2006 Triumph Sprint ST 1050 problems

Filed Feb 16, 2010 · Acceleration · 17,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

On march 27th, 2009 my motorcycle accelerated maximally and unintentionally during a turn one block from my house. During the event the asphalt was dry and clean and there were no other involved vehicles. The back tire began spinning and the front tire lifted off of the ground despite my rolling off the throttle and leaning on the front wheel. It all happened very quickly and I was left in the highway while my motorcycle drove onto the sidewalk without me. I suffered road rash and bruises on my left side (it was a left turn) and my best armani suit was shredded. Prior to this event the bike had always run rich, and the stepper motor had failed a few months prior. After getting the bike back I still noticed some surging but nothing as severe as what happened on march 27th. After the crash I did some studying of triumph throttle issues and asked the shop to replace my throttle control sensor. After the crash, and the primarily cosmetic repairs to the bike I got the bike back but noticed that the surging remained. I drove it very carefully (especially in turns) for several hundred more miles but the ignition quality continued to deteriorate to the point where my mpg dropped below 20, the bike was smoking and bucking, and had difficulty idling. While the stepper motor apparently died again, replacing it did not resolve the surging. Finally in november the shop agreed to go completely through the electrical system and they found that the 25 pin connector to the main computer (ECM) had become loose. I would hope that it would be impossible for this connector to work itself loose with normal vibration so I suspect the connector shipped from the factory not properly secured. My insurance company holds me at fault in the crash until I get a letter from triumph admitting fault, which so far they have declined to do. This is my first "at fault" accident in my 25 years of full time motorcycle riding.