The brake project ensues. After several weeks of slowly accumulating, cleaning, assembling the components for the upgraded stopping power on the Bonnie I was finally able to put parts back on the bike. After much finagling several fitments I have come to realize the basic upgrading from one model to a latter one may be a little more involved than one might think.
Hope to wrap this one up on a week or two (weekends only); hope she stops like a crowbar in the spokes!
In the work to upgrade the stopping power of the front end of the Bonnie I’ve had to strip, clean, renew seals and reassemble the mechanicals of the proposed disc system. The master cylinder bore was polished out with a piece of green pan scrubber on a home-spin mandrel. The caliper recesses brushed out with a Dremel mounted brush and all items scrubbed down and seals pre-soaked in brake fluid. Assembly was straight forward apart from an awkward inner circlip that slipped and sprung the inner workings of the masters piston gubbins across the kitchen… Hope it all goes on the bike as easy!
Blog Post Script: One of the bearings was too small ID for the axle to install…. “Made in China”. 0.5mm too small! No amount of coaxing or freeze-shrinking would get it in. So I’ve ordered Japanese sealed bearings instead. I want these puppies to work once rolling!
The day after Christmas is of course the observed holiday for tradesmen, service personnel and other workers of the world (well in some Commonwealth related countries). The day after that is all back to business for the grafters… Here are two nearly identical photos of a Triumph assembly line 3 decades apart; one lad is working on a 750 on a Meriden Co-op line, the other a beefy Thunderbird 1600 of more recent manufacture.
Factory life is an interesting aspect to review especially related to the British motorcycle industry. Next few days we’ll investigate.
Now this is a lot better! Johnson Motors Inc. in California hauled around their two-wheeled wares nicely ensconced within the bed of a beautiful Chevy 3100 truck.
Lined up with motos ready to deliver to their Pasadena owners who are anxiously waiting to get out on the Pacific backdropped highways.
A period image from Catalina in ’56 shows these carriers had a classic Triumph white and blue color scheme. Smart Stuff!
My nephew Dan turned 14 today, so I had to give him some worldly advice… well, all I felt suitable for the early teen was this thought. He might look as though he knows what he’d doing, being a dab hand at wrenching by all appearances, but ask for some references… or see how clean his workshop is and organized his tools look. Sea Otters are the same, give them something bolted down and they’ll have it apart in a snap, or at least cracked open with a rock!
I love ink lined technical drawings showing exploded components. You can see how it all goes together. Here’s excerpts from the Triumph Workshop Manual for a ’75 T140V/TR7 of the front brake system. This will help me with my updated stopping project as mentioned yesterday. I can see the draughtsman lined up in a smoky office at Meriden, Coventry poring over a Mylar sheet taped to vast drawing boards. Examining with a keen eye over the top of a thick pair of hornrims, parts sent up from the development workshops. They occasionally make sure their Rotring drawing instruments are filled, tapping their briar pipes occasionally on the heel of their oxfords.
…and if you’re going to go fast, you’ve got to be able to stop too! I’m slowly acquiring parts for the front end to set up a disc brake system. The conical drum brake standard to the ’72 T120R is okay for delicate slowing maneuvers but when you need to slam on the anchors then they’re more comical in reality, you always have to think ahead with traffic and have a potential run-off space – which you should do anyways when riding!
Basically as the front end of the late model 650 and it’s beefier 750 younger brother (the T140V or TR7) were much the same; all I have to do is swap out the fork lowers, add a caliper, hoses and brake lever with master cylinder, and change the wheel to a disc braked one. Well, the eBay searches have been going well, indeed some items are coming with extra stuff that I can flog off to pay for itself. Get some new seals, stainless hoses and stainless pistons then Bob’s yer uncle, the Bonnie will then ‘HALT’ on my two-fingered command!
