What I did with my classic Triumph today?

925384 Views 10021 Replies 406 Participants Last post by rossmick62, 1 d ago

Rathlindri

Discussion Starter · Jan 19, 2011 (Edited)

As a Hinkley triple owner (don't hate me guys!) I sometimes also read the threads on that section of the Triumph Rat forum and they have a long running thread "what I did to my classic triple today" or something very similar. Posters put up a few lines about what they did with their 'bikes that day..... polished it, rode it, rebuilt it, crashed it, etc etc you get the idea, anything goes really.

Anyway, thought it might be worth starting a similar thread here as I'm selling the "modern" 'bike and concentrating on my classics.
I'll start it off....

Today I got back my speedo which I'd sent to the UK for repair. It was working but had a lot of needle "flutter". Looks like new (still) and can't wait to try it out....

OK who's next?

Richard

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Snakeoil

· #163 · Feb 26, 2011

Ming said:
Hi Ron, thanks, yes my tank is still polished but I am going to paint it myself, this job has given me the confidence to tackle the tank, as this is only the second time I have used rattle cans, the first time was a disaster so I have been a little reluctant since, the side panels were in a real mess when I got them so the tank, which is as new doesn't seem as scary now,
regards,
Bill.

Those don't look bad, Bill. That's just heavy patina.

Those panels came out great. And they look correct on the bike. What model BSA were they from?

I've been giving some thought to using the side panel and tank from my '66 to make a couple of molds so I can make fiberglass side panels for OIF bike. It's very low on the priority list, though.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #209 · Mar 20, 2011

MoBe said:
Today I reassembled the freshly painted Lucas horn and horn mount on the `73.There is simply nothing better looking than fresh black paint on all the bits and pieces.Tomorrow I start to fab the new muffler mount plates.

Hey MoBe, if you are mounting Dunstalls on that bike, I have a pattern already made for the proper mounts, as well as the correct spacers to avoid twisting the mounts/mufflers when you bolt them up. I made mine from 1/4 alum plate and sawed them out on the bandsaw. Instead of all the bends that the OEM plates had, I simply used aluminum bushings as spacer for the proper offset.

I thought I had posted pictures on here last year when I installed them. But I cannot find any pictures here or on my hard drive. If you would like my post pics or the bracket layout, let me know.
regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #215 · Mar 20, 2011 (Edited)

MoBe said:
Do you have those "Torpedos" on your bike Ohio, if so do you think you could show me a picture of the mounting brackets,maybe even a couple of dimensions?

I can fab them from scratch but if I could see what the originals look like I`d be happier.

Here's another thread where I posted pics and dimensions of my stock torpedo muffler mounting plates. Assume your 73 OIF frame is similar to my '76.

http://www.triumphrat.net/classic-vintage-and-veteran/152214-problems-fitting-t140v-silencers.html

Note you will still need offset mounts. So spacers will probably replace bending if you are making from scratch unless you have access to a fairly heavy bending break.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #242 · Apr 14, 2011

gatornapper said:
Of course! Been my practice for carb engines for almost 50 years......

My curiosity was - how did she get flooded??? Never happened before on a cold start attempt.

I suspect that you either have a leaking petcock or you left one open and your float was stuck. Or your float needle leaks a tad and overnight she just slowly filled up with gasoline.

This is not good because as you know, if it gets too much it just runs into the sump where it dilutes the oil and overfills the system.

Might want to pull off your fuel line and put it in a dry pail to see if the tap leaks gas when in the off position.

Probably want to check your float, too.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #252 · Apr 15, 2011

Hmmmm.... are you sure it was flooded? Were the plugs wet? My normal starting procedure if the bike is cold and set for at least 12 hours is to tickle the carbs, then set the choke fully closed and kick the bike 2 or 3 times to prime it. Then I turn on the iggy and it normally fires on the 1st or 2nd kick. At least for my bike, I don't think it is possible to flood it when it is cold.

Are you sure that it was not just bone dry instead of flooded??

I've had situations where I thought I had flooded an engine only to pull the plugs and found they were bone dry.

It's a Brit bike, Gator. Part of the personality. I tend to think that while we are sleeping, they are out in the garage thinking of new ways to screw with us.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #259 · Apr 17, 2011

I happy to be able to post something here after a long cold winter. Pulled the '76 T140V out of winter mothballs today and put the battery in her. Had zilch for power. No lights, no horn, no nuthin'.

