Hello. Thought I'd get serious and post progress (since I'm finally making some) on a bike I've owned for over 25 years...
My girlfriend (now my wife of over 22 years) bought the bike for me in Missoula, Montana from a character who mostly dealt in Indian bikes and parts. The Triumph had been stored outside under a tarp for a while, but it was a matching numbers bike with a California title, though it hadn't been registered since 1979.
We did get it started, but it wasn't really safe to ride in the state it was in, and I commenced to strip it down shortly after. Needless to say, it has essentially remained in that state for many years, with a few attempts to get the project going again at different times… money being the main factor in continuing.
We lived in Portland, Oregon for a while. I met the Sandy Bandit. Dave Wedlake fixed my sidestand lug, sidecover and chainguard.
We moved back to Iowa and I started back on the bike in earnest a few years ago. I’ve found someone locally to help me with the bottom end of the engine… which is basically finished. Klempf’s did head and cylinder bore work several years ago.
At this point I’m focusing on finishing up the frame to a point where we can get the engine fitted and started up. My goal is to keep as close to correct as is feasible using original parts when I can find them. The bike was missing a lot of stuff. I have most of the big stuff now. I am thoroughly acquainted with the parts manual.
I haven’t posted a lot, but I am constantly on this site. I’m usually able to find answers to my questions in a search. Snakeoil’s write up of his restoration on the same year bike has also been immensely helpful.
The bike when I bought it...1994
As it sits this afternoon... handlebars are ready to mount, but I can't do this until I get it out of the sunporch. I'm working on mounting fenders. The chainguard isn't bolted. I realized I'm going to have to remove the rear wheel again to mount this which should probably be mounted before fitting the rear fender... aggh! Of course I'm missing the front bolts for the chainguard.
Anyways, I'll try to keep up with updates. Thanks for looking.
Scot
1966 T120R DU38319
My girlfriend (now my wife of over 22 years) bought the bike for me in Missoula, Montana from a character who mostly dealt in Indian bikes and parts. The Triumph had been stored outside under a tarp for a while, but it was a matching numbers bike with a California title, though it hadn't been registered since 1979.
We did get it started, but it wasn't really safe to ride in the state it was in, and I commenced to strip it down shortly after. Needless to say, it has essentially remained in that state for many years, with a few attempts to get the project going again at different times… money being the main factor in continuing.
We lived in Portland, Oregon for a while. I met the Sandy Bandit. Dave Wedlake fixed my sidestand lug, sidecover and chainguard.
We moved back to Iowa and I started back on the bike in earnest a few years ago. I’ve found someone locally to help me with the bottom end of the engine… which is basically finished. Klempf’s did head and cylinder bore work several years ago.
At this point I’m focusing on finishing up the frame to a point where we can get the engine fitted and started up. My goal is to keep as close to correct as is feasible using original parts when I can find them. The bike was missing a lot of stuff. I have most of the big stuff now. I am thoroughly acquainted with the parts manual.
I haven’t posted a lot, but I am constantly on this site. I’m usually able to find answers to my questions in a search. Snakeoil’s write up of his restoration on the same year bike has also been immensely helpful.
The bike when I bought it...1994
As it sits this afternoon... handlebars are ready to mount, but I can't do this until I get it out of the sunporch. I'm working on mounting fenders. The chainguard isn't bolted. I realized I'm going to have to remove the rear wheel again to mount this which should probably be mounted before fitting the rear fender... aggh! Of course I'm missing the front bolts for the chainguard.
Anyways, I'll try to keep up with updates. Thanks for looking.
Scot
1966 T120R DU38319