Triumphrat

M.G.Vig

The missing word on your shocks is "trouble". The maker is or was, Dot. They were not much cop. On my T140 I fitted a set of S&W shocks, which worked very well. I don't think you can still get them, but Koni's are a good alternative. If touring Europe in summer, an oil cooler is a must, as is a re-upholstered seat. Back in the day, I also replaced many fasteners with nyloc type replacements. Well worth the time and trouble for the peace of mind that resulted. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had upped the gearing as well!

Snakeoil

I'm in the US, but sprung for the extra money (which was not really much) to order new seat foam and covers from Leighton. I ordered for both my '66 restoration project and for my regular rider, a '76 T140V. The 140 seat was original and after a half hour was worse than bleecher-butt if anyone here has spent time watching highschool basketball games.

I was very pleased with the foam for both bikes. You can see the finished seat in my restoration thread and I believe I posted about my 140 seat in the general forum. Leighton disappointed me on the cover for the 140. The cover they make for the 140 uses the top from another year and the result is the stitching does not fall into the molded in groove when used on a '76 and to me, it just does not look right. Quality was top notch, otherwise. I ended up getting a cover at a swap meet that came from John Healy and it fit like a glove and was correct for my year.

So, make sure if you are buying a cover from Andrew, that he confirms it will be correct and identical to your OEM cover. Otherwise, I highly recommend his products.

Suspension-wise, there is another thread hear that askes if cartridge emulators can be used in late model forks and the answer was yes. Emulators do a lot to improve the range of a front fork. The problem with damper rod forks is they use fixed orifices as part of the design. That's fine until you get on a rough road or series of bad bumps. I can't remember my fluid dynamics that well, but the pressure across an orifice is something like the square of the flow. So what that means is when you hit a big bump, the fork becomes a solid piece of pipe. Emulators have a disc valve with a spring controlling it's ability to relieve with high pressure. So you get good damping under normal road conditions and when you hit that mutha speed bump or get on a road that is really rough, the cartridge comes into play and your rider is much more pliable. So, spending whatever they cost in the UK for emulators, is probably worth it if you have one bike and ride it long distances.

Regarding your rack, I wished you lived in the US. I have a 6 pack rack on my 140 that I'd gladly trade for a passenger grap rail in the same (excellent) condition.

I have one more trick for you for long distance riding. Go to a bicycle store and by a high quality pair of bike shorts. These are spandex shorts with a pad in the butt area. I wear a pair for the 3 day Motorgiro that I ride with vintage Japanese bikes and those shorts make a major improvement in comfort.

regards,
Rob

DAVE M

http://www.danmedicasouth.co.uk/shop...-gel-seat-pad/

I did a google after posting and found this.

It looks as if you might be able to buy a DIY option to add on top, or slip inside?

tommytiger

Cheers for the rack offer Snakeoil next time I'm 'upstate NY' I'll pick it up. The cycle shorts also sound like a good idea, I used to cycle and cycle shorts made a big difference to comfort on a push bike so I imagine they will help on a motorcycle.

If I may be flippant for a second I have a motorcycle and NY related joke!

Why did the man from New York sleep under his Triumph all night? He wanted to wake up 'OILY'!!!!

Has anyone used one of these gel pads and is there anyone riding there bike in hot climates without an oil cooler? I posted a thread a while ago re oil coolers and came to the conclusion they were not really necessary.

JohnA

The upholsterer I use told me he could put a layer of gel material in my new seat if I wanted, but he personally didn't rate the stuff very highly (he does long tours on his 1200 Suzuki so he knows what he's on about). He changed his own seat back to just a good quality, quite firm foam. So I took his advice and can't say from personal experience.

On oil coolers for riding in hot climates, I'd be keen to get some experienced views on this too - all I do know from experience is that I ruined a T140 many years ago riding around the south of France in high summer temps, but blamed it on the thin oil. All I could find was 10/40, which the engine drank, to the point where I was running on almost an empty tank a lot of the time! That didn't do the engine any good.

(Took me a while to figure the Brooklyn oily gag - chortled when I got it!)

DAVE M

I guess that you could list the months and places in Europe and research the temperatures that you might expect.

I know that Darell at Rockerbox runs a NH Bogbrush on his T140 but they are not too cheap for a one off. Plewsy fitted a random cooler to his bike.

Gel pad wise, an external one gives you the option of cutting your losses and bunging it on ebay.

JohnA

Very true re. gel pads!

On oil coolers, the Trident (T150/T160) oil coolers look nice (unlike the Hyde bogbrushes, which are aptly named) - probably expensive and hard to find, but worth a try?

DAVE M

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-TR...item33795f2dd6

coloradobob

I highly recommend a sheep shearling pad with an untanned back. It will stay in place with no attachment. It allows some air circulation and gives comfortable riding on 8 hours in the saddle. Bob

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Steve Brown

ref the numb bum syndrome, try an 'Air Hawk' seat pad. They are a strap on, sorry, but they do work and for longer than gel pads too. You inflate it yourself (by mouth-no airlines needed) to suit your own preference. I find it needs hardly any air in it-just enough for it to hold its own shape. Like when you first introduce an inner tube to its tyre and wheel
They cost about the same as gel pads, but you can get a lower price version that has a supposedly less durable cover, mines wearing well though.