Leaned over, with a streamlined fairing, speedy pace and a determined pilot aboard; this Cub is the part. Seventy Nine Tickety Boo!
September 11, 2014
Stonewalled
Evocative portrait of a Triumph Cub. Grassy lanes bordered by a beautifully crafted dry stone walling. You can hear the singles clatter echoing off gritstone hedge. Pennine Fells beckon the rider higher to wilder trails.
September 10, 2014
♂
The bulldog breed: symbol of masculine power. Mars the bringer of War; the spear used in the symbol of male gender. Also the alchemists symbol for iron, thought to be the red planets composition by early stargazers. It is actually Iron oxide or Hematite. Fe2O3
I would hope that rust won’t affect the diminutive Tiger Cub…
August 28, 2014
Small is Beautiful
A right looker it appears: selling the nimble featherweight attribute of the diminutive Cub in the mid fifties. This must have looked quite sharp for its day.
June 24, 2014
Light the Blue Touch Paper
When you talk about the history of racing Triumphs; one legend comes to mind: Gary Nixon. His superlative skill on road, track and trail. His Number 9 adoring the white and blue bodywork saw numerous victories for this dogged and respected racer.
A pint sized repli-racer: a well fettled Cub resplendent in Nixon ‘Blues’. Small in stature but big of heart. It looks like an outstanding wee tool.
June 23, 2014
Get the kettle on!
Tea goes hand in hand with motorcycling. Perfect for quenching a thirst after a good ride. Here’s Steve enjoying a cuppa whilst filming a tunneling scene in the Great Escape. Niele looks on.
Our man Martin is a big tea drinker. Famous for having a waam mug o’ chai always handy. Overalls and V12 Vantage Aston Martin seal the deal for enjoying the good things in life.
Of course cafe (PR. caff) racers hare between the edge of town ‘greasy spoons’ and the mobile transport cafes spaced along the A roads of England. Here’s a perfect one complete with outdoor seating and fluttering flags.
It’s not their outward appearance that draws the clientele. As long as the brew is warm and wet, the food freshly cooked, then you’re set!
“The Greezies”: egg, sausage, bacon, beans, mushrooms, black pudd’n; and a slice (white bread with marg). All washed down with a tea! Perfect! Back on the road to head home…
Classic period shot of a Triumph Cub rider at The Sunset.
June 22, 2014
Let’s go Fast
A Cub adapted for speed work: looks like the Salt Flats with big pipe, low bars, skinny tires and lightweight clothing(!) Though not as streamlined as Rollie Free on his Vincent.
June 3, 2014
Hoofer
The kick start was the owners way of getting the motorcycles engine spinning up for ignition up until the early to mud seventies. It takes a little finesse, careful setup (lest you get an ankle biting kick-back) and a smooth, but hefty swing of the leg. Getting your weight over it eases the proceedings as is an audience of zero. Add one or two bystanders and it all goes to pot. Misfire, blowback pop, slipping pawls or over zealous throttle to get the engine revving like its being mistreated.
When it all goes smoothly and the stars are aligned it can be a beautiful thing: swoosh, crack, put-put…. Into an low rumbling idle…
The road awaits!
May 27, 2014
Nose Art Tank
Another example of the aggressive shark tooth’d grimace seen on the warbirds of WW2. This would look smart on the Tiger Cub tank. Not too much more room for the bomb ridin’ gal though. Olive Drab and red backed pointy teeth gives a nasty bite! Gnash!
May 19, 2014
Baby Cub
A hint of what we can expect soon… A sneak peek at the future new Triumph Cub. We’ll explore this further…
May 13, 2014
Danny’s Cub #9
Perhaps my next project? A flat track Tiger Cub. Light the blue touch paper and stand well back…
Just need an oval of dirt and tip ‘er sideways.
May 9, 2014
Quartermaster
Four square: as the project heads into the final laps I need to get my head into its appearance. So I’m reviewing various examples of trials set up Cubs. This one has the footpeg and rear brake positioning necessary for the slow and deliberate riding: placement further back to allow a standing stance on the ‘pegs giving correct weight distribution. The kick start is also a folding bent crank to swing past these rear placed pegs. The high-mount exhaust and small ‘seat perch’ add further neat details to the proceedings. I won’t have this alloy tank, using the typical Cub tank of the period. It is a nifty looking machine!
May 5, 2014
Prime Directive
The clutch slotted into place easily this evening with primary chain and crankshaft sprocket also slotted onto its splines. New friction plates and springs should give the clutch refreshed bite. I bolted the cover on and dropped the cylinder head temporarily into place to get a feel of the engine as a complete unit. “Lookin’ Good Billy Ray” “Feelin’ Good Louis!”
May 1, 2014
Jack of Cubs
Growing up the flag of the United Kingdom was called the Union Jack. Now apparently it has been given its ‘correct’ term as the plain old Union Flag. The ‘jack’ flag being the bow flag hoisted on the jack staff of a naval ship. It’ll still be the Union Jack to me…. Well until the loss of St Andrews Saltire when Scots independence occurs.
Nevertheless it looks pretty good on the petrol tank of a Triumph Cub too!
April 30, 2014
Drawing on Experience
After the last few entries of assembly here’s a review of the exploded workshop manual drawings. I’ve posted these before during research but now we’ve seen the components go back together they have more life.
The cylinder head with valves; crankshaft, pistons and timing cams. I like the penmanship of these technical drawings, you can see the draughtsmans unique hand in them.
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