Friday, September 28, 2012

Forks Installed - 1960 - 1961 TR6C



I was going to do a post on what exactly was done with this custom fork build, but since it's all a bit experimental and I'm more into trying to get it right than take pictures constantly, here's the short story. Stock 1970 shuttle valve fork tubes with the upper small hole filled with weld because the inner spacer piece that goes between the two bushings has been shortened by one inch. This makes the forks one inch longer and more importantly gives an extra inch of travel. The shortened spacer idea came from old articles on desert sled fork tuning where they would sometimes remove the entire spacer for more travel. There are many different combinations you can do with the Triumph forks 1947-1970, some good, some not so. To make up for the shortened spacer you need to either use a longer spring or add a longer shock abutment on bottom or top. I used Cub top spring abutments that came on some models for a short period of time in the early 60's (anyone got the exact timeline?). These were turned down around the top to fit perfectly into the top covers and shortened slightly in a lathe to give a final spring pre-load of about 7/8" of an inch. For springs I used some of the progressive types sold on ebay for about $60. The covers are cut down and re-chromed MCM FC-2's. I love the way they look, but am really hoping that they work better than your typical mid 1960's stock type clunkers! 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Lee Thiessen's 1969 Triumph 500 Sled

Got a message from Lee with a pic of his ongoing 500 sled conversion and good tip on running the Shinko Trials tires I have on my TR6C project.


I am in the process of finishing my sled - I think your tires are Shinko trials tires - I am running these on the 69 - I have played with tire pressures - at 35 lbs they are squirrelly on hard top - due to their soft compound - I am running them at 22 lbs now and have noticed a huge improvement - must admit that ridin gravel fire roads up here in Canada have alot of KTM dudes taking a second look at the sled!

Cheers, Lee

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Gearbox - Shocks - Rear Wheel - 1960 - 1961 TR6C



 WR gearbox in frame. 20 tooth drive sprocket from the Dick Rios collection I bought last year. 46 tooth removable type sprocket on the rear wheel.

The shocks and rear wheel are installed for good after being removed for minor adjustments a few times.  The shocks are a mix of Hagon and Girling parts. Medium rate Hagon shocks with NOS 70/100 progressive Girling springs and rechromed Girling covers. Like a lot of stuff I am doing with this dual purpose project, these are EXPERIMENTAL.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

1960 Wide Ratio Gearbox Restored 1961 TR6C




Last weekend I finally got the 1959 cast date 1960 model wide ratio gearbox restored. All new bearings, bushings, seals, springs etc. I had to swap out a handfull of gear cluster parts with better parts I had in the stash, but I'm real happy with the end result. 

The forks need to come back apart for some further fine tuning. I'm using 1970 tubes with the shuttle valve dampners with the rest of it being earlier 60's parts. There will be some minor  custom mods done with this experimental design I am working on that I will cover in a future post.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

MOON Motorcycle Trailer


About a month ago I pulled this bad boy home from Solvang, CA. A few weeks previous I got a message from JORDAN letting me know that him and his Dad were gonna sell the Moon trailer and they wanted to give me first crack at it. COOL! A couple weeks of selling parts to come up with the money and I was down there drinking a beer and shooting the shit while Jordan's Dad got me all lined out with the tail light wiring. A couple of true gearheads and all-round great guys. It was getting kinda late when I left so I decided to sleep in the back of the truck when I got to Kettleman City. After a couple hours of trying to fall a sleep in 90 degree weather and truckers bugging me out, I got back in the truck and drove all night to get it home.



Build pics of my 1960-1961 Triumph TR6C project coming soon. It's going to fit real nice on this rig with the back of the truck full of beer, food and gear for cycle camping trips.