[coloradobob]

Ton up

It was the warmest day since November today, 66F, so time to ride them and get them ready for another season. The Trident was the first to go. It was the usual 40-mile shake down cruise to my favorite biker bar. I took county roads to the Windjammer at the reservoir south of mine. There was only a bit of slower traffic (all Harleys) and I ran it on the howl up,down and around the route there. Dang it sounded good. The usual beer and red chile fixed my low energy problem. The bike ran great through the switchbacks and sweepers and did the first ton of the year. 7500rpm in 4th is exactly a ton with the 20 tooth sprocket, but this time I rolled on in 5th and was pleased at how quickly the speed climbed. The 2nd time up, it cut out a bit right at 7500 rpm, 100mph, going uphill, but I only had one fuel tap open--oops. It is a tradition to do the ton before all oil changes, and the T150 got a fresh batch of Valvoline 20/50 motorcycle oil and a filter. The TR6 was next and the whole area knew it when "old reliable" fired up on the 2nd kick. The Dunstall megaphones speak in a very clear voice. I ran out of daylight after replacing a red handled petcock with a traditional style one. I was disappointed that the red petcock failed after many years/miles. The TR7 gets a new Amal this year and if it's not here tomorrow we ride anyway. Everything else has Mikuni's, but the TR7 is tuned for an Amal Mk 1 and that SOB runs! I just need one more layer of confidence with the new Amal 932. I went one size bigger after consulting with Burlen and we agreed that the cam and big-bore needed a little more carb.
Spring is almost here. Our vintage motorcycle club has planned twice-monthly rides for the entire summer. If you are going to be in the central Rockies this summer, you are welcome to ride with us. I have decided most of the routes, including several 200-mile rides, and most of the meeting spots, but I am still considering on a few details. Check with Phantom Canyon Chapter AMCA. I'll have specific dates posted after I get back from Florida, in 2-3 weeks.. What's your favorite biker bar? Bob

 

[gatornapper]

Bob - every word had me drooling. Can't imagine all of 66 degrees. Love hearing of your rides, only wish I could have been behind you and tried to keep up. Can't believe you push that Triton to 7,500 rpm.......you're living the very words "Ride it til it scares ya" Double-darn garantee ya if I get there, I'm buyin'......

Can you please explain the tradition of doing the ton before all the oil changes????

"Enquiring minds want to know....."

 

[gatornapper]

Today: began removing the old fuel line on the '71 Trophy 500 and installing a new, braided transparent line.

As per CoBob's suggestion, I changed the oil filter today on the '72 T120V in preparation for tomorrow's 150 + mile ride with 72BonnieCafe after we meet not far from Ft. Lee, VA. She has 256 break-in miles on the new top end now, and it's good to have a new oil filter on. Other good news is that nary a drop of oil was missing since I added just a little at about 100 miles into the break-in.

Jared's (72BonnieCafe) not sure which of his 5 Triumph's he'll be riding tomorrow, but hinted it might be the '72 Bonnie Cafe' racer even though he's trying to sell it ($4,500 if you are interested). I'm really looking forward to meeting him and seeing his awesome craftsmanship.

Needless to say, pics will follow tomorrow's ride....

 

[coloradobob]

The ton must be done

I started doing the ton with the original 72 TR6 as an indicator as to how it was running. At oil change time, I would do lots of other routine maintenance: chains, air cleaners, torque bolts, check plugs, tire air pressure, spoke tuning, and a general overview. The 72 TR6 has gotten me 107,000 miles and 41 states and counting. It has had dozens of oil changes and I have done the ton before every single one of them. I ran out of time to do it today, but at 100mph, I expect no misses, wobbles, or sour-note sounds. Until an engine blows, I staying with the system; so far--so good. Bob

 

[jimmy bush]

Polished another lower fork leg and assembled both forks with new stanchions, seals and wipers. Installed the forks in the lower yoke and filled with oil. "Franks Forks" sure deliver a nice product. Sorted bolts and hardware I had Zinc plated. Cleaned and polished the tachometer I'll be installing on the bro's bitsa. Cracked the glass on the speedo whilst disassembling to free up the action. Gotta find a replacement glass.

 

[gatornapper]

I started doing the ton with the original 72 TR6 as an indicator as to how it was running. At oil change time, I would do lots of other routine maintenance: chains, air cleaners, torque bolts, check plugs, tire air pressure, spoke tuning, and a general overview. The 72 TR6 has gotten me 107,000 miles and 41 states and counting. It has had dozens of oil changes and I have done the ton before every single one of them. I ran out of time to do it today, but at 100mph, I expect no misses, wobbles, or sour-note sounds. Until an engine blows, I staying with the system; so far--so good. Bob

Ok, gotcha. From now on, I'll be following your example on my T120. But the T100C will have to have another standard, cause I'm sure she was never meant to get that tight......

