Time to rebuild my 14 year old motorcycle

LastManOut · July 27, 2014, 6:40pm

It was staring to show signs of wear and tear after 14 years of buzzing around the area, but mostly I wanted to redesign some components and upgrade a few parts. Add some chrome here and there, maybe freshen-up the paint job.

I’m planning on going through the motor, swap the camshaft, lifters timing chain, etc… - transmission, shifter, torque converter - fuel system - brakes - front end - upholstery - differential seals, bearing and ring & pinion - and more chrome. (Every piece of chrome adds five HP.)

Todd_Brody · July 27, 2014, 7:02pm

I’ve got a '71 Triumph Trident you can do next.

LastManOut · July 27, 2014, 9:18pm

You want me to put a 350 c.i. Chevy in your Triumph?

SteveF · July 27, 2014, 9:22pm

Todd, that Triumph looks almost like a '72 Yamaha 650 that I had once. You don’t suppose that Yamaha stole the design, do you? Nah, that would never happen.

Todd_Brody · July 27, 2014, 10:28pm

Not looking to put a 350 in it, just restore it.

Stealing from the British could never happen. The Japanese would never steal anyone’s design. Oh wait a minute, Honda got sued by Harley over the Rebel.

Son_of_a_CNR · July 27, 2014, 10:31pm

Todd Brody said:

I’ve got a '71 Triumph Trident you can do next.

I take it that is not a current picture of your Triumph triple. Lucky for you parts for them can still be found. I hope you do restore it.

In the late 70s I bought this 1971 BSA Lightning for $700. Notice the ugly beige frame (actual factory colour), the previous owner’s metal flake sky blue paint job with stick-on pin stripping, crash bars, upswept handlebars, and cheap upswept mufflers.

I took the whole motorcycle apart that winter, except for the transmission. Fortunately I had kept the genuine BSA shop manual, parts list, and shop tools I had imported from England for my 1966 BSA Lightning that I converted into a café racer in the late 60s.

In the spring this is what it my BSA Lightning looked like, and it ran beautifully. Although I could not restore it to its original colours, it did look more like a British motorcycle in black.

I was able to scrounge a set of original handlebars from a local dealer. He was more than happy to give them to me when I told him I was restoring the motorcycle. The mufflers were bought from a local cycle salvage dealer for $25. They were so grubby you could not tell they were chrome. It took the better part of a day with oven cleaner, Gunk, and Autosol to restore them.

I only got to ride it for a year when my wife decided “WE needed a bigger bike.” I sold it for $1,000. I owned 10 motorcycles during my first 23 years of motorcycling. None of the rest sounded as nice as my BSA Lightnings.

After a 25 year absence from motorcycling, this May I bought myself a Honda CB500 twin for my 68th birthday.

I am thoroughly enjoying this new bike, and usually spend a day a week riding the back roads in cottage country. It’s not a BSA, but it certainly is fun.

Ben_Hancock · July 27, 2014, 10:32pm

Nice lookin Trident. I used to have two 71, 750 Bonnevilles. Then I traded up for an antuque Harley.

I started building a Ford 302 powered trike a long time ago, but lost interest in it.

Son_of_a_CNR · July 27, 2014, 10:48pm

I considered buying a new 2014 Triumph Bonneville T100 this past winter. They look much like the beautiful Bonnies of the late 60s. In the 60s a Bonneville cost $1300 here. Now a new Bonneville is $13,000. I paid less than $7000 for my new Honda.

Todd_Brody · July 28, 2014, 4:17am

Paul Norton said:

Todd Brody said:

I’ve got a '71 Triumph Trident you can do next.

I take it that is not a current picture of your Triumph triple. Lucky for you parts for them can still be found. I hope you do restore it.

In the late 70s I bought this 1971 BSA Lightning for $700. Notice the ugly beige frame (actual factory colour), the previous owner’s metal flake sky blue paint job with stick-on pin stripping, crash bars, upswept handlebars, and cheap upswept mufflers.

