Bud Hare

For those of you that haven't seen these already:

The coolest early Triumph customs wore Mustang gas tanks! Check the chromed stock rear fender bottom with ribbed Wassell on top.

Early Days

Found another neat quote from Borris Murray on Dragbike.com that I thought would go good with this photo of Rich Richards riding Pam Too.

"Don McAvoy was also one that was out every weekend, racing Rich Richards and his "lil Pam" at Colton and the "Dale". It was always nip&tuck 'tween the two. They are the two that got me hooked on racing my Triumph. It didn't take me very long to get up to their speeds. Eventually I got ahead of both, which earned me the trip to England in the first "Drag Safari" from the States. Perry & Scotts' double and Dick Rios' "Two-Timer" were also there,..got a lot of attention,. as soon as I got home I built my first Double. Put em both away the first summer in match-races. I was proud to be the victor, but sorry they 'hung it up' after that. They both had super neat bikes, but couldn't turn 160, and quit trying! I'm sorry 'bout that. Don McAvoy also built a double Triumph, - McAvoy was the man that taught me all I knew back then about using nitro, with benzol yet. We finally heard about P.O. ~ Boy, did things change ! I even tried hydrozine before that,-- a big mistake ! Don even tried mixing black gun-powder with his nitro,.. didn't work.-- During those early days Rich was the man to beat, on his "Lil Pam" Triumph. God Bless him. One time I rode Dons' Triumph at Santa Ana, there were no E.T. lights, just MPH. On a single run Don told me to slowly cross over into the other lane at half-track and go thru' the traps in the other lane. This gave more footage for the 1320 quarter, I went a few MPH faster of course,. a longer quarter ! Don would show Richie his time slips, gee!- musta been the lower altitude, huh ? One was always trying to out-do the other. ~ Of course, that's drag-racing!"

~~~ Boris

Dubble Trubble

Motorcyclist magazine article from 1953. I believe Bud Hare's Dubble Trubble was the very first dual engine Triumph motorcycle. Kinda rough in this first build. Reversing the Triumph cylinder head has never proved worth doing unless it's for show or there is a supercharger connected to it. Still has Rosamond Dry Lake dust on it!


The next version is much cleaner. Both heads mounted in the right direction. Mustang gas tank & a new seat. Smiths tachometer. Triumph gearbox swapped for a Harley transmission. Avon Supreme rear tire.

Southern California Dry Lakes Scene

Dual Thunderbird engines with BTH magnetos

Later it lost the tach and gained some chrome fork covers and a big bad 16" Inglewood Drag Slick.

New owners by 1955 from a Motorcyclist magazine clip

Different owners again in 1956 and if Borris Murray's memory serves correctly, eventually being sold to Dick Rios at some later time and becoming THE TWO-TIMER.

Dick Rios' TWO-TIMER

What's up with three control levers? One's the hand shift! This article mentions the first ONE-TIMER that Rios built before the double. A 130 MPH, 10 second machine!

1964 Hot Rod

SHOW-WINNER

RACE-WINNER

1965 Cycle World

Below are a few pictures with comments from Borris Murray that were found at Dragbike.com

"The float bowls were mounted remotely not to keep the fuel from 'frothing',.but so that you could adjust the float level to the carb. If you look closely at Rios' engines, you'll see that the outlet from the float bowl is a bit lower than the carb inlet ! This caused the motors to lean out just a bit on the top end, ( a poor-mans lean-out). didn't work out all that great for Rios, but it sure did for me ! Lean thru' the traps made "some kind of power" !
Boris-

"I think Double Trouble was the bike that "Ewing & Seber" had early on.(spelling?) Dick Rios bought it and called it The Two Timer, he had a lot of help getting it to turn 150's from Don McEvoy. Perry & Scotts bike had no name... those pics were taken in England on our
"Drag Safari", Perry&Scott were there too. (neither ran for beans).. Alf Hagan was top dog on his JAP. I won my class,- 650 fueler. When I got home I immediately built my double, and made the other two retire...never saw them again!

-Perry&Scotts bike was built by a Max Kelly,and had a blower, ran it on gasoline. When Scott acquired it he threw away the blower in favor of running a 'normally aspirated' fueler. A beautiful alloy frame, the likes of Clems' Barn-Job, he just needed better motors and- tuning ! "
Boris-

THE TWO-TIMER WAS ACTUALLY "DUBBLE TRUBBLE? There's definitely a resemblance there, frames look very similar, and they both have a Harley transmission???

