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Ride to Idukki Dam on my Triumph Street Triple + brake noise resolution

13th February 2025, 19:41 by Kanad Kalasur

The bike does attract some attention. Mostly people who know the triple do notice and throw a thumbs up. Not awkwardly disturbing. Very subtle.

BHPian saisailendra recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

So, a little research on Team-BHP and also from the reply from krishnaprasadgg ; I decided that I will pay a visit to F-Motors in Kochi. Found the page on Instagram and messaged them there. Sanjay is the person. He asked me to come down. I, after few weeks, went to F-Motors. Sanjay was patient enough to listen to the issue, test the bike and said we can try cleaning the brakes. Fairly enough, he has also cautioned me that the issue may not be resolved by cleaning and if it doesn't, it will last till the brake pads remain. After agreeing to it, we went ahead. A thorough cleaning of the disks and brake pads and a slight sanding of the brake pads has done wonders. The noise was gone and the braking feel improved by a very noticeable extent. The distance before the brake bite occurs also has come down. So, happy visit.

Decided to get the bike serviced by him, before leaving Kochi. Maybe next month. Though it has done only 4500Kms, I want to get a proper service by someone who wouldn't compromise on quality, who would let me be there while the work is happening and who wouldn't loot me in the name of "premium".

The bike was covered for 3 weeks and as the examinations came to an end, the cover came off the beast.

Decided to ride to Idukki again. This time, determined to see the Idukki Dam and waters, which I haven't last time.

Inflated the tires to the recommended pressures at home, with a portable inflator. The front tire needed not much inflation, but the rear one took in maybe about 3~4 PSI before the inflator decided that's the preset value according to the manufacturer (2.9 Bar).

Ikuddi Ride :
- Started off at about 6.30 AM
- Fueled up full tank in Kochi
- Took the NH 85 to Muvvattupuzha and from there, it's one road to Idukki.
- Was a good road, enjoyable curves, little traffic in the morning.
- Half way through, I realized the bike was bouncing at about 30kmph. Wasn't sure what happened. It didn't go through any potholes for the wheels to bend.
- After a while, I understood, that the only change that happened was air inflation. The pressures in the rear tires were little high. This ended up being a pain. Every bump and undulation was transmitted to the body. After 1.5 hrs of riding, the sensations amplified. As long as the road was smooth, it was good. Any bumps or shoddy patchwork on the tarmac, I would know.
- Reached a view point as directed by Google Maps. It's a road that leads to the dam, but is closed by the KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board). Stopped the bike for a while, took some pics and started to another view point.
- This one is a small lane where a car wouldn't fit. This road led to another gate, closed by the KSEB with a lot of warnings. But the view was good.

- Both these showed us the other side of the dam where there was no water. Scarily fascinating.

- Then finally set the navigation to the dam entry and reached the entry point. Had to scan a QR code and buy the ticket online for the next 30 mins slot. 150 bucks for Entry + Buggy (only option). Once the ticket was purchased online, we need to get it verified with the Aadhaar at the ticket booth and they will write the ticket number on a piece of paper and hand it over to us. No electronics were allowed inside. People were asked to remove smart watches as well. There was a cloak room facility which I availed and entered the facility. There is a buggy, which once filled, will take us over the two dams and will let us get down on each of the dams. Since there were no phones allowed, there was no chaos of photography and selfies. It was just people, engineering, nature.

People got down, people saw, people told each other that there's water, people got back in the buggy, lol. Both dams were covered in 20 mins and we were out.

- Started back and reached Kochi by 4PM.

Ride Impressions :

These bikes are extremely sensitive to tire pressures.
My gloves (Viaterra Grid) were very comfortable for 1.5 hrs, after which they hurt. The inseams at the thumb are very prominent and they press onto the skin, hurting the skin there. Though feels a good fit when worn normally, the ring and little finger hurt on the left hand. Part culprit is the far clutch lever too, maybe. Decided to change gloves. I want full gauntlet gloves. But I'm worried, since there is no way to test the gloves about how they feel after 2 hrs of riding.
This ride, I spent most of the time in the midrange. Not redlining a lot. The midrange is super fun. 4000-7000 RPMS, any gear. There's plenty of torque to overtake any vehicle.
Leaned a little more than previous tripe on the twisty roads and boy was it fun. It's a very nimble machine. Can change direction with ease.
Since I spent most of the time in the mid range, the mileage was also good. Returned 20 KMPL.
The mileage indicator on the bike is spot on !! I refueled on my way back and calculated on my phone, just to see if the relatively sedate riding made any difference and what number came on my phone was exactly that the bike has been showing.
Ended up with various muscle aches all over. Very similar to how it feels after working out after a good break. So learnt a lesson. Ride more often.
The cam chain tensioner makes a noise at times, specially when I let off the throttle at a high RPM. People all over the internet say it's okay.
The bike does attract some attention. Mostly people who know the triple do notice and throw a thumbs up. Not awkwardly disturbing. Very subtle.

Now, Some pics.