 

[coloradobob]

750 650 500

There's as much difference in power between the 750/triple and my 650 as there is between the 650 and a 500, especially at the top end. The 650 takes a good piece of road to do the ton and all of the longest straight stretch of road near here. The Trident has a different top end and the rpm's climb quickly above 6k. The 650 takes minutes to get that last 10mph, chin on the tank. I still haven't run the 750/3 and 750/2 to compare, but the twin is much lighter and has way more torque and a narrower profile. I still suspect that howl beats roar. The mystery will be solved soon. Bob

 

[endeavour]

Hi All,
Hibernation nearly over???
Took the rebuilt T150V out for a spin to do final adjustments on throttle/clutch cable now running sweet and sounding as good as ever.
Don't judge me but on Thursday went to the Kawasaki new model launch and closed the deal on a new W800 (trading in my 08 Thruxton) the bike is beautiful Hinkley take note.....
Going to the classic bike show in Comber(NI) today unfortunately too cold for the bike!!!

 

[MoBe]

Today it`s off to the shop to work on the `73,fixing the frame where it was improperly welded together,but not before I check in on my friend`s Harley,the one I laced the new wheels for a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Stratofaster]

Hmmm...that didn't go very well. No spark. I have never had no spark in 33 years of owning that bike. Has the Boyer died? I doubt it. Probably a loose connection somewhere. I'll figure it out later.

I ended up riding the T-Bird all afternoon. Not a terrible consolation prize. I'm glad I got to ride it these past three days because the good weather is done for a while. Freezing rain and snow are on the way.

 

[bird900]

I stroked mine.

 

[loctitekid]

Waiting for Parts

The 6T is waiting for guards and tank to come back from the restorer.

Today I cleaned the underside of the bike (again), nipped up the bolts retaining the sump plate (again), looked at the weather (33C fine sunny hot) put on a clean T shirt and went for a ride on the '95.

No prospect of rear guard before the end of Feb.

 

[roverlad]

Clear but cool today with temps hovering around 5°C so fired up the old girl ('72 TR6R) for the first time since the top end rebuild (started first kick!) and went for a little 40 mile romp to start the break-in of the rings. All went well.

John

 

[gatornapper]

Well, this was yesterday, and in fear & trepidation of a double-post, I'll proceed....

Took my T120V for a twisty, 50 mile ride after giving her a good coat of mud going up my 1/2 mile mud drive (taking $$$ collections for gravel....) and loved every minute of it. Two good friends were behind me on their new Harley's, but even at low loads, no more than 1/4 throttle and 4k RPM they couldn't keep up with me in either acceleration or the sharp curves..... 50 deg. when I left, 42 when I got home.

Let her sit & cool down for 1/2 hour after getting home and hosed her down good to get the mud off. Well, most of it anyway.

Cold & rain all week, so I'll have to find something to twiddle on.....

 

[MoBe]

I find it hard to believe that no one has done anything with their vintage Triumph over the last several days,nonetheless I`ll be continuing my frame beutification efforts today on my `73.

Some moron reattached the rear of the top frame loop without the up kick,so yesterday I managed to heat both sides of the frame simultaniously with a torch to restore the proper angle to the loop.The rear fender was mounted so low that the tire was rubbing the inside and being gouged by a couple of bolts!The lovely black rust paint should be dry today for the reattachment of the fender and other bits.Too bad that the same moron was too lazy to mount the correct grab rail,it too is bent and poorly fitted.I think it came from a `71 or `72 and does not fit the `73.I will put it back on for now but it needs replacing to make things look right.

:GoodLookin

 

[Stratofaster]

Don't feel too alone, MoBe. I tried to start my old beast last week and found that it wasn't sparking. So today I pulled the gas tank off so that I could check out all of the wiring. Wires from the Boyer black box look OK. Wires on the coils look OK. Spark plug leads are solid. All wires from ignition switch look OK, and headlight works.

So I pulled the plugs, re-attached the plug leads, turned on the key, kicked her through and of course, both plugs are sparking perfectly.

So I'm thinking, maybe one of the wires is being pulled out of a good connection by the gas tank. Put the tank back on and the plugs are still firing.

Well, as long as I have the tank off I think I'll torque down the head bolts and adjust the valves. Been meaning to do that this year anyway.

 

[Ming]

Today the temp climbed to a tropical +4c so I re-fitted the primary case and took the old tart out to test the new clutch springs I fitted several weeks ago before the temp dropped to "freeze the nads off a polar bear" clutch works perfectly but the bike somehow didn't sound 100%,when I got home I realised it was because it the first time I had ridden it wearing a full face lid !! DOH !!
Bill.

 

[Rathlindri]

I finally got around to fitting a hydraulic switch in the brake line for the front brake to replace the pesky mechanical switch inside the right hand handlebar housing which didn't work most of the time despite repeated bodgery. It was really simple and I'm scratching my head wondering why I didn't do this sooner. Very unobtrusive, the inline switch sits well hidden, behind the headlamp....another wee problem solved

:Mexican wave

 

[jimmy bush]

On a friends '71' 120, I cleaned the clutch plates, dresssed down the grooves in the clutch basket and hub, replaced the primary chain, clutch thrust washer & rollers, reassembled and adjusted clutch. Replaced the headlight bulb and installed a pilot light assembly.

 

[gatornapper]

Pulled the "Bonneville" side tins behind the air boxes to swap them out with much nicer ones that 72BonnieCafe has for me that have the "Bonneville V" on them......500 mile break-in oil change is next, then putting on the period mirrors, Dunstall mufflers and front turn signals I'm getting from 72BonnieCafe as well.......