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1,265 Posts
You forgot to mention the pièce de résistance. Your under-seat tray/electrical tidy!
1972 TR6RV Project
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440 Posts
That came about partly because I didn't want to alter the original component mounting sheet metal by drilling holes in it for the new components. Also, it would have been rather unsightly with the new components plastered onto it, but thanks, I'm really quite proud of it
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12,055 Posts
Who knew you had a thread here! 
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440 Posts
Welcome buddy, yeah I don't think these rebuild threads get much airplayWho knew you had a thread here!
I had a thread on a darned center stand that got as many views in a few days as the whole process of this rebuild
Reason I'm here is I enjoy the interaction with other gearheads so I'm glad you stopped by
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I just suggested on the "What I did with my classic ...." thread that you and others on this thread include the link to your rebuild on your signature. Lot's of great stuff here!
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14,233 Posts
I disagree!
Not only is it my favorite section (I had the admins add it the day I agreed to be a moderator, back in '05), but MANY people eventually admit that they were following one or the other rebuild thread without ever commenting.
I believe they are VERY helpful to people THINKING about undertaking a rebuild (or repair), and especially to those that DO start a project, if they've never done it before.
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440 Posts
Paul,
I mirrored this thread on the "other" forum and it got 13,000 views to date as opposed to 2,000 here, although probably the same degree of interaction.
I like it here better, though.
Just pointing out facts, sir
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440 Posts
Oh yeah, the center stand
Times were tough for Meriden in 1972. I won’t go into the whole story as I’ve heard it, but they made a bunch of mistakes with the launch of the Oil-In-Frame bikes in 1971.
An interesting read on the subject is in Abe Aamidor’s book Shooting Star, which is kind of heartbreaking but there’s some hard lessons in it.
The center stand was one of the mistakes I corrected on this bike. Like it was, it was more like a pair of stilts and pretty difficult to engage.
My 1962 Thunderbird goes up on its stand like butter, that’s because the center stand is behind the center of gravity and at the right height.
Nothing I can do about the center of gravity but through some research and phone calls I got the proper stand.
It came out after an engineering change, which is part # 83-4941
Mid-1972 production, Triumph changed the frame for the 650 bikes to what’s called the Low Frame.
If you ask me, with a 30” inseam, lowering that seat down to the same height as pre 1971 is all good.
As far as I know, Triumph stayed with the same basic Low Frame throughout the T140 and TR7 years.
But anyway, there was a change of the center stand mounting position with the advent of the low frame.
Even though the frames have the same ground clearance the attach point for the center stand was moved down ¾” and back some amount to try and correct its faulty placement too far forward, thus making it difficult to use.
That change to the mounting point made the bike sit ridiculously high on the center stand with the old 1971 casting.
A very exhaustive thread can be seen here, where the whole thing got figured out
Center Stand Modification | Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums
I had no idea center stand talk was so popular. Kind of like an oil thread but less controversial!
That week-long thread got about the same number of views as this one that's 4 months old ;-) @GrandPaulZ
Here’s my theory on what happened:
83-2627: '71-'72 650 High Frame up to CG 50414: 10-1/8" tall to center of pivot bolts
83-4615: '72 650 Low Frame after CG 50414: 10” tall (same casting but they snuck the pivot holes down 1/8” lower to 10”)
83-4941: ’72 650 Low Frame after CG 50414 (retrofit with 1973 stand): 9-3/8" tall
83-4941:'73-’79, T140 and TR7 bikes: 9-3/8" tall
Before and after pictures along with comparison of the stands
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Times were tough for Meriden in 1972. I won’t go into the whole story as I’ve heard it, but they made a bunch of mistakes with the launch of the Oil-In-Frame bikes in 1971.
An interesting read on the subject is in Abe Aamidor’s book Shooting Star, which is kind of heartbreaking but there’s some hard lessons in it.
The center stand was one of the mistakes I corrected on this bike. Like it was, it was more like a pair of stilts and pretty difficult to engage.
My 1962 Thunderbird goes up on its stand like butter, that’s because the center stand is behind the center of gravity and at the right height.
Nothing I can do about the center of gravity but through some research and phone calls I got the proper stand.
It came out after an engineering change, which is part # 83-4941
Mid-1972 production, Triumph changed the frame for the 650 bikes to what’s called the Low Frame.
If you ask me, with a 30” inseam, lowering that seat down to the same height as pre 1971 is all good.
As far as I know, Triumph stayed with the same basic Low Frame throughout the T140 and TR7 years.
But anyway, there was a change of the center stand mounting position with the advent of the low frame.
Even though the frames have the same ground clearance the attach point for the center stand was moved down ¾” and back some amount to try and correct its faulty placement too far forward, thus making it difficult to use.
That change to the mounting point made the bike sit ridiculously high on the center stand with the old 1971 casting.
A very exhaustive thread can be seen here, where the whole thing got figured out
Center Stand Modification | Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums
I had no idea center stand talk was so popular. Kind of like an oil thread but less controversial!
That week-long thread got about the same number of views as this one that's 4 months old ;-) @GrandPaulZ
Here’s my theory on what happened:
83-2627: '71-'72 650 High Frame up to CG 50414: 10-1/8" tall to center of pivot bolts
83-4615: '72 650 Low Frame after CG 50414: 10” tall (same casting but they snuck the pivot holes down 1/8” lower to 10”)
83-4941: ’72 650 Low Frame after CG 50414 (retrofit with 1973 stand): 9-3/8" tall
83-4941:'73-’79, T140 and TR7 bikes: 9-3/8" tall
Before and after pictures along with comparison of the stands
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Absolutely. I am working on the exact same bike on the UK and Mark has been terrifically helpful on some particular points, but this whole thread has been like a 'Missing Manual' and while I will never be the same kind of precision mechanic, the principles and standards are something to aspire to.
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440 Posts
Iain, that's a kind thing to say, and I'm glad my small contribution to the general knowledge base was useful to you.
What I've gleaned from this forum is probably a hundred times greater than what I've posted though.
I'm an "all around" mechanic and tradesman with a healthy respect for specialists in their realm, and I'd like to again express my gratitude to everyone here. The search function on this forum is wonderfully powerful and it's saved me a ton of missteps!
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Love your write up and pictures. It should serve you well.
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That's yet ANOTHER feature on this (and many other) forums that doesn't get much attention or mention, but it SHOULD!
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