[ruger001]

Hi All,

After fitting a replacement front spoked wheel and hub to my T140D (the original Lester had cracked) I have grown to really like the look of the spoked wheel it now has on the front.

If I was to collect the bits to do the back wheel as well, does anyone now if it is a bolt on proposition to fit a T140E spoked wheel with left hand side Veglia Speedo gearbox to my overslung caliper T140D swingarm?

I understand the D has a different swingarm due to the caliper being overslung but if i was to keep the D swingarm and caliper bracket will the E spoked wheel and spacers fit etc?

Thanks for any help,

Ruger001.

 

[DAVE M]

I've seen it done but don't know what they did.

The E gained the D's overslung calliper in around 80?

I have a parts book at home that shows cast and spoked wheels on an 80/81 bike.

if you go to big D cycles site, you could compare part numbers to see what changed.

my bike kind of looks "D ish" but I've always likes spoked wheels. (stainless rims/spokes)

 

[Keith B]

By 1980,all the swingarms were the same as the T140D and used the Veglia speedo drive.
I Looked in the 1980 parts book and the spindles are the same.The l/h spacer is the same,but the r/h is different.How different,...I dont know.
Dont forget you will need to replace the disc and sprocket as well.The spoked wheels have four bolt holes,while the D's Lesters have six.

 

[tribsa1954]

My 1979 T140E has the top mounted caliper and I have fitted Lester wheels, after a bit of checking/problems I found out that some after market chain adjusters are not thick enough which gave problems when tightening the rear spindle, so I purchased a new spindle, correct spacers and chain adjusters so it pays to research a bit on part numbers and their dimensions.

 

[ruger001]

Thanks lads sounds like its not to difficult then will compare parts books and and start collecting parts, appreciate the info.

 

[ruger001]

From the looks the wheel and hub assemblies, bearings, rim and left side spacers are the same on the 79 E and 80 E spoked wheels.

Bad news is the brake disc, brake torque stay, rightside spacer, caliper mounting plate, sprocket, chain adjusters, wheel spindle, and the swing arms have different part numbers.

So i either adapt the spoked wheel off an 79E or 80E to the swing arm and brake caliper/mount i have or buy the 80E swing arm and rest of the bits to suit - ouch that can't be cheap!?

I might get the wheel and hub etc and see whats involved in regards to the bearing spacers to adapt to the swing arm i have on the bike already.

 

[DAVE M]

I think that it's your best bet.

I doubt that the measurements are all way off, as the later Top mounted E s/arm is surely a D one?

The lower mounted calliper is a complete pain to bleed and fills full of gunk/water. You're better off with your existing set up. My bike is a PA serial number, wire wheels, lower calliper, Veglia speedo, drive on the RHS. this appears to be the same as the 78 book, not the 79

So my bike was made as a 79 model in the Nov of 78 but used up some 78 parts

I know that they fiddled with the rear wheel of the D after launch, I think it was just a narrower tyre as opposed to a new rim.

Having seen the rear ends of a few chops/cafe racers it can't be too hard. The best solution would be able to borrow a wire wheel for a weekend of a mate!

 

[ruger001]

Would love to find an old spoked wheel to tinker with for the weekend Dave, i haven't seen another old triumph in my area yet though, plenty of new Bonnevilles around. I also read somewhere that they went to thicker spokes on the D as there were problems with the spokes breaking so larger gauge spoke was needed and cured problems.

I guess anything fits with enough time and machining

I definetly want to stick with a top mounted caliper, its strange i checked out the parts books on Big D web site and the swing arms for the 80E and 79D are both different part numbers, also brake caliper mounting plake and torque arm numbers differ.

Only guessing but the differences must be the mounting position for the torque arm lug on the 80? I.E. were the torque arm mounts to the swing arm must be in a slightly different spot.

Anyway the hubs are the same so can round up those bits and spokes etc, spacers are going to be the thing.

 

[othackery]

Can your alloy lester wheel not be repaired ?

 

[ruger001]

othackery - According to numerous shops and emails I sent with picks of the crack no one wanted to touch it. They get very nervous about repairing motorcycle wheels around here - especially front ones with a crack that follows the bead.

 

[tribsa1954]

Only guessing but the differences must be the mounting position for the torque arm lug on the 80? I.E. were the torque arm mounts to the swing arm must be in a slightly different spot.

Anyway the hubs are the same so can round up those bits and spokes etc, spacers are going to be the thing.

Try the boys at Hawkshaw, they know a lot about Triumphs, they even took a complete spindle, spacers speedo drive etc off the shelf and gave me all the measurements, can't get much better than that!

http://www.btinternet.com/~hawkshaw.motorcycles/

 

[DAVE M]

The early E's had a spoke problem. They changed it and later ones didn't. So if building a wheel just check that the correct later specs are used.

I have a feeling that the front and rear hubs are identical. In theory, you could "cannibalise" the front hub by buying the correct rear spindle and some spacers to see what fits but it's a lot of hassle. ( plus the wheel rim is larger)