Checked ground connection and it was fine. Pulled the fuse out of the silly stereo fuse holder and it was fine. But terminal in the holder looked a little shabby. Quick hit with the wire brush and juice was flowing again. For a minute there I was afraid all the smoke had leaked out of my Lucas system over the winter due to a breach in the wiring insulation. Glad that did not happen.

Been meaning to replace that POS K-mart Audiovox fuse holder with something more reliable. Guess that goes on the to do list. Gotta clean up the wires on this bike anyway. PO had it rewired by a blind man with hands full of thumbs.

I opened up the petcock, closed the choke, tickled the carbs and kicked her twice to prime her. Turned on the ignition and she fired up on the first kick. Closed the choke and she settled into a nice idle.

I've been dying to get the bike fired up to see if the revving method would free up the clutch after sitting all winter. Once warm I revved her 4 or 5 times with the clutch pulled in and shut her down. I pulled in the clutch and kicked her and it was still stuck. So I fired her back up and this time gave her two good revs, the kind that makes the exhausts roar. Shut her down and clutch was free.

Fired her back up, pulled in the clutch, gave her a rev, then once she was back at idle, put it in first. Went in with a "snick" smooth as pie. This convinces me that the rev method, if done with a firm hand on the throttle is a sure fire method to free up my chronically sticky and stubborn clutch plates. Maybe I'll clean them this summer. We can have a lobster and clam boil with the neighbors and I'll drop my plates in the pot when nobody's lookin'.

Took her for a quick spin down the road and she ran like a raped ape. Forgot how solid and good this bike feels between your legs when she's pulling hard.

It's officially spring, lads.

regards,
Rob

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Snakeoil

· #272 · Apr 18, 2011

Ohio-Rider said:
I sure will be changing it now. I'm not sure where half of the things I think of come from.

Yeah, I know what you mean. The 60's and 70's were tough on me, too......

what?

Rob

Snakeoil

· #274 · Apr 18, 2011

Actually, there are a lot of bikes out there that combine engine and tranny oil into one sump and run motoroil in there. The numbers are misleading. Just because motor oil is 20w50 and gear oil is 80/90wt does not mean a nearly 50% difference in viscosity. Gear oil weigts are entirely different from motoroil weights. It's the properties of the oils that set them apart more than their viscosity.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #279 · Apr 19, 2011

I have to admit that I try to avoid stinking up the house with stuff. We have a nice place and there is no reason for me to be spray painting or doing other stinky stuff in the basement. Although I must admit that in winter months I have rigged up a fan that sucks the stink out the basement window and done some spray painting with rattle cans and air brush.

But that all said, I also have to say that my wife never makes a single derogatory statement should I be doing something peculiar in the house. She's grown accustomed to painted parts or freshly plated parts baking in the oven. When I bake paint, I do put the exhaust fan on in the kitchen. I think she's happy to see me playing with my toys rather than sitting at a bar somewhere getting loaded or chasing every skirt that walks by. She never has to look very far to find me, that's for sure. Guess I'm a lucky guy.

She loves all my bikes, too.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #284 · Apr 20, 2011

MoBe said:
Is this the part where someone is supposed to ask if your wife has any sisters Rob?

Her sister is 180 deg opposite my wife. Self-absorbed, ultra-liberal, opinionated as Hell, dishonest (banned from ebay twice for selling knockoffs as real, even got her daughter banished by selling stuff thru her account) and as insecure as you could possibly imagine. I got the keeper for sure. She's Sicilian and cooks like you would not believe. If I did not exercise some self-restraint, I'd look like Haystack Calhoun.

She also loves Tony Soprano so I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that if somebody every does me in, my wife will make him wish he was never born.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #292 · Apr 23, 2011

david_in_ky said:
I put my ks rubber in hot water before I tried it.....and wd40 on the metal shaft. used a plastic hammer.

I would not suggest WD-40 as it is as lubricant. Use denatured alcohol. It makes the rubber slippery and then evaporates and let it get a firm grip.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #303 · Apr 27, 2011

Made an inspection sticker plate for my T140V and then managed to strip the threads out of the left rear fender mounting bolt in the fork tube. I think they were on their way out because the bolt was nice and tight and as I backed it out, it came out hard all the way and when I looked I noticed that the aluminum threads came out with it.

