[TarmacScratcher]

Hi all,
Ive just purchased an 03 5000mile tre a bike ive dreamed of owning for a couple of years, picked up sat broke down mon on first ride with strange elec prob running with key out ticking over at 800 rpm dealer seems to have sorted this however since browsing this forum i fear i have made the biggest mistake of my life. the bike is great to ride but overshadowed by fear of imminent breakdown, my engine is mechanically noisey assured this is normal im paranoid its this clutch basket thing i keep reading about and am currently too scared to ride the bike incase it ia the clutch and i ruin my engine.

q1 can i find out if the clutch was changed under the recalls by engine No or do i have to pay to get it checked.

q2 is the noisey engine normall

please help are there any reliable tre`s out there some positive feedback would be nice.

thanks mark b

 

[Big Bad Al]

Hi Mark and a big welcome to the forums

The Tre's are by their nature quite a noisy bike. They can sound like a right bucket of old spanners at times but you soon realise that there's nothing to worry about
Does the dealer not know if the clutch basket was changed? Perhaps get him to put you in contact with the previous owner and ask the directly. I'm sure there is another way but it escapes me just now .... when I remember I'll post it here unless someone else beats me to it:b
If the bike came with any warranty at all then I would ask them to check this for you or maybe they might just do it anyway to keep a customer happy. Out of interest Mark, where did you buy the bike from?

Al:smokin


I forgot to add that you would know if the clutch basket goes as the noise it makes is unbelievably rattly and loud enough for you to know that something serious has just happened.

 

[TornadoTre]

What's the betting 'Double' Cross!!!!!

 

[TarmacScratcher]

Hi Al,

Thanks for replying, the dealer is DK in stoke on trent staffordshire, am going to try and get in touch with previous owner tomo there is only one fortunatly, via the dealer who sold as new hogarth garage (harry nash scooters) but thats all the info i have no tel No just info off the stamps in warranty book, i need the peace of mind mate.

Apparantly there were three major recalls the clutch, alternator bolt and the cam chain tensioner.

Thanks for your interest i`ll post the outcome love the bike dont mind the niggly probs trip etc but would like to feel im gonna get where im going most of the time..

 

[T100RON]

Hi,

like you i just bought a second hand TRE and having read the forum it was rather frightening. I followed the advice and got in contact with the dealer who sold the bike originaly. They confirmed all the work was done to my bike, looking over the worksheet from 2004. I would suggest this would be a good starting point, as it is likely that any such work would be carried out under warranty. My bike has only done 1800 miles so i really was concerned. You would be wise to avoid riding it until you find out though. Apart from the neutral problem i have had no other concerns, although the battery escapade i enjoyed over the weekend (see my other thread) could have happened with any bike. Keep in touch and let me know how you get on, welcome to the world of Benelli ownership!

T100

 

[colintornado]

Hi, tarmac, Q1= I dont think you can tell if any mods have been done by engine no in UK. So the clutch with 8mm middle gear (from 6mm) needs to be checked visually. The missing lockwasher on alternator again needs visual (not sure if clutch needs to be removed to see or if you need to remove the alternator) I have not read anything about cam tensioner mods, but Engenia is investigating failures and he has good advice etc on his site.
Q2 yes they sound like a bag of nails ! but when you ride the noise disappears.
good luck, keep us informed....:lol

 

[TarmacScratcher]

Hi Ron,

What year is your tornado mate i get the impression the 03`s which i have get most the problems, nice to hear you had no probs with yours except the battery (£92 ouch).

 

[Rusty]

Hi Mark,
As I said to you on Saturday the bikes are fantastic to ride and thanks for the mail by the way

Don't panic the bad press is standard with Benelli's at the moment:\ we are however trying dam hard to improve this and make up for the bad service they have provided over the last few years.

If you drop me a line with your vin number I will try and find out what if any mod's have been done, if not then like the forum guys say it's a strip down to inspect the parts.

Welcome to the Benelli world:smokin

Russ

 

[Engenia]

Tarmac, no recalls on the cam chain tensioner (yet). I'm trying to gather data from Tornado owners, to see if we can't get a handle on it. My gut feeling is that the spring is too short, but without data on wear rates, it's hard to say.

Have a look HERE, and follow the link to The Cam Chain. It will tell you (nearly) all I know at present. If you are mechanically inclined, please measure yours & send me the results. I can then tell you if you may have a problem.

