Triumph T160 Trident Troubles

Reader Contribution by Keith Fellenstein
Published on July 5, 2017
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Trident troubles

Q: I am approaching 95 percent completion in restoring my 1975 Triumph T160 Trident, and I have encountered a unique problem. With valves set, timing correct and all three Amal carbs synched, I drive slowly and she runs great. When I push her harder, as soon as I hit third gear she dies completely and every time I coast to the roadside. Initially, I was suspect of my Tri-Spark ignition failing. But I wait one minute and she restarts. As I ride her home and shut her down inside my silent garage, my freshly sealed and painted stock fuel tank is “whistling,” equalizing a partial vacuum. Did my new 5/16-inch clear plastic fuel filters excessively restrict my gravity fuel flow? Does my new chrome OEM fuel tank cap require a vent hole? Or should I mount my aquarium air pump on my dashboard and plumb it to my fuel tank for a “positive pressure” fuel flow? What did the OEM college boys design to relieve the fuel tank vacuum? I simply cannot believe our 91 octane is so poor that the 750cc mill is consuming fuel at a rate the lines cannot keep adequately supplied. I have drilled both tank cap holes to 1/16 inch and still — same vacuum. Should I drill both holes to 1/8 inch and set the float levels higher? Have you ever heard of such a unique malady? — Yukon John/via email

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