Dick Rios' ONE-TIMER Triumph Pre-unit Dragbike

Built in California and sent to Ohio. The factory rigids do look good with shortened forks and a stretched and lowered rear section. Put a headlight on it and you'd have one mean strip or street machine. More Dick Rios stuff tomorrow.

1966 Cycle World

1966 Lion's Drag Strip All Motorcycle Day

The second annual Lion's Drag Strip all motorcycle day hosting over 1000 motorcyclists. Looks light on the spectatorship but the display of lacquers, enamels, pearlescents, metalflake and chrome must have been amazing, with the smell of burning racing fuel, oil and tires filling the air. CAR GUYS GO HOME.

1966 Cycle World

1966 AHRA Drag Racing Rules

PURE HELL

This is the type of info to research when doing a serious dragster restoration or period correct drag bike build. The AMA did not want anything to do with Motorcycle Drag Racing in the 50's & 60's so rules varied from strip to strip around the country. This AHRA booklet is a neat little peice of the puzzle and probably close to what most strips were doing. I do not know if the NHRA had any Motorcycle Drag Racing Rules at this time or not. The AMDRA (American Motorcycle Drag Racing Association) was the first serious motorcycle drag racing sanctioning body and was founded in 1969 or '70. If anyone has any old literature on motorcycle drag racing rules please email: kustomhut13@yahoo.com

And the AHRA was keeping track of it's records as well. This clip pulled from a 1966 motorcycle magazine.

Chuck Adam's "Edgy One" Triumph Pre-Unit Drag Bike

Picture perfect early 1960's Drag Scene

The photos have made their rounds about the web, but here is the backround info from a 1966 issue of Cycle World. A early custom made big bore cyilinder block and some very trick engine building making for a 10 second machine!

The early version before the frame stretch and tube tanks. Show quality.

Need to stretch those legs! New tube tanks and blue frame.

The frame stretch is clearly visable here before paint. From blue back to silver.

Unintended destretch for sure...

1958 Championship T-Bird Hill Bike

Listed on ebay HERE. This thing is pretty amazing, not just the HISTORY, but the modifications to the frame, brakes, and suspension are really impressive as well. The front frame has been modified to put the engine as close to the front wheel as possible, and the rear section has been heavily modified as well. The plastic rear fender would have been a 1970's addition, the bike probably had some type of alloy blade when it was winning the early 1960's hill climb's.

I just read some jj squabbling recently about unit 500 heads being a close fit to pre-unit cylinders and presto, here's the real thing. I've never seen or heard of this conversion before. It's running iron head type pushrod tubes. Benefits? Anyone know anything about this conversion??? This listing says the engine is a 80 inch. Shows what they know. Or am I missing something?

Mechanical disc brake sprotor from the early days! Not sure how it shifts with the brake set up mounted right on the gearbox shifting shaft. Study this BEAST closely and you can find all kinds of neat mods.

New Parts from Webco circa 1966

For "Tank Huggers"

For Steet or Strip Use

This ad from 1966 is the earliest ad I've seen for the big ol' 800cc kits. With big cams and carbs they blew HD Sportsters right off the road. Anyone that has big bore cylinders that they don't want to mess with and would like to sell or trade let me know: kustomhut13@yahoo.com

Dave Kirkland Show Dragbike

Update:

"Hi Paul,
First off, thanks for the generous post on your blog about the drag bike. I dropped the bike off over at my dad's about a week ago (he is an incredible machinist-tool & dye maker). Since then, he has completely torn the bike down, fixed the issues with the forks, and sorted out everything for plating and polishing. We tore the motor down last weekend and it's definitely more show than go.

The first thing that I found surprising was, there were no rings. Part of the case around the push rod area is gone and the rods are trashed! The previous owner told me they had it running at one time. The original stickers on the MCM pipes lead me to believe that it's never been fired.

I purchased the bike from Engle Motors of Kansas City which has been a Triumph dealership since the 1950's. Norman Jones, the owner, purchased the bike in 1968. There are a ton of stories that surround this bike and I am still researching the details of.

I noticed your post on 57' TR5's, and it just so happens that I was at a BSA friends' this weekend and purchased a 57' TR6 along with a lot of aftermarket speed equipment. This looks like it could be a great candidate for a Frosted Pearl recreation. I've included some pictures. Thanks for the words of encouragement on the drag bike, I will keep you posted on it's progress. More pictures to come."