First thought that came into my head is what were they thinking when they specified UNF threads for a tapped aluminum hole?! Could not believe they did this at the factory.

Need to replace the fork seals, and perhaps the fork tubes (scored a bit) so I'll fix it then. Will try to go to a UNC thread pattern and if that will not hold due to loss of meat, I'll just Helicoil it to 1/4-20 and be done with it. Might do them all while I have the front end apart.

Did get the bike inspected though.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #337 · May 9, 2011

I have to chuckle at what you two call good riding weather.

Guess it's all relative to what you are accustomed to.

That's a nice looking Atlas. You just don't see a lot of them around. Did you have to go back with a truck later and pick up all the bits that vibrated off that old Norton?

. Or does your friend have a lifetime supply of Loctite?

Triumph looks good. I like the look of that Corbin seat, too. You are right about them missing the boat by not making some storage space in that rear portion.

Glad you finally got out for a "spring" ride.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #379 · May 27, 2011

looseparts said:
My favorite sentence on the forum this week?

"Felt electrical, so it's probably fuel."

I second that... or maybe third is more appropriate.

MoBe, based on this, you may want to check your petcocks as the source for your hot fuse problem.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #397 · Jun 2, 2011

I've made a number of punches from various pieces of tubular metal, including spent cartridge cases, that I use to make gaskets. Another nice tool is a pair of curved surgical scissors for cutting nice smooth curves or round IDs that are too big to punch out. My wife brings home disposible scapels from work that are really a terrific tool. Most are used throw aways that she puts in the sterilizer and then brings home. I also have purchased new gaskets and simply kept them as patterns for those parts that are not easily traced on a piece of gasket paper.

Check your yellow pages for rubber hose, hydraulic or similar industrial supply houses. They tend to have a great selection of gasket materials that are superior to the selection in autoparts stores. Although I must admit that the new rubberized gasket paper they sell in Pepboy, which is a Felpro product I believe, is great stuff. Very pliable and compresses nicely to fill nicks and gouges in old sealing surfaces.

I need to look into the Hylomar. I've never heard of that stuff before. Sounds promising.

regards,
Rob

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Snakeoil

· #401 · Jun 3, 2011

Fire that puppy up, MoBe and let that aluminum grow and twist and turn and then check for leaks.

Shoot, even I don't leak if I stand still all day... usually.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #433 · Jun 16, 2011

Dragged my very dusty T140V out of the garage and took it for a spin down into the Catskills to look at an R80 a guy has for sale. Bike seems to run better if it sits for a month or so than if I ride it every day. I suspect it is just more appreciative and on its best behavior.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil

· #447 · Jun 21, 2011

RetroRod said:
gatornapper said:

Here are the WoLo trumpet on my FXDWG:

Gee, I built an old Superglide that looked just like that back in the 80's. It was a 71 or 71 FXE that had been wrecked. I put exactly the same paint job on it, laced up a 21" wheel, etc. Only differenece is I kept the original FX rear fender versus the duck bill on your bike and an earlier Superglide tufted seat. Always liked that color scheme. Nice bike.

regards,
Rob

Click to expand...

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Snakeoil

· #448 · Jun 21, 2011

While on the subject of horns, this may be sacrilege, but the horn on Yamaha Road Stars is a great horn and is relatively small in size. My friend had one of those and when he blew the horn I jumped. Nice thing is you could bolt one or two on an old Triumph and they would blend right in.

regards,

Rob

Snakeoil

· #456 · Jun 22, 2011

gatornapper said:
Now, how in the world do I get my wife to go along with this when a.) I just put a bundle in the new SE Road Glide, and b.) there is absolutely no place to put this on my property to keep it indoors!

Maybe the answer to b.) is to take my Tophy 500 to my friend Ray and leave it with him for a top-end rebuild - but he just had a quad bypass and won't be working on any bikes for a while......

Sounds like an easy solution to me, Gator. Time to build a big mutha pole barn with concrete floor. Don't forget the loft so you have room to store all the stuff you don't want clutterin' up the downstair "fun" area. I built a 30x32 barn at my summer place and it was one of the best things I ever did. I spend more time in that barn than I do on the deck.

regards,
Rob

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