Triumphrat

looseparts · 07-08-2009, 10:07 AM

10 weeks after pushing home a 67 TR6C from a vintage show, I have finally begun to see some progress - albeit very little.

I took my project to a local Triumph guy to have my Ceriani forks looked at and ended up leaving the whole shebang in his hands.

I thought I was going to build a bobber, but after meeting Bob at WheelSmithCycle and seeing the flat track racers he builds, I changed my mind and decided to have the street-legal TT Steeplechase bike I dreamed of when I was in high school.

Bob is a very unique character, a very capable builder, but one thing that sets him apart is the fact that he lets me in his shop to work on aspects of my bike using his tools (bead blaster, solvent tank, belt sander, etc.) - This type of mentoring is something I've not experienced with any other mechanic.

Anyways... the purpose of this thread is to photo-document the progress and here are a few pic.

The rolling chassis on the day I bought it (May 16, 2009) and the tank, frame and seat the day I picked them up to take to the painters.

More later.

motopsycho · 11-10-2009, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by looseparts

More later.

Its been a while. Any progress?

looseparts · 11-11-2009, 12:30 AM

Hey! Thanks for asking. Funny. I posted that on July 8th, four months ago and what I said then was I was picking up the tank and seat to take to the painter - Well only the tank went to the painter as the seat, frame, oil tank and side cover 'weren't quite ready' - Guess what? They're still not ready!

I got so frustrated with the lack of progress that I bought another basket-case - another '67 Triumph, this one a T100 - so I'd have something to work on at my house.

One of the main reasons for the delays on the 650 was due to the load of work the mechanic had during the racing season. Well the racing season has ended and he says we're going to get back to work on the bike above soon, maybe as soon as this weekend.

This guy does magnificent work, and even though I haven't gotten as much hands-on time on this particular project, the 500cc Triumph that I have at home has certainly kept me occupied and out of trouble for all these months.

Mostly to test new software where I work, I started a blog about the two motorcycles - If you're really bored, there's 10 chapters of semi-personal blabber to wade through at: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/rustytriumph/

Thanks for asking - when there's some actual progress on the 650, I'll add more to this thread - meantime check out the pictures at the bottom of my 'chapter 10' at that blog - those motorcycles he builds are worth waiting for : -)

GrandPaulZ · 11-11-2009, 09:49 AM

That is cool.

RidingDonkeys · 11-13-2009, 10:41 PM

My wife and I are now officially fans of The Rusty Triumph from Kentucky. I'm the guy with the two 650's to build that posted there the other day.

That being said, my wife took one look at the tracker pictured in chapter 10 and proudly proclaimed "I want my Tiger to look like THAT!" She was mesmerized by it.

Thanks for the great writing. We look forward to future chapters.

- Jeff

GrandPaulZ · 11-14-2009, 08:58 AM

Yeah, I remember that picture with the scrambler pipes; those are my favorites.

looseparts · 11-14-2009, 11:43 AM

I think Jeff's talking about this street tracker that my mechanic is working on (inserted below). My hope is to have a bike *like* this in the near future.

Note to Jeff regarding the compliment on my writing: Thank you for your very kind words. I'm just fooling around with that blog - but who knows... I will be retired sooner than later - perhaps I will become a better writer with more free time.

looseparts · 11-14-2009, 11:54 AM

Hi Jeff,

You mentioned in a comment on my blog that you have acquired two Triumph basket-cases - a 67 Bonneville and a 68 Tiger. How badly basket-ized are they?

Have you started a Restoration & Rebuild Project thread here in this forum about them?

One thing I want to mention is how fantastically helpful the members of this forum are. Any question you have (dumb like mine, or not) are going to be answered quickly and seriously by a cadre of experts.

I once asked about something I read here of 'breaking the clutch plates free' and there must have been a dozen individual responders that took up the challenge of helping me know what that meant.

This forum is a great place to entrust the progress of your project(s).

So... Let us know what you're working on, yes?

RidingDonkeys · 11-14-2009, 05:19 PM

I bought those two basket cases sight unseen. A horrible idea I know, but at the price, I couldn't refuse. I'm 10k miles away right now in the desert, so I had to go with my gut instinct. My wife picks them up tomorrow, so we'll see what I have ahead of me.

A friend has put me onto another basket case of a 68 Bonneville. I started a thread about what to look for on this one, as I'll actually get a shot at seeing it first hand when I get home in a few weeks. This one is not numbers matching, so it would mainly be for parts. But, depending on the condition of the other two, it might not even be necessary.

Once I get back I'm going straight to work on these bikes. I've been itching for a project like this for a while now, and I can't wait to get started.

I'll start a thread up and keep everyone posted.

RidingDonkeys · 11-15-2009, 10:42 PM

I've got my first double basket case in, compliments of a very loving
wife with infinite patience.

I just started my thread and posted some early photos. This is going to be one heck of a ride.

http://www.triumphrat.net/member-s-r...ml#post1420900