Thanks,
Dave

Ahh, the joys of Brit bike rebuilds. You never know what your going to find in there. Not too long ago I took apart a pre-unit engine for a friend of mine that was full of vintage speed components, and they were all in perfect condition. I rarely find anything exciting inside the engines that are mine and most of the time they are close to what Dave found here. Well the mystery is uncovered, she was all show and no go. That firms up Dave's decision to restore it in my book and I'm looking forward to seeing this old show go'er get prettied up and finally finished right after all those years.

Jonnie Green's 1956 TR5R & Jaye Strait Restorations

Got these pics in a email from Jonnie of his absolutely amazing 1956 TR5R that is #74 of 112 built that year. Looks to be unrestored and completely original. I didn't think any would have survived in this condition. To make it even better it has a TriCor Tachometer kit. Unbelievable.

Original cylinder head and 79 carb set unlike all the restored examples I've seen that have the 1957 Delta Splayed Port head. Green label Lucas Racing Magneto!

These are the first good pics I've seen of the rear set footpegs. Brilliant!

Jonnies bike also has the same handlebars as the factory brochure pics unlike the restored examples I've seen.



David Hernández contributed these two pics taken from "TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES TWINS AND TRIPLES" by Tim Remus, of a Jaye Strait restoration built up from frame and matching engine cases.



This TR5R was restored by Jaye Strait as well for Mike Whitney and now has the correct factory Megaphones added since this picture was taken.

1957 Triumph TR5/A & 1956 TR5R

So the 1956 TR5R has been stuck in my head for awhile now fueling the need to build a period correct Clubman racer based loosely on it's specifications, but with aftermarket speed equipment and a show-bike finish. I have a 1957 TR5 engine/gearbox/frame and a bunch of super neat-o period parts that are calling to me to do this. Above are some rare specification sheets for the TR5R that were emailed to me recently.

One of the interesting bits of information that I have found possibly relating to the TR5 I have is this mention of a 1957 TR5/A Sports model listed in this Cycle magazine feature on the Triumph line for 1957. I couldn't find any more information on this model so I coughed up the dough for the "Triumph Trophy Bible" by Harry Woolridge after being told it was the definitive resource. Well it is a helluva good Triumph book with lots of really cool ISDT bikes that I had not known about and a lot of new information including some more info on the '56 TR5R. It turns out that there were some TR5R's made in 1957 as well with varying specifications and the book lines those out pretty well. Unfortunately there is no information on the various /A and /B models described in the Cycle magazine article. As far as I know /A and /B models were something that was done by TriCor and JoMo as models were changed slightly for customers as well as the competition machines mentioned. So I don't think there are any Triumph factory records for these early /A and /B bikes and whatever info there might be would be in the States? If there are any records of the engine numbers of the TR5/A Sports model I would really like to see them. Anyone that has even a scrap of info on this subject or any parts and literature for sale or trade please email me: kustomhut13@yahoo.com

Snow Or Sand A GO GO

Distributed by Johnson Motors! Imagine the rider with a steel German helmet and a beer dispenser fabricated to fit where the summer time rear wheel would be mounted??? The stuff of snowflake filled pipe dreams...

Moon Eyes Motorcycle Trailer

Maybe not the safest rig for your prized cycles, but how cool is this thing? Dragster wheels and a tube dropped axle with Ford spindles! Two bikes up and a encounter with a bad pot hole is an unslettling thought though...

1966 Cycle World new products article

This pic from a 1970 Peterson's Motorcycle Sport Quarterly

Pearls, Candies & Flakes

Last time I checked Metalflake Inc. was still in business. For the 1950's thru 1970's period correct custom builds it's the stuff to use...

1966 ad

Bobby Clark's 1958 Movie Bike

From the "Rebel Rousers" filmed in 1967. One of the worst of the Outlaw Biker films (and I love old biker flicks), ever made, but some neat bikes and really good actors seemingly ad libbing the whole movie. This lobby photo was issued reversed so I have flipped it here.

As displayed in the 1966 Cycle World Motorcycle Show. Paint and fabrication work by Gary Littlejohn. I'd love to find a custom oil tank for the swingarm frames like this one. This is before Gary Littlejohn started making the Coffin gas tanks. Gary was both a painter and metal worker as well as movie stuntman and supplier of many custom choppers for Hollywood "B" movies. In the "Rebel Rousers" the seat and paint had already been changed. I believe this same bike was later used in other biker movies including "Satan's Sadists" from 1969, but with extended forks at that time.

1966 Modern Cycle

Dad's Old 1952 Thunderbird Recovered

"Hi Paul,
I finally purchased dad's old bike this weekend that I previously mentioned. It is the black bike you mentioned with the Frosted Pearl. The bike went through several owners over the years until it was bought and stored in 1969. It stayed in storage until this past Saturday when I purchased it.

