Triumph Build

I am getting ready to start a Triumph unit twin build.  I sold my 1970 rolling chassis to a motorcycle building school in Japan.  Pretty cool concept, they said they have restored hundreds of Triumphs over the years.

I retained my 1969 TR6 engine which is very buildable.  I plan on rebuilding the engine myself and try to do this bike as cheaply as possible without sacrificing on quality.

I have an original Wassel peanut tank and ribbed rear fender that I will be using and I just purchased a front frame loop off of a 1964 TR6.  I am going to order a hard tail frame assembly from Factory Metal Works here pretty soon and get it mocked up.  I have used their products before and was very pleased with their quality.

No doubt there will be a lot of pictures of custom Triumphs on this site as I go along.  I have a rough concept in mind but haven't ironed out all of the details.

Here are some pictures of a few bikes I really like.  I think some are from The Jockey Journal and others I don't recall where they came from.

This is a pre-unit but I really like the lines, looks old but cool !!

A Few Good Knuckleheads !

These pictures came from numerous locations on the web, I apprecite their useage and as I said before anyone is welcome to taking them from my site.

On The Wall

A Rude New Culture

I am constantly baffled by the new rudeness that the internet, texting and tweeting have brought out in our society.  People have no problem insulting you and even cursing at you over an on-line message.  It makes me wonder were we are heading,.  In the old days you at least had to speak to someone over the phone to state your opinions and insults, let alone in person.  I had a young man flip me off the other day, he had a big smile on his face and was quite pleased with himself. He was going in the opposite direction and was quite safe in his actions. There are folks out there who will take these things personally and follow up with some action. 

If you feel the need to insult or just plain unload on me at least have the intestinal fortitude to do it in person.

Triumphs On The Brain

Ever since I picked up the 1970 TR6 I have had Triumphs on the brain, no not stock ones, full blown race bikes !!  Indeed, faster is better.  I am working on a deal now which may put me into a land speed project (again).

Cool !!

1970 Triumph TR6C

I ran across these pictures on The Jockey Journal.  A very tastefully done TR6, I am logging 1970 Triumph pictures in case I build my bike.  I keep adding parts to my TR6 project and I still don't have a dime invested in it after I sold all the extras that came with the purchase.

My TR6R as it sits today

1909 Curtiss Wright Single Cylinder Engine on E Bay

There is a super rare Curtiss Wright motorcycle engine for sale on E Bay.  Curtiss only made motorcycles for a short period before he dedicated himself to developing and building aircraft.  He started out building bicycles and then on to motorcycles.  In 1907  he built an 8 cylinder motorcycle and set an amazing record of  136.36 mph.  That was unimaginable at that time.  I have never built a bike for speed yet but I  understand that making a bike do 130 mph at Bonneville is still difficult.

If you read up on Curtiss you will find an amazing individual who probably did more for early air craft development than anyone, including the Wright Brothers.

He only built motorcycles from 1901-1913 so this engine is way rare.  It looks like he also has some period correct wheels to start a build with.  You can go directly to auction by hitting the link below.  I dug up a few pictures on line that show several top ends from the period so do your home work before you purchase.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181024247620&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#v4-40

Chained Lightning

Here is an Excelsior Super X hill climb bike.  I love these old beasts, Bivens had an 8 valve Indian in his shop a couple of weeks ago and I could stare at it all day and not lose interest.

1970 Triumph TR6 For Sale

1970 Triumph TR-6

This is a Triumph I found in a shed a couple of weeks ago, it was dusty and crusty but surprisingly it is in pretty complete condition. It has a non matching 1969 engine and a 1970 TR6 chassis.   The chassis is only missing the right rear motor mount, if I can find one I will include it in the auction.   The pictures do not show it, but I just ordered a right side foot rest.  The paint is the original Spring Gold which is correct for a 70 TR6.
: The serial number on the frame is BD40274TR6R
: The serial number on the motor is BC12870TR6R
I bought this Triumph from the son of the deceased owner, he said it has sat since the 1980's and that the ownership documents were lost over the years.  I have a Bill of Sale from him and will do a Bill of Sale to the new owner.
The engine needs a complete rebuild but does turn over. There is a hole in one piston..  It come with the correct carburetor.  Comes with quite a few extra parts and will be sold on a Bill of Sale only.
I cleaned most of the chassis up and worked on the wheels enough to see that the rims need to be re-chromed or painted.
Things I know that are missing:
Exhaust pipes
Both gauges  (it does have the mounting bracket on the triple trees)
Headlight retaining ring

I installed a set of new Euro style bars and picked up a bunch of other parts not shown.   I guess I will keep adding parts and see what happens.
I am sure there are other things missing but it is a very nice Triumph project. It comes with more parts than I show in the pictures. 
Asking $2800.00 but I will consider a trade or partial trade for a Triumph Bonneville, TR6 or Tiger T100 pre-unit project, must have alloy top end.  No iron heads..

Any questions, call Tim at 951-992-9839

Rusty Joshua – Wolfman

I told you Knuckleheads are cool!

Btit Race Bikes

Indians

Some pretty cool Indian race bikes.  The middle bike has an overhead valve setup on it, very rare and very expensive.

If I remember right most of these pictures are from the BubbleVisor Blog

Vincent Comet

Heres a minor motorcycle project for you, just assemble and you will have a genuine Vincent !

Picture from MoArt

President Elect Barack Obama

 

 

True Heart

“Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.”

~Evel Knievel

 

What ever you might have thought about Evel Knievel, he had a ton of heart and made it on his own with not a lot of help.  That is an element that has gone missing, the desire to ACHIEVE !  (anything)

Grace

My wife Laurie and Gracie.  She loves anything outdoors from playing in the dirt, watering the trees or puttering in my shop (Gracie, not Laurie).  We all went to La Jolla about a month ago and she was in heaven playing in the water and sand.  Yes, being a grandfather is cool !

Cool picture from the Vorhese Blog.. One of my favorite blogs
http://vorhese.blogspot.com/

Jim Morrisons' Honda

OK here is a story that still keeps me awake at night.  This same exact Honda CL77 was listed in the local Craigslist for pretty close to a year.  I looked at it and waffled back and forth over the owners asking price of $2K.  It didn't look this good when advertised.  Bottom line is I was too cheap and didn't move on it.

I just received my latest copy of  Motorcycle Classics and opened it up to read the story of how this bike was traced back to Jim Morrison with iron clad provenance !  I about flipped out.  The paint job should have been enough to get me to at least get in my truck and go look at it.  It happens to have been painted by a guy by the name of Kenneth Howard who actually owned the bike after Morrison's death in 1971.  The present owner has two standing offers of $75K but is holding out for much more.  You know what, I hope he gets it !

Hill Climber

I went over to my favorite Indian guru's shop today and what did I see, this exact machine !   This thing is beyond cool.  It is an absolutely original 8 valve Indian hill climb bike.  I heard the story of how the present owner acquired the bike and I couldn't believe it.  Not at liberty to disclose details but it was amazing to say the least.  It was bought from the widow of the man who actually hill climbed it. 

Yes folks, they are still out there.