No, that’s a stock picture. Mine has a disk brake front from a '73 from when I dropped it on Mullholland, but I still have the stock front end (with bent tubes), and even extra sets of conical hubs. IIRC, it is #1,100, and I paid $700 for in in 1973-1974. I used to ride it to college.

It really only needs the spokes and wheels redone and probably has rust in the tank by now.

It ran fine with ~1,100 miles on an engine/clutch/trannie/tires rebuild when I parked/non-opped it ~20 years ago. It’s been stored in the garage under a cover all these years.

A collector on MLS was interested but it never panned out. I’d like to see it go to a good home.

SteveF · July 28, 2014, 2:10pm

I find it interesting that BSA stands for British Small Arms.

Son_of_a_CNR · July 28, 2014, 3:07pm

Steve Featherkile said:

I find it interesting that BSA stands for British Small Arms.

Yes, if you Google BSA it will show links for the motorcycles and the rifles. Early BSA motorcycle logos included the stacked rifles.

Son_of_a_CNR · July 28, 2014, 3:24pm

Todd, PLEASE get a hold of the Southern California Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Community of America. I am sure their members would be delighted to buy and restore that handsome Triumph for their own use. If you would prefer to keep it and have it restored, I am sure they would be able to recommend some reputable vintage motorcycle restoration people or shops.

Todd_Brody · July 28, 2014, 6:35pm

Thanks for the links Paul. I may just do that.

Of course I could always drag it out to Cook’s Corner (not far from here) if I had a trailer.

http://www.cookscorners.com/

Todd_Brody · July 28, 2014, 7:01pm

Current state of the bike.

Son_of_a_CNR · July 28, 2014, 7:49pm

It would be better to get in touch with the SoCal AMCA. They would probably give you a better price for it and restore it properly. That would be a lot better than having some yahoo hack a cheap chopper out of a rare motorcycle that appears to be in good shape. A wash and wax would double its value.

To give you an idea of the value of a properly restored triple, this 1971 BSA Rocket 3 sold for $31,000 at the 2012 Los Vegas Motorcycle Auction A friend had one and the metallic orange paint looks far better in the sunlight.

If you weren’t so far away I would buy your Triumph from you. The British motorcycles of the 60s and 70s were classic motorcycles. Far more handsome than today’s Japanese motorcycles with their discoloured exhaust pipes, lopsided mufflers, sway back seats, bulging plastic panels, ugly plumbing, and grasshopper rear ends.

Todd_Brody · July 28, 2014, 8:14pm

Paul Norton said:

A wash and wax would double its value.

To give you an idea of the value of a properly restored triple, this 1971 BSA Rocket 3 sold for $31,000 at the 2012 Los Vegas Motorcycle Auction A friend had one and the metallic orange paint looks far better in the sunlight.

If you weren’t so far away I would buy your Triumph from you. The British motorcycles of the 60s and 70s were classic motorcycles. Far more handsome than today’s Japanese motorcycles with their discoloured exhaust pipes, lopsided mufflers, sway back seats, bulging plastic panels, ugly plumbing, and grasshopper rear ends.

I was asking for $3,500 and that includes a ton of spares, like the original front end, extra conical hubs, extra wheels, a new seat cover (still in the box), a new battery (still to have its acid added) and of course a sissy bar with a rack that I used to hold my books for college back in the day. There is even possibly a disk brake rear end from a '75 in the loft.

A local friend keeps saying he wants it, but it never happens.

JRad · July 28, 2014, 11:01pm

Todd - the motorcycle is nice but the Vette caught my eye. I can’t quite see; is that a '63 split window or a later StingRay? My brother had a '67 until it was damaged as a side effect from a messy divorce in the 90’s. He sold it because the body was no longer a virgin!

Todd_Brody · July 29, 2014, 12:05am

Jon Radder said:

Todd - the motorcycle is nice but the Vette caught my eye. I can’t quite see; is that a '63 split window or a later StingRay? My brother had a '67 until it was damaged as a side effect from a messy divorce in the 90’s. He sold it because the body was no longer a virgin!

It’s a '64. You can see it featured on the Velocity Network on Wheeler Dealers in the first two minutes of the show where they restore the '64 Corvette.