Thunderbird sport not well

Went for a 300 mile spin on my triumph thunderbird sport yesterday.
About 30 mins from home it quicky lost power, in the gradual way bikes
tend to when the fuel runs out. I turned the petrol tap to reserve and
managed to coax it back into life. I refuelled (even though tank was
only half empty) and carried on. It did the same trick again after 15
mins, flipping tap to res did the same in getting it restarted.

About 10 mins from home the exhaust note became more blustery (little
backfires?) and it seemed to be running on 2 cylinders although it
would open up onto 3 if throttle was opened for 5 of so seconds. Ride
was very uneven and not smooth at all.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks, as always.

 

Airlock due to a blocked tank breather.

 

Water in the bottom of the tank
Shit in the carbs
Clogged tank filter
Diesel in the tank

 

Hm. Have you tried it on the Prime setting, just in case the vacuum feed
pipe has got kinked under the tank?

 

Exactly the prob I had going to BOSM a couple years back.
It's well worth hoiking the tap out of the tank and cleaning the filter.
Check the vaccy bit and shove it all back.
It'll be a better baby for the administrations.

 

If this was a Tiger I'd say it was the ignition pick-up.
They fail when hot, recover when they cool down, giving the behaviour you
describe.

Does the T'bird have the same electrickery bits?