Nicely Done

Perfect Balance.

And one of the best ways to set up the rear half of your Triumph.

Check it out HERE.

2010 Garage pics

As 2010 draws to a close I thought I would post up some random pics of the recent goings on in my garage. I slowed down big time on the blog the later half of this year because of my regular day job becoming more time consuming, my scanner taking a dump and getting this cycle shop to a point where I have everything where I can actually work on things properly. I have plenty of old printed material to bring the blog content back to its original format. Maybe someday I will, until then...

The 1961 TR6C disassembled in preparation to get the frame ready for restoration. All in a days work with the help of a six pack of Coors.

A fresh batch of four Triumph Traveler tubes made by Frank's from an original I sent them. Still need to have new bushings made and come up with some 30" long internal springs. The springs are proving really difficult to source. If anyone can help please let me know. Yes that's rain water creeping in across the floor during a heavy storm.

The top of the project list frames putting their heads together.

One burner propane tank heater lit up.

Been test fitting parts on the bike table for the last couple weeks for a true show & go project.

I did manage to rack up some good miles and make some killer runs on the Bloody Nose this past Summer. The bike is broken in to perfection at this point. I would love to keep it forever and wish I could. I have a lot of history and great memories with this machine, but I just can't afford to keep it if I want to continue building bikes so it is going to go up on the auction block in a couple months when the time is right.

'Tis the season for a 1966 Sno-Go

I found this modern day picture on flickr recently. I can't believe someone actually owns a pristine restored example. Lucky man!

Mark Drews "Solitary Confinement" Pre-unit Showbike

Although I loved it at first sight, I have to admit that I didn't fully understand this bike at first. From the first pictures I saw I thought the gas tank was just the tiny scallops at the back and did not see that it is actually see-thru with the front portion being made of lucite, matching the hand made primary cover and motor mounts. The more images of the bike I've seen the more I get it and after looking at these latest pics from Kaz I realize how totally out of site this Triumph showbike really is. I think this custom is one of those builds that has to be seen first hand to be fully appreciated and I hope I get to see it up close someday. Stretch has been covering this sweet machine with links to more pics and it's connections to other custom cycles of the past. Absolutely traditional, yet a ground breaker that takes the California show bike style one step beyond...

2010 Mooneyes Yokohama HRCS

A big thanks to Kaz for sending me the link to all the photos he took at the show!

Bates Seat Restoration

Bought this 1960's vintage Bates seat on ebay a few months ago. Pretty worn, stained and scratched, some small holes around the back edge and the original blue color sucks. That was the bad. The good points I liked about it is that the shape of the pan fits a Triumph swingarm frame perfectly, the seat strap is kinda neat, the leather is still soft and not dried out at all and the overall shape & design is exactly what I was looking for to use on my 1970 T100C Trail Bike project. I've never seen this exact type of Bates seat before and probably will never see another one again. RARE.

So I did some net searching and found some outfits doing leather restoration. Some of the before and after pictures were quite impressive. I contacted Advanced Leather Solutions that sells DIY kits as well as doing restoration work. After sending some pictures I was quoted a price for restoration and dying the seat black and I got the seat on a UPS truck. A couple weeks later I had my seat back looking almost new. I couldn't be happier with the results. The original cost of the seat from ebay was a little over $100, the restoration cost was $300. Maybe a little pricey, but $400 is what a guy has to pay for a decent seat for a late model Harley and this is a vintage piece of history that has been given a second life. There is no substitution for genuine Bates leather.