Harman & Collins Triumph Desert Sled

This was the shop race bike for Harman &Collins. Was raced by Don Bohannan. Don was a Ram then became a Checker.

Up In The Air - 1960 - 1961 TR6C

Triumph T&M Shop T110

Back in 2008 there was one of those very rare, actually worthwhile and super cool threads started on the jj by "Dusty" about his old T&M Shop, Street or Strip Triumph. Check it HERE. Well I got a neat email this week from another back in the day T&M Triumph owner that is hoping to track down his old bike and he sent me these pics of his old T&M T110  Triumph with a warmed up head, crank and flywheel with 9 and 6 cams and an 18 tooth engine sprocket for the quarter. 

"I had this bike custom built by T&M Motorcycle in 1963 while stationed at Turner AFB. I sold it to a guy from Calif stationed there also before I went overseas in 1965. I don't remember his name or where he was from in Calif. I worked for Duain Taylor during the day and preflighted four airplanes on second shift. Duain owned T&M and built The Deuce and Grandma. Anyway I was just wondering if you had ever run across my old bike or any remnants of it. Some of the gas tanks on your website looked similar to the one on my bike."   JO

From 1962 here is two other T&M Triumphs with Dusty on the left and Ernest McDonald, the shop painter, that rode "The Rebel" on the right. During the '50s & '60s some shops developed a local formula, show & go or street & strip, establishing a distinct style and these three bikes are a classic example of that.

Custom Aftermarket Engine / Gearbox Mounting Plates - 1960 - 1961 TR6C

 I bought these alloy engine / gearbox mounting plates off ebay about 7-8 years ago. I have no idea who made them but being right and left sides with rounded edges makes me think they are not one off parts and most likely production items from an aftermarket company. Anyone recognize? They are 1/16" thicker than the stock steel plates and a lot lighter.

All of the drilled holes are right where they should be, except for the top gearbox mounting slot.

So a stock plate was bolted up and slots were marked and center punched. 

Holes drilled and next the slots were cut with a jig saw. 

Due to the plates being thicker than stock the bottom two mounting points needed to be milled down. Down the street at my Dad's garage his low buck garage milling machine was put to use.

Next came some polishing and hand detailing and presto, custom alloy engine / gearbox plates. 

Drags & Hill Climbs

From the Chuck Adams family / Edgy One archives

Thanks to Rene for the link.

1962 Bonneville For Sale

Bob has this sweet unrestored 1962 T120 Bonneville for sale.

 

Thanks Ton Up Jonnie for the luggage rack and Wellworthy Cylinders!

SOLD

"Desert Special" Triumph Sled Oil Tank

Found this customized oil tank a couple weeks ago in a long closed down motorcycle shop that had specialized in Triumph's and BSA's. I searched far and wide in that shop but could not find any more related sled parts or any remnants of the "Desert Special".

In keeping with the "as found" patina philosophy, I only wiped the dust off, that way the tank could be put on a survivor bike and look the part. I'm usually bummed when I find any good old piece of formed sheet metal with a dent on it, but in this case the overall condition couldn't be any better.

The added breather tower in place of the old filler cap shows that this tank is modified for serious business. The relocated oil filler tube is baffled inside and keeps the cap at the top height of the tank. The caps were moved to the outside on sled oil tanks so the seat would not have to be disturbed to add oil.  

The mounts are for mid 1960's to 1970, 650 and 500 frames. I do not have a specific use for this tank right now and even though it would look great on my shop wall, I will entertain interesting trade offers. I'm looking for similar parts for 1960-62 duplex frame Triumph's. Skid plates, oil tanks, 15/16" throttle handlebars, seats, etc. OR....?

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The 1970 T100C project I have is going to get this tank. No added breather and not the fancy baffled filler, but the bike is going to be more of a trail bike than sled. I took this to sell at the first MC swapmeet I went to over 20 years ago, but lucky for me it didn't sell for the $20 I priced it at. I wish I still had the other's I sold before I knew I was going to get over the bolt on hardtail scene.

*** Ted's Triumph's Competition Special *** Desert Sled Blueprint

SoCal Gearhead Artist BOMONSTER hooked me up with this high quality scan months ago and now it's time to spread the word. In 1967 his dad published a motorcycle results paper called Rap Up. He wrote the articles, took the pictures and created the ads including this one. This is about as good a Triumph desert sled blueprint that you're going to find. There are a handfull of other mods that were done during that period, but this ad shows the majority of the most common. Check out his BLOG to keep up on his work and travels.

El Camino Triumph Desert Sled

Looks like a Checkers Club machine and has many of the desert sled specific mods of the time, a little unique that it has lights. In recent years I've seen a few survivor sleds in unwashed condition like this one and I think it really adds to the story of the bike and is something that once lost is gone forever. Cheers to the guys that own these soiled survivors and are smart enough to leave them as is. Pics by Jon Rispante.

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! 

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

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.

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.

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.