The bike has been heavily modified into a Roth style drag bike/show bike. Every piece of the bike has been chromed, polished or painted candy red.

It has drilled Vincent front forks that have been modified to be rigid. Unfortunately, being a show bike, they rushed it and did not put a top bearing in the forks, which is the first thing that I will be addressing to correct. It also has a Vincent front hub and front rim.

It has a polished head and cases, chromed 376 carbs with custom manifolds, webco oil tank that's never had a drop of oil in it and a ton of other cool modifications.

Unfortunately, the candy paint is badly faded and cracking in several places. I think the bike deserves a fresh paint job and some fresh chrome in a few places.

I would love to hear people's opinion on this bike. I have no plans to modify it other than the possible repaint and some re-chroming as I mentioned. I'll send you some more pictures as I progress."

Thanks,
Dave Kirkland

This has got to be one of the coolest finds I've ever seen. The bike in its 1950's form is a lovely example of a stripped down rigid Triumph built for speed work. It had all the right stuff and was really perfect just the way Dave's Dad had it. But for WOW factor the late 1960's build can't be touched. The later version is more Show than Go, but that was obviously the point. With styling touches of the Glittercycle / Mega Cycle laid on top of pure bad ass Triumph Drag Bike. I love the molding and overall frame & gas tank style. The frame looks to be stretched about 3" in the rear and dropped about the same amount. The overly raked rigid Vincent fork reminds me of Mike Vills show Triumph from the same period that used a extended girder pushed way out to keep the bike level. Negative trail is not good for speed work, but great for show points! Just the right amount of Webco and Bates bits, with what looks like excellent condition rubber all the way round. A gentle resto if you must to get it back to show winning condition and I'm thinking Grand National Roadster Show! What do you guys think???

Surfer Hats & Patches

No Wear After 22,000 Miles?

Give Me Some

Move Ahead of the Crowd

Stolen awhile back from the top notch MC Art Webzine

This is one of my favorite magazine covers ever!

They forgot to mention the ability to ride over Volkswagon Beetles in this ad.

SPOT for a 1962 Triumph Bonneville Street Racer

Damn nice T120 Hot Rod bike. Just needs a Borrani front hoop and a little chrome sport fender would look sweet. Paint by Von Dutch!!!

1966

Some Can, Some Can Not

1966

1966 Triumph Bonneville T120/R

AVON Speedmaster

1966 BSA Spitfire Mk II

Ultimate Speed & Power, IF you can keep those Amal GP's set up right. Plan on tinkering at every stop and don't open that throttle too fast! Not the most sensible street machine, but the cool factor of all the specialty equipment makes up for it, even if the more reliable and equal performing Lightning sounds like the better way to go. A factory correct restoration of one of these '66 models is probably going to live most its life in the museums, private collections and shows these days but that's all right.

1966 Cycle World

1965 BSA Lightning Road Burner

Gonna round out the week with BSA stuff and then next week return to the normal highly biased Triumph content. Ever notice how abundant BSA A65/A50 stuff is? Usually some at every swap meet and usually pretty cheap. Especially if you wait till the end of the day with your low ball offers. I sold a nearly complete A65 engine once at the end of the day to some SOB swap meet cheap skate for $50 because I didn't want to carry it out. I've got a litter of 1966 Lightning engines crowding the floor of one of my work benches now. Besides being cheap they're damn good bikes. Just as good as any unit construction Triumph. Definitely recommended for the poor boy builders. Don't really like the way the weld on hardtails look on them though (I'm guilty of building one of those before, myself). It would be cool to see some guys build custom A65 swingarm frame chops. Oh yeah, the Lightning article. Bob Greene and a new 1965 Lightning out at El Mirage Dry Lake. Good stuff.

1965 Hot Rod

1965 BSA Spitfire Hornet Scrambler

The BSA shirt, painted helmet, machine and riding skill / performance level WITH NO GLOVES makes this photo shoot amazing. Not to mention this is one of the most bad ass Scramblers ever.

1965 Speed & Custom

1966 ad

Accurate Lightening Hole Drilling

Any of you guys have tips on how to get holes accurately marked for drilling on circular parts such as brake drums like this so that they end up evenly spaced? I love lightening holes when done right, problem was most of the time when it was done it was a haphazard job that looks like crap and makes the part dangerous. Is their a mathematical equation to it, or simple method???