even the intact one I disconnected to get the tank out!

After that I decided to take a deep breath, forget the test ride for now and just get to know to what I had just bought... Can`t tell I liked all that I found...




What is that round metal thing? It looks exatcly like a fuel pressure regulator from my Volvo`s fuel heater, and where it is supposed to connect as nothing was attached to it? Also found gasket seal and a wood screw from both sides where the little fairings go, and where should probably be bolts...



What are these nipples for, breather hoses?



What are these hoses for, and where are these supposed to connect? I`m guessing these are the tank breather hoses but why does one of them have a filter (or is it a blowback valve?)



Should here be something connected to this? If nothing else, a cap even...



What is this do-hicky? Some sot of a jumper? Looks dodgy to me...





A few pics from afar in case someone spots something else!

...and so started my life together with a Triumph Well, as they say, you get what you ask for... Next in the checklist, a tall pile of plastic boxes


BTW, I started thinking about possible directions to take the bike, and discovered all Daytona frames have always came out from the factory in silver, but I thought IF i paint the fairings metallic/ "electric" blue with blue candy lacquer, I think a golden frame would look cool. Another option is purple-ish blue plastics around a bright orange frame, we`ll see...

 

Continued digging further into the bike today to find out why it won`t start, firstly I took a second look at the fuel couplers:



No wonder this thing won`t lock onto the socket...



...if half of it is already in!

So I started looking for a replacement and kept bumping into countless forum threads of people having the exact same problem, I believe there was a callback about it too where they changed the parts for metal ones, wonder why this hasn`t been done... I`m not entirely sure is there a Triumph importer ATM at all in Finland, but I managed to find some straight ones from Storm Motor that I`m gonna go and buy tomorrow to get it started, also CPC ones, not entirely sure do they fit there though but hoping for the best, should at least without the small fairing under the tank. Would like to swap both females and males for the nickel coated brass 90degree elbow ones but cannot find them anywhere from Finland, these should do the trick and they also have the female ones if they would agree to send them for me...

While I was at it I pulled the air filter box off to get to the plugs (filter looked brand new), and there they were right up for grabs, as well as the expected wire/electric tape ratsnest usually tucked under the tank after trying to make a bodge job naked bike...

After getting used to the Honda this thing is almost fun to take apart cause everything is so super easy!

So I pulled the caps (stick coils) out and took the plugs out, all three completely dead, got a very faint spark dancing around the bottom of the central pin but nothing that would sustain proper ignition.

Tomorrow`s shopping list:

-CPC quick release plugs x2
-NGK CR9EK plugs x3
-more fresh fuel.

Next up was pulling the bar weights out to get the bar end mirrors fitted that I had bought earlier, I tried to unscrew the end weight off but the bolt heads were rounded out from both sides (big surprise...) so I took a drill and drilled the heads off, didn`t have to wary the end weights cause they were not going back, I managed to get the ends off only to find out the strangest thing: There is NOT any kind of bar weights cause the handles are completely solid aluminum! The original ends are held in place by some M3-M4 screws so I had to get big pliers, twist the very oxidized remains of the original screws out...



...drilled a 6,5mm hole in both handles, tapped an M8 thread on both...



...and fitted the new mirrors on. Managed to break the right side one cause one of the small poor quality bolts snapped flush into it`s threads, but that doesn`t matter much cause these are temporary mirrors anyway, the final ones are going to be bar end ones too but of different shape and design.

A lesson learned: 20 euros buys you a pair of 20e mirrors...

Hopefully tomorrow: the startup and test run cause as of tuesday they promised a drastic drop in temperature with a chance of sleet.

 

Sometimes the things you need the most are the smallest ones... As said, couldn`t find elbow connectors just yet, but I did manage to get the lines hooked with these when I re-routed the lower hose around the frame pipe from the outside. Took a helluva crankin` to get it going, I was just about to give up as well as the battery, but when I noticed a slight change in the cranking sound and a small increase in the revs I carried on and before long a throaty BRAOOOW filled the garage! Yess, the beast has awaken!

I let it idle in the yard while I threw my jacket and helmet on and went for a little test ride, couldn`t go far cause it was pitch black, I don`t have an insurance yet (coppers take the plates here for that) and the mercury had dropped to +1c.

Haddidly, this thing has some serious GRUNT! I think someone had forgotten the weights from the front wheel cause it refused to keep down! Couldn`t open the throttle any more than half way until I felt the front end losing grip from the possibly icy road so I had to back down and head to the garage.

This is no doubt the most powerful motorbike I`ve EVER ridden, and I`ve tested a few. Gotta do something about the riding position though, it`s a bit too aggressive for my wrists, thinking about a Woodcraft riser clipon set, got one in my Honda and they`re great cause you can change the riser bit to different height with four bolts per side.