On the bike? I reckon that if yours has had the recalls done, and keep tabs on the tensioner progress, you'll be fine. You'll be better than fine - you'll have a permanent grin on your dial!

 

[jpw346]

Tornado Tre Help!!

Morning Mark
I have also recently bought an 03 Tre, showing just over 4000 miles.You have made the important step of talking to Russ.
The customer service, Benelli knowledge, and enthusiasm shown at www.bennettsmotorcycles.com is second to none.
Owning one of these is infectious, as is this website!
Ensure that everything is sorted and then ride it - a lot.
Julian

 

[TarmacScratcher]

Re: Tornado Tre Help!!

(This message was left blank)

 

[TarmacScratcher]

Re: Tornado Tre Help!!

well i decided to risk my second ride on the tre since getting it repaired, and im glad to say things are getting better riding the tre today was the best feeling ive ever had on a bike the noise and feedback i bonded quickly with it and best of all made it over half way to work this time before breaking down bike completly dead electrically, DK were very good again came out in a van dropped me off a new er6 gonna speak to them tomo see if theres any chance of giving the bike back for something more reliable, perhaps its just me but occasionally when riding my bike i do like to reach my destination.... perhaps a mille still some italian flair but a good name for reliability

 

[TarmacScratcher]

Re: Tornado Tre Help!!

Well good news DK were great very understanding they appreciate ive lost all confidence in the tre and allowed me to chose another bike gone for an 05 mille r stunning looking forward to it, im sorry things didnt work out for me with the tre i still feel there the best looking bike on the road and when it worked it was great.

ATB everyone thanks for advise given take care

 

[lws66]

Re: Tornado Tre Help!!

WOW! A bad dream, that's all it was!! Fisherman had a bite, started to reel 'em in and by-golly he put up a fight......but damn, he got away!!! Enjoy your new(est) toy.:lol

 

[Rusty Russ]

All sorted?

How's it going Mark, how's the new Aprilia? are you coming to the show in Manchester?

Regards
Russ.

 

[Capt. Commando]

Cam Chain

For those of you still wondering about your cam chain tensioners be warned of the following: The cam chain guide failed on my 05 Tre at around 400 miles from new. The tensioner then broke up into a half a dozen pieces and went through the motor destroying the bottom end. Although I did not purchase the bike through a Benelli dealer, the company I did get the bike from has agreed to replace the entire bike. My only clue to the impending distruction was at 100 miles when I checked the drain plug to find it covered in a grey grease like substance. This substance later turned out to be material coming off the tensioner mixed with enough metal to be attracted to the magnetic plug. Check the tension on your cam chain often, and look for grey debree in the sump.

Capt. Commando:bawl:

 

[Rusty Russ]

Tensioner

Yes that's a problem that I hate it wrecks motors a new tensioner is available they are a different colour to the original fitment, the last ones I had were white plastic these seam to work OK I have viewed these after 2000miles and no marks at all.

 

[Engenia]

tensioner

At 25,000km, my fixed, front (black) guide is pristine. I'm convinced that the front guide gets damaged only when the rear moving guide doesn't do it's job. The rear one stops working when the tensioner stops moving, and that can happen if the spring is not long enough, or the plunger is seized. This will then allow the chain to thrash about.

The rear guide is more resilient than the front one, so can take more of a beating. I've seen Tax's busted engine. His front guide is smashed, the rear is fine. The chain was completely worn out before it let go.

One way to determine if the chain is still under tension, is to measure the tensioner depth, & compare this with the spring length. The manual says that the chain needs to be checked at every service, and, short of pulling the engine apart, checking the tensioner depth is the only way to do this.

Another way to check, is to remove the tensioner, check for free movement, and reinstall it. Then check the depth. That way you will know that the tensioner is moving. BUT, it is fraught with danger. If the chain is worn, and decides to skip a tooth on the inlet cam (you'll hear it do this), the engine's got to come apart to fix it.

On the Captain's bike - the only thing I can suggest, is that the tensioner never started working. So, for it's first 400 miles, the chain was not under tension. Perhaps the tensioner operation was not checked when it was first installed.

On Tax's bike - his chain was simply worn out. That engine was not new when it went into the bike, & I suspect that it had done a LOT more work than was suggested by the importer.