I'm a complete vintage Triumph Noob. I've never owned one, I've never ridden (operated) one, I've never wrenched on one. I didn't stay at a hotel last night. I'm determined to rebuild two of these Triumphs. One of them, the Triumph TR6C was in many ways, one of the first popular "dirt bikes" in America. The Desert Sled. I won't be attempting a full, correct restoration on either of them. I intend to ride these things! I will go over them in great detail and rebuild/replace anything that needs it, but I won't be making garage queens. The engines will be completely rebuilt however (more on why later)
A Desert Sled example:
Triumph TR6C once owned by Motorcycle Hall of Famer Mike (Party Animal) Parti.
Another with some dude who helped make them famous and so very cool.
There's a ton of info out there on the 60's era desert racing if you are interested. You won't see anyone doing back flips (intentionally) , but you will see some crazy people tossing around 400lb bikes with virtually no suspension, at speed. I get arm pump just watching these guys.
Going into this, I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never stopped me before, lol. Sometimes that works out, other times not so much. This is going to be a hell of a learning experience and I'm going to document all of it. I'm VERY lucky to have developed friendships with Triumph and vintage motorcycle guru's over the years who have graciously volunteered to help out along the way. I wouldn't attempt this without them.
Back Story
I've been a fan of the 60's era 650's since, well, the mid 60's.
My first experience with one, at 8 years old. Summer of 1968. Taylor, Michigan. My aunt's (she was 20) fiancé owned a 67 Bonneville. It was beautiful. It was FAST. There was no way in hell I was allowed on that thing. I suppose I can't be grounded (more likely get the switch back then) at this point so I'll fess-up: I'd meet Ronnie (the fiancé) around the corner and off we'd go, ripping gears and generally acting stupid... many good memories from all the rides that summer.
Come on, Get To It!
Anyway, when I got the chance to bring these home, I jumped on it. There's another whole story about where they came from and how I got them. I'll make another thread about that eventually.
Updated: Pics of the three Triumphs I recently "acquired". The history of each is known (going back to mid 70's). Details to follow in another post. The 1967 Triumph TR6C rebuild will be in it's own thread eventually.
1967 Triumph Bonneville.
Numbers match, title is clear and transferable. Bike was running when he parked it in '92. Says all it needs is new oil and new battery and someone crazy enough to trust the dry-rotted tires. I won't be attempting to start it any time soon. There's another bike that's inline for a rebuild first.
Tank color is wrong and obviously repainted. Apparently the first owner had it painted black for whatever reason. The second owner (who I got it from) wanted it back to stock color. Right choice, wrong painter. There's junk in the paint (maybe he shot it in this garage!), it's clear coated (they didnt do that in the olden days, lol) and the color is incorrect (way too pink). I've sourced the correct paint and procedure to reproduce the factory paint job. Eventually, it'll be done.
Yeah, they used to run around without air cleaners I guess that was a pretty normal occurrence back in the day. Frame and all "black parts" have been powder coated. This was an earlier '67, still has the Amal monobloc carbs. Part way through that production year they switched to Amal concentric carbs.
Forks are "stuck" ... or sprung for a NFL lineman.
And that's the dusting even under a make-shift cover. It was last on the road in '92 (per the plates and the owner). 27 years of "storage" in this dusty garage. I guess SoCal garages get pretty hot, the adhesive holding the knee pads let go, found them on the floor.
I'm told that's the original speedo & tach. If so, 5,600 miles. Looks about right based on a lack of worn-out stuff. The bike is supposed to be all original. I'll have to rely on the knowledge of others to find out if that's correct.
The plates. On the far left you can see the 1968 T100C (with high pipes).
A Desert Sled example:
Triumph TR6C once owned by Motorcycle Hall of Famer Mike (Party Animal) Parti.
Another with some dude who helped make them famous and so very cool.
There's a ton of info out there on the 60's era desert racing if you are interested. You won't see anyone doing back flips (intentionally) , but you will see some crazy people tossing around 400lb bikes with virtually no suspension, at speed. I get arm pump just watching these guys.
Going into this, I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never stopped me before, lol. Sometimes that works out, other times not so much. This is going to be a hell of a learning experience and I'm going to document all of it. I'm VERY lucky to have developed friendships with Triumph and vintage motorcycle guru's over the years who have graciously volunteered to help out along the way. I wouldn't attempt this without them.
Back Story
I've been a fan of the 60's era 650's since, well, the mid 60's.
My first experience with one, at 8 years old. Summer of 1968. Taylor, Michigan. My aunt's (she was 20) fiancé owned a 67 Bonneville. It was beautiful. It was FAST. There was no way in hell I was allowed on that thing. I suppose I can't be grounded (more likely get the switch back then) at this point so I'll fess-up: I'd meet Ronnie (the fiancé) around the corner and off we'd go, ripping gears and generally acting stupid... many good memories from all the rides that summer.
Come on, Get To It!
Anyway, when I got the chance to bring these home, I jumped on it. There's another whole story about where they came from and how I got them. I'll make another thread about that eventually.
Updated: Pics of the three Triumphs I recently "acquired". The history of each is known (going back to mid 70's). Details to follow in another post. The 1967 Triumph TR6C rebuild will be in it's own thread eventually.
1967 Triumph Bonneville.
Numbers match, title is clear and transferable. Bike was running when he parked it in '92. Says all it needs is new oil and new battery and someone crazy enough to trust the dry-rotted tires. I won't be attempting to start it any time soon. There's another bike that's inline for a rebuild first.
Tank color is wrong and obviously repainted. Apparently the first owner had it painted black for whatever reason. The second owner (who I got it from) wanted it back to stock color. Right choice, wrong painter. There's junk in the paint (maybe he shot it in this garage!), it's clear coated (they didnt do that in the olden days, lol) and the color is incorrect (way too pink). I've sourced the correct paint and procedure to reproduce the factory paint job. Eventually, it'll be done.
Yeah, they used to run around without air cleaners I guess that was a pretty normal occurrence back in the day. Frame and all "black parts" have been powder coated. This was an earlier '67, still has the Amal monobloc carbs. Part way through that production year they switched to Amal concentric carbs.
Forks are "stuck" ... or sprung for a NFL lineman.
And that's the dusting even under a make-shift cover. It was last on the road in '92 (per the plates and the owner). 27 years of "storage" in this dusty garage. I guess SoCal garages get pretty hot, the adhesive holding the knee pads let go, found them on the floor.
I'm told that's the original speedo & tach. If so, 5,600 miles. Looks about right based on a lack of worn-out stuff. The bike is supposed to be all original. I'll have to rely on the knowledge of others to find out if that's correct.
The plates. On the far left you can see the 1968 T100C (with high pipes).
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