With your feet on the air
And your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head’ll collapse
If there’s nothing in it
And then you’ll ask yourself
A rainy day allows a few maintenance items to be addressed. Points sweetened, oil level checked and a sprint around a couple of blocks to warm the moto’s blood and blow out a few cobwebs. The throttle gives a firm grunt, brakes snap-to and movement both straight and cornering is supple. Hopefully another bright autumn day on roads yet lies ahead this year…
Mostly there, ran when put away some years ago. Battery flat… and in a barn somewhere. Kicks over when it feels like it… but need to put your weight behind it. Tires hold air.. for 45 seconds… cracked rubber in some areas. Tank rust free… behind badges. Titled … when bought 40 years ago; can’t find now. Handlebars upside down.. looks like cafe racer… be a hipster! Original seat… from another model. No chain… lying on a road somewhere. No lights… so it was raced like a beaten mule. Would make a good project. Buy it, strip it down, dunk all parts in WD-40 for 18 months, crate up, move house several time toting crates around with you, finally get around to restoration, pull hair out, cry, bleed, spend too much money….
Then one day…
Motorcycle maintenance was on the cards for this morning… Taking out the Boyer electronic ignition and putting the points back in. The garage was hot and humid and after four hours of sweating, kicking, cursing and nearly calling it quits at least three times, it roared to life. Set the timing advance and it settled into a old fashioned twin grumble.
Don’t ever tell me you never learn anything from this blog! Here’s the instructions I used for setting the points timing:
These bikes are time adjusted at full centrifugal advance (38 BTDC), not like other vehicles at idle or start-up
first all, before setting timing, set gap on each point where the little scribe on the cam is pointed to the points nylon lobe, and set the gap at this position only. This should be just after they start to open. (.015″).
Now, just take the cover off the rotor (front left case with 3 screws and TRIUMPH logo) and line up the scribe line to the pointer by turning the motor over slowly. This is 38 BTDC. At this point, turn the cam lobe on the point shaft as far to the right as it will go (centrifugal advance unit). Adjust the point plate to the spot just where one of the points breaks contact. Tighten the point plate. Spin the engine 1 full revolution so the pointer and scribe is lined up again, and turn the cam as before (this time it will be 180 out and pointing to the other point. Loosen the top and bottom of this point set and there is the eccentric screw to raise or lower the point assembly to set the point to it just breaks. Lock the screws down.
Now start the bike with the rotor cover still off, and check the timing with a light. Rev up until the scribe meets the pointer and doesn’t advance any further and confirm with the static settings you just performed. If it is too far, you will need to adjust accordingly with the eccentric adjustment. Do this with both spark plugs as each cylinder is independent to each point and coil. Yellow/black wire is for left cylinder, white/black wire is for the right.
I popped into Ace Motorcycle & Scooter earlier today to get a couple of service items to fettle some old points I’ve gained from EBay. They have the parts but the owner/Brit bike specialist wasn’t there so I’ll have them mail the items to me. This place is backed-up with motos awaiting work to the gunwales. The popularity of old bikes in Chicago means they need another Good mechanic. Not easy to find! However this place gets good feedback.
Triumphs of the past were all shod in Dunlop’s, K70’s being the tire of choice for a little mixed surface conditions probably found on British roads in the 60’s. That distinctive tread pattern has a good graphic quality to it, like some cable knit Aran sweater.
Great tyres, but that helmet! A Charlie Brown pumpkin would work better…
This sorry assed excuse for a bike broke down again today… Twice! Something still up with the ‘lectrics; I think the charging system is bein’ a lazy sod. Perhaps reconfiguring it back to a points system and eliminate the battery. When it runs; nowt better; but as soon as it conks out it’s one oily sum’bitch of a Moto!
…and put that ruddy gearbox back together. Tsk, tsk; the sheep out on t’fell are having a break whilst this Border Collie gets busy with moto-mechanics. This is a BSA B31 gearbox. “7/16″ Whiworth spanner please Shep!”
The Central Line takes electron passengers from Battery to Earth; meanwhile on The Northern Line some passengers are mad they’ve been redirected to the District so then the lights go off on the Piccadilly line…
This coloured schematic of the wiring typically seen in a British Moto reminds me of the classic graphic map used on The London Underground.
I may as well just take the bus; where is a Routemaster when you need one!
geordiebiker.com 