Triumphrat

RidingDonkeys

Here's the deal. I haven't been on a motorcycle in 10 years. Worse than that, 10 years ago I was learning to ride. Call it failure to launch, or a college student with no money to buy my own wheels. Either way, it didn't go far.

Ten years later, I'm sitting in a tent in the desert contemplating life and all the stuff I've yet to accomplish. There's lots of time for this kind of thought in a war zone, and it hardly ever leads to sane decisions. So, what do I need to cross off my list? Kids, college degree, cross country road trip, building that vintage Triumph I've always wanted...

I love my wife too much to make her fat, and I'm too impatient to finish that degree just yet, but dammit, I need a motorcycle!

A quick email to the father-in-law (has a huge shop) and the uncle (master welder) and they're in! I just had to find a donor, which I did.

Better yet, I found two. Just bought a 67 Bonneville and a 68 Tiger on a double basket case deal. The wife picks it up next week. Now, what to do?

Ask you guys for help, that's what!

I've got two months to get smart before I start building this thing. I've never owned my own bike, and never even rebuilt an engine. Best I can say is that I've learned a thing or two about welding from my uncle, and time at Georgia Tech left me with a bit of engineering knowledge. That's not much of a start though. But building my own bike is high on the list of life's goals, and there's no better time than now. Besides, I'm sure as hell not driving my Jeep across the country! That's what Triumphs are for!

So the question is, where do I start? I'm sure there's a source for schematics and service manuals for these things. Where do I find it? Learning some basic motorcycle mechanics might be a good start too.

So, if an idiot walked into your shop and said he's building a bike in two months, where would you tell him to start?

DAVE M

hi,

you have plenty time to get the books and a few tools. I'll let someone from the states tell you where but as I tell everyone, a parts manual and a proper triumph workshop manual is a real boon.

You may be lucky and be able to use the same parts and techniques for both bikes.

A decent set of sockets and an engine stand may help. There's a DVD by Hugie Hancox that's pretty good as a guide.
Some manuals are available as pdf's so maybe you could study them in your canvas palace and gain some confidence.


http://www.classicbike.biz/Triumph/R...0cc-Repair.pdf


Trust me, a bit of common sense and anybody can fix a triumph (eventually!)

GrandPaulZ

Hey, welcome. My son is heading back in 3 weeks (2nd tour in Iraq), expecting dad to have his Ducati sitting in his driveway ready to ride, so I know how this all works.

Since you have TWO old Triumphs, you've passed the magic number of financial sense to buy the "Kim the CD Man" 2-disc Triumph compendium. It has every shop manual, and every parts book, for every Triumph, and also includes every tech paper and sales brochure (well, ALMOST every one).

We'll help you every step of the way, the folks on this forum are among the best in the classic Triumph knowledge base.

If you need help with new parts, I'll deeply discount everything for active military, and I can already beat just about anyone. So what it amounts to is I guarantee your tires, cables & batteries will end up being free if you order all your rebuild stuff at one time.

GET HOME AND GET AFTER IT.

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GrandPaulZ
Author of "Old Bikes"
Born Again Bikes
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RidingDonkeys

Dave, I downloaded teh PDF file, and was then promptly reminded by my computer that I haven't installed Adobe since my Windows 7 upgrade this weekend. I'll handle that in a bit, and get to reading.

GrandPaulZ, Thanks for the offer and the info. I'll certainly take you up on that once the time comes to place orders. Do you have a storefront or a website? Is there a place to pick up Kim's CD's online, or do I need to go through his Australia site?

Also, to anyone, what were the main differences between the Bonneville and the Tiger? I see a lot of info online about the Bonnevilles, but am finding little documentation on the Tiger.

The seller of the basket cases assures that they are both 650cc engines. Based on that, would it be a bad assumption that they are the same engine?

Webby

Hi, Welcome to the forum,

Both the Bonnie and the Tiger are very similar, the main difference is that the Bonnie has a twin carb head and the Tiger a single. The rest of the engine is the same (although the Tiger might be fitted with lower compression pistons, I'm not sure) Apart from that, it is mainly detail differences (paintwork, chrome or painted fenders etc.)

Good luck

Webby

RidingDonkeys

So what does it take to convert it to a twin carb? Performance benefits of the two?

I've got two bikes on hand, and a wife who's itching to ride too. You can see where this is going. Once bike number one gets done, I'll be expected to build one for the Misses.

I think the Bonny is definitely mine though.

Webby

There are many people out there that prefer the single carb models, they have a slightly better bottom and mid range, also you don't have to balance the carbs. In the real world there is very little difference in performance between the two, the twin carb would be a little faster at the top end but I doubt if you'd notice it!

To convert to twin carbs you would just need to buy another head and one more carb. Personally I wouldn't bother, It's kind of cool to have one of each!

Webby

RidingDonkeys

Alright, now for another question. Considering both of these models came stock with a four speed transmission, what are the odds of upgrading to a five speed? Is there someone who makes a five speed in case rebuild, or would this require a new tranny altogether?

GrandPaulZ

I wouldn't concern myself with the 5-speed. The top gear is the same, so you shift less with the 4-speed.

You can get the CD set off www.britbike.com

1 carb is easier to tune, 2 are MARGINALLY faster in ideal conditions.

My website should be in my signature, www.bornagainbikes.com

__________________
GrandPaulZ
Author of "Old Bikes"
Born Again Bikes
My Photo album