Greetings, All!
This past weekend I ran into an Offer I Couldn't Refuse... and I am now the proud owner of a 1973 Triumph Tiger 750 (TR7RV).
There are problems; the bike hasn't been on the road since 1984, and it was just shoved to the rear of somebody's garage and forgotten for 25 years.
I've never restored a bike before, and restoration this one surely needs. Rusty gas tank, a fuel system full of pure varnish, throttle and clutch cables frozen with rust, tires that are holding air but suffering from dry rot, front brake was kludged and needs correction in addition to a master cylinder rebuild... the list goes on and on.
The bike is about 95% there; only things I see missing is the front fender and it's fittings, and a few small cosmetic items.
It appears to be essentially stock... it hasn't been chopped (Thank Gawd!), and the only modification I can see is the addition of 12" Baby Ape Hangers (which I'd probably have added anyway; I like the look and feel of them), and the ugliest and most impractical bolt on back rest you ever saw in your life!!!
Here's the punch line...
I'm a new biker; I started riding 3 years ago at the age of 57... and the bike I've been on up to this point is a Russian made 2000 model Ural Bavarian Classic; a hack rig! A GREAT bike and a lot of fun, but not enough power or speed to get out of it's own way. Anyone who rides a 650 Ural on an expressway has a SERIOUS death wish!
After taking a MSF hack class I used a waiver it issued... so my license is clearly marked THREE WHEEL OPERATION ONLY! Gotta go back to school again and learn the ways of 2 wheelers... then do a road test!
In any case... I've been bitten by the Triumph bug. There's just something about an older one that just definitively says Class and Dignity... and I had to do something different, like a Brit Bike; I work with a bunch of Harley owners, and live within 100 miles of the Hawg Farm factory!
This restoration should be an interesting process.
At the moment, I'm debating if I should tear the beast down completely and do powder coating of the frame, rather than just a general cleanup and touchup of the factory black enamel.
In the end... I figure to have a pretty classy bike that can hold it's own on the expressways.
Mr. T.
This past weekend I ran into an Offer I Couldn't Refuse... and I am now the proud owner of a 1973 Triumph Tiger 750 (TR7RV).
There are problems; the bike hasn't been on the road since 1984, and it was just shoved to the rear of somebody's garage and forgotten for 25 years.
I've never restored a bike before, and restoration this one surely needs. Rusty gas tank, a fuel system full of pure varnish, throttle and clutch cables frozen with rust, tires that are holding air but suffering from dry rot, front brake was kludged and needs correction in addition to a master cylinder rebuild... the list goes on and on.
The bike is about 95% there; only things I see missing is the front fender and it's fittings, and a few small cosmetic items.
It appears to be essentially stock... it hasn't been chopped (Thank Gawd!), and the only modification I can see is the addition of 12" Baby Ape Hangers (which I'd probably have added anyway; I like the look and feel of them), and the ugliest and most impractical bolt on back rest you ever saw in your life!!!
Here's the punch line...
I'm a new biker; I started riding 3 years ago at the age of 57... and the bike I've been on up to this point is a Russian made 2000 model Ural Bavarian Classic; a hack rig! A GREAT bike and a lot of fun, but not enough power or speed to get out of it's own way. Anyone who rides a 650 Ural on an expressway has a SERIOUS death wish!
After taking a MSF hack class I used a waiver it issued... so my license is clearly marked THREE WHEEL OPERATION ONLY! Gotta go back to school again and learn the ways of 2 wheelers... then do a road test!
In any case... I've been bitten by the Triumph bug. There's just something about an older one that just definitively says Class and Dignity... and I had to do something different, like a Brit Bike; I work with a bunch of Harley owners, and live within 100 miles of the Hawg Farm factory!
This restoration should be an interesting process.
At the moment, I'm debating if I should tear the beast down completely and do powder coating of the frame, rather than just a general cleanup and touchup of the factory black enamel.
In the end... I figure to have a pretty classy bike that can hold it's own on the expressways.
Mr. T.