So, it`s running and working, next up I guess is taking it apart to as small pieces as it will go
One more for flavor:

 

enjoyed reading your thread Mattson, glad you got her going, i rekon the candy blue with the gold frame sounds lush :icon_wink i do have a bit of a soft spot for triumphs (ive never owned one but they look and sound nice)

 

original photos remind me of things the rednecks do over here to make everything look like it came from John Deere

 

LOL well it is a bit of a tractor ATM

Glad you guys like it, this particular model is something I`ve coveted for long time but they are way out of my price range here, I don`t mind ripping it to pieces, at least I get exactly what I want when I`m done.

Haven`t decided the colors yet, somehow a picture of dark purple plastics over an orange frame lingers persistently in my head... We`ll see, I`d reckon this thread is gonna be fairly long when this thing is back on the road, and in the meantime I`m keeping the CBR, no point in selling after all the mods and don`t have financial pressure for it either so it would basically be just dumb to get rid of it at least until this project is done...

 

Lookin' good Mattson, anxious to see more!

Dumb it indeed would be!!
Just kidding... I'm all for having other bikes, but don't get rid of your Honda!! Unless it's for another Honda!!

 

Take a wild guess where that Koso gauge is going hint: the tach has a split glass.

Yea it's not a Honda, but the deal was just too sweet to pass on, as I wrote on the other topic this one guy I know has been dangling this bike in front of my nose since spring but I managed to scrape up the green just now to buy it even though it was dirt cheap compared to what these usually cost here. The guy has quite an impressive collection of bikes, an MV Agusta F3, Moto Morini Corsaro 1200, Bimota SBS, VTR sp1, VFR 400, Suzuki TL1000R, Daytona T595, some Ducati I don't remember and a bunch of others not worth remembering...

One thing I like particularily about this certain model of Daytona, and I'm sure you like it too JNS, is the double sided rear swing. It was in production for only one-two years until it was switched back to the SSSA even though the double sided is said to handle better and get this, is a touch over 7kg lighter!

Just hoping that I'd get to take it for a test ride before the winter, only ridden about 1-2km in the dark, trying to get even 10km on it today, the riding season is pretty much over here cause the temps took a nose dive after last weekend, at night it already drops below freezing and at day doesn't climb over 10c...

 

What I was saying, is I think it's great to have a variety of bikes, as a matter of fact, I once coveted a 955 myself. Heck, if I could have my way, right this moment, my garage would house another R1, an S1000 RR (HP4 please!), an RSV4 Factory, an EBR 1190 RS, a ZX-10, an 1199 Panigale, an MV Agusta F3 AND F4, a Daytona 675R, an 1100 Monster Evo, blah, blah, blah... I love LOTS of bikes, I'm just sayin' don't sell your CBR, unless it's for a newer CBR!!

Man, he should have just gifted you this bike, to cut down on all that "clutter" he's got going on!

Wow, that's quite a weight disparity!! Are you sure on that? That's 15 lb. lighter for the double?!? No wonder the double handles better, that's a massive decrease of unsprung weight!!
I've never been gaga for single-sided swingarms - I'm not saying I don't like them, and on some bikes they do look fantastic, but a lot of the times, its a situation where I could take it or leave it.
On the 955, however, I personally like it much better with a double... I really don't think the three-spoke wheels lend themselves well to the single-sided look.

 

LOL yea that thing did look a little out of place there...


Well, apparently no, it weighs 7,5 POUNDS less... Wikipedia:

All the same for me, the double sided looks better and that´s all I want to know... They do tend to swap speed triple rims to these too cause they are five-spoked, those under there will do just fine for me...

Probably gonna sell the CBR eventually and probably can`t hold onto two bikes, but I was thinking about accepting a vintage CB, a Suzy GS or some other small air cooled twin project in exchange and store it in boxes to the top shelf until my son`s old enough (thanks missynet for the idea)

I`ve also registered to one Finnish Triumph forum, posted pics of the bike there and low and behold, it got recognized! One previous owner said he still has the original rear seat cowl in the shelf, and knew to tell the bike has been owned at some point by a Finnish ice speedway world champion!

Still in horrid shape though, went for a proper test ride today, both levers are bent, ignition lock dust cover plate missing, right side handlebar bent, right foot peg loose, brake pedal bent and cracked, the fan is running all the time whenever the engine is, don`t trust the speedo one bit or I was doing 160km/h in one straight (really wasn`t), the engine fault light is burning and I feel it might be losing some high end power. Something fishy with the handlebars too, hit my thumb on the tank pretty bad while doing a U turn... At least I know something about the riding position, tail`s too high and bars too low, the back of my helmet is touching my neck, the position is pure murder to my wrists at town speeds but whilst I get it going it eases up quite a bit thanks to the lack of the fairings.