It’s pretty normal, it’s the moisture in the air within the breather reacting with the oil vapour, it’s typical in winter with shorter rides (i.e. the engine not getting really hot) you’ll notice it doesn’t happen in summer where there is not so much moisture in the air and the engine and therefore the oil get to a higher temperature.
One tip (which you probably know anyway), is when you change the plugs, put a very thin smear of copperslip on the middle threads of the new plugs.
+1 what Pat said.
But (as suggested) go sparing with the copperslip, you don’t want the copper particles getting on the electrodes or insulator.
Also don’t overtighten the plugs, the seal washer is a crush design, so only 12Nm (alternatively hand tight + quarter to half turn max)
I am “happy” to not bleed through the ABS; however, is it “OK” to refill the system without doing so? Or is there likely to introduce any air?
I appreciate that the ABS part of the system will have “older” fluid; I am not so concerned about that (the fluid was well within date/mileage). It is air that I am concerned about…
Chances are you won’t have got air into the abs as it’s quite remote from front calipers (I’m guessing it’s also closed off until active).
Tuneecu (or Dealertool) can be used to flush through fluid and/or air in the unit, but others have simply ridden and braked hard to activate the abs to move fluid through.
Hi Daniel and hope you are well, I posted this very topic some time ago and you may have well missed it, unfortunately it is of no use whatsoever in bleeding the brakes on an ABS system without purging the ABS pump, otherwise old fluid then gets pumped around the system, as you know brake fluid is hygroscopic, even though the braking system is sealed, water will make its way into the system and will weaken brake fluid’s effectiveness. It work its way into the system through microscopic pores in the seals etc, moisture can cause the anti-lock brake systems to corrode, this will then end up disabling the ABS system. In worst cases the brake fluid “crystallises” causing extensive damage and cost to rectify. It may be worth investing in either the Tuneecu or Dealertool, personally I use Dealertool as this covers all Triumph models, and can undertake every function you will ever require, If any fault codes are present, the number of faults will be shown and the first of any codes stored will be shown with the fault description, only the first fault is shown with detail, but once this is fixed the following fault can be read and described and so on, until all fault codes are fixed. Using the ‘Clear ABS Faults’ button will erase the faults from the ECU. As mentioned the ‘Bleed System’ button opens the ABS unit valves so that you may bleed the brake system. You may need to use this function several times when bleeding the system. The Dealertool costs £60 and is very easy to use, it can’t interfere with the ECU nor can it change anything within the ECU, you would need to re flash the ECU for that, and have the equipment and knowledge to do so like Junction 33 Developments near to me. I recall you re building a Triumph 955i engine in the past so using the Dealertool should not put you off, nothing can be permanently disabled using the Dealertool. A Triumph dealer charges around £70 to change the brake fluid front/rear and £50 for the coolant replacement. Triumph recommend changing the brake fluid every 2 years, personally I replace brake fluids every 2 years immaterial of make or model, car or bike that I work on. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker.