Was going to have a quick spin yesterday after a project dedication but a noticeable flabby rear tire stymied that. Shame, the weather was lovely just. So today I’m sorting the inner tube out with a bit of old fashioned rubber cement and vulcanized patching. Never my favorite thing…
At least I’m not stranded on a country lane with s flat tire!
Oh yes; due to a long tiring day yesterday this post is for June 6th.
Got the bike ready for a sunny jaunt tomorrow into Michigan. Memorial Day weekend ahead and the morn is meant to be a sunny day. On the road by 7 so the highway will be lightly trafficked. I’ve put in new clutch springs and set screws to tighten up the plates.
Inspirational words from the great IF poem by Mr Kipling. It comes in handy with vintage motorcycling. Roadside wrenching, perfect twisties, adjusting tappets, purring engine…
Daylight from all sides. Yup I’d take this space to fettle away at my moto mechanics. Bike stand, bench, tool racks. Just need a kettle…
As every laddie knows he gets most of his curiosity from his father. When it comes to things mechanical my dad seemed to make sure I wasn’t afraid of fettling with things. Taking things apart is the only real way you can start to understand how things go together. Putting them back together? Well that’s another story!
“This here is the petrol tap”.
Happy Birthday Paw!
Sometimes you get to the end of the year feeling like a worn out Triumph. Sludge in hidden crevices, collapsed seat, flat tires, dull finishes, all the oomph has gone and scarpered… Well, another year rears its head as well as the downhill side if the decade (whatever that means!).
Nope, it’s not a tire burnout. Though a steroid made Speed Triple is good at that…
and no, it ain’t a pack of Marlboro…
I have a good bellow of white smoke from the Bonnie when kicked over and started from cold. A little burning oil and condensation, but it revs strong. It needs a good run. Light anyone?
The Bonnie has been suffering from a little wet-sumping. That’s motorcycle incontinence to the general public; with this Triumph typically when a mote of debris has been sucked up from the scavenger into the oil pump. Itself a pair of pistons driven from an eccentric pin off the inlet camshaft.
Sprung ball bearings prevent backflow but can be jammed open with said unwanted grunge. Access and disassembly is straight forward under timing cover.
Buttoned-up, kicked over and timing sweetened. Took the old gal around the block and all seems good.
The bowels of the Bonnie: several hours of close inspection and reconnecting the synaptic parts of the central nervous system, or loom, looking for escaping electrons. A few joints looked suspect so were replaced.
Wiring reminds me of a plate of pasta; you need to follow it strand by strand. Add sauce and then things get interesting. Of course there is that intersection on the M6 near Birmingham. The traffic equivalent of my motos wiring. Take a wrong slip road and you’ll end up in Edgbaston rather than Wolv’rampton…
Gravelly Hill Interchange.
Keeping on this Gremlin theme here’s another informational graphic. It taken a mere hairline crack in a ships hull to let in water allowing it to rust out and leak or fracture. “Keep the Navy Afloat”.
Same with motorcycle frames- all joints need to be solid and secure. Don’t let those little bugger’s in!
Fall temperatures are here, and with them a bit of color to add to the backdrop to a ride-out. Color was my language too with six breakdowns on the ride home. Engine cutting out. After fettling a couple of loose connections under the seat, twiddling air screws on the Amals and pulling the plugs to view their condition. It’s all pointing to an electrical issue somewhere… A gremlin has taken up residence in the workings and I need to flush ‘im out….
Beautiful sunny early September Sunday afternoon. Had a place to go in Lake Forest so I took the bike… The run out was just perfect: quiet roads, cooling breeze, sunny skies, bike ticking over well. Coming back? Bike didn’t start (at first) and ran a bit rough on the return journey. Thinking it’ll stall at any moment I nursed her home… Battery had good charge, oil level good, but didn’t check the plugs… Hmmm . A new model moto sounds better all the time…. ! Press button to start and go!
After nearly two months laid up in the dark confines of my workplace’s subterranean garage, the bike saw some oily mitts getting some much needed work done. This was to button up the primary cover, setting the pressure plate, reaffixing the rearset which overlaps its rear bolts, and topping oils to enable a smart kick of the starter to roar the engine to life…. “She Lives!”. It was all a four handed task so my friend Dean offered extra paws to arrange bolting.
Test ride tomorrow!
The weekend is here… An open weekend ‘road’ ahead…
Bike is off the road: repairing the clutch and putting new sump plug/filter in. Waiting for a couple of parts. So I’m busy with house projects…
Midsummer Mechanics: I need to strip the clutch due to slipping at higher revs. It comes down to modern oil being used: way to slippery for the old Triumph semi-wet primary case which shares oil with the crank. I need to degrease and decontaminate the friction plates. The first gear shift has been getting a bit notchy too; typical of grabby action. I have half a mind to pull the basket to get into the sprocket and up the size a tooth or two for a better top speed.
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