My nieghbor never had a bike, and I looked at a few for him...then he finds this Triumph, parked in a barn since '84! Looked it, too, rusty, tatty, but complete. And it RAN!!! sounded pretty good, no knocks or clanks, and it didnt smoke. So we rolled it in the truck, and I took it all apart.
He found another one, w/o an engine, and we grabbed the front end off it- TLS, the other TLS front end is for sale- and I got it all stripped down....as soon as I can get that crank pinion off, Ill split the cases and have the crank boiled out. The frame & swingarm is powdercoated, the tin is getting painted at a pro shop...got most of it in the basement, right now. Petrol tanque is gorgeous.
I got 2 wiring harnesses, which Ill strip and using the listed color codes, make a new harness incorporating a 4 fuse box, Boyer ignition, Podtronics volt reg, and run the headlamps, horn, and ignition thru relays, so that marginal Lucas switch gear dosnt have to work so hard, and the crummy kill switch and connectors dont make for voltage drop @ the Black Box....
Right now Im waiting to see what the crank looks like- boil it out, new big end shells, at least- new swing arm bushes/pivot. Roller steering head bngs...Ill try posting pics as I go. Bore are nice, the clutches needed to be pryed apart they were so stuck after 30 years. Just a re-ring, no need for boring/pistons. Ive been cleaning nuts & bolts and polishing a lifetime of tarnish off the case covers.....is there a local old Brit shop in the GTA? A squirrel sitting on a vast parts pile? Just the thing for a long winter.....its been a while since I had my mitts on one of Her Majesties finest.....
Last edited by Mutt; 12-03-2011 at 06:53 PM.
Reason: as per request for paras....
A lead for a crank pinion puller? A chap answered my advert - Im selling a set of Trident carbs- and said he may have such a thing....Ill go down to his place with the carbs, AND the engine, and see.
Day 2 or cleaning nuts and bolts. The incredibly tarnished case covers are responding splendidly to Mothers alloy polish, 0000 steel wool, and a king hell lot of elbow grease. Meanwhile the head is still at the welders- some broken fins getting replaced off a junk donor head. When I get it back, Ill be bringin it by a machine shop to see if they can ream and sleeve the guides. Less violence done to the head....expect more stuff back from the painters in a few days. Havin fun.....
"tutorial" as in pass on knowlewdge/experience...I was contemplating the 10 cans containing the Triumphs fasteners, and thought Id explain why theres 10 and not one.
As I dismantle each section- say, take off the forks/steering head/front fender, thats sub assembly gets its own marked tin can for the fasteners and small bits. The oiltank/battery holder/ chain guard has a can, the rear fender/rails, the rockerox/head, and so forth. As I remove nuts/bolts/washers, I put the washers/spacers on the bolt & thread the nut on a few turns, .....makes reassembly simpler.
To clean them, I use paint thinner, mostly- diesels a good cleaner but leaves oil on it, and Ill be wantin to paint a lot of the bolt heads and so forth, so they dont rust. I drain the can into another can with a bunch of holes in the bottom, into a sacrificial meat loaf pan that holds the smaller brackets and such, then dump that cans worth of nutsnbolts onto a rag, then put them back in the original marked can. This makes reassembly SO much quicker/easier.
One big pile of nuts and bolts is really a PITA , when you think about it.
Today I saw a small shop down on the water that was STUFFED with antique and not so antique machines, a indoor bike junkyard of many neat treasures, most in various states of apartness- Ariels, Norton singles, a Knuck HD, a R90s-rough, that one- early Jap iron, and heaps and drifts of loose bits....nice fella. Bought my old Triumph Trident AMALs Ive been using as a book stop for years....but any Trumpet pinion puller was somewhere in the vast heaps of bits.....
the once rusty jugs, with the nice bores, now look smashing under a few coats of gloss black engine enamel......if I was still single, it would be two hours in the oven at 300F to cure the paint, but I have a Higher Authority to answer to these past years.....so it'll have to wait to fireup to cure.
Roller Derby- wildwimmins from around the world!- will take up this weekend.......the bike will have to wait.
Paras! But the grammar and spelling we are both stuck with.....
I mentioned relays, above, for handling loads like headlights, and for minimizing voltage drop for electronic ignition control boxes, which are very sensitive to the voltage they recieve.
"Voltage drop" means what you are getting at the ignition, or the headlight, isnt the same as whats at the battery.....frinstance, dirty switch contacts mean resistance, and overcoming that resistance costs voltage. Your volt meter may well read 13 volts at the battery, but add dirty/burnt switch contacts, slightly oxidized connectors, several feet of wire and, you might have only 10or 11 volts at the accessory....the other volts have been turned into heat.
Not so much of a deal for a tail light, but a big deal for a lot of electronic ignition boxes, like Boyers, that wink out around 10.3 volts....the new MkIIII model evidently winks out a bit lower.....which becomes a bigger issue if you have one of those new fangeled "electric starter" gadgets.
The starter is drawing a lot of current, and the supply to the ignition has to overcome resistance at those mentioned points...
The other way a relay works is by ma,ing the switch have to just carry a very few amps....the relay is simply a small electromagnet, when you activate it, it slams shut a set of large, sealed contact points, that then delivers the current to the accessory- here, Im talking about a headlight, and ancient Lucas switchgear, which really isnt up to supplying the power to a 60-80 watt highbeam.
The relays I use for this are a pretty common car parts store item, a cube about an inch on a side. (in the states, 6-8 bucks, but Im learning EVERYTHING is $$$er in Canada.) Used usually for fog lights, they are good for 30 amps, some higher.
There are two main types, one thats off/on, good for kill switches & brake lights, horns, and such, and one thats "on" one leg, and when you activate it, goes "on" the other leg. Just the thing for high/low beams.
No more trouble with your switch gear..... a straght line from your fuse, to your relay, directly to the accessory. Minimal chance for resistance....
I gather many folks here are into more modern machines....this is all directed at folks who like older rides. Next to a good ground, gettin full voltage to your sparky bits saves a lot of roadside mysteries.....
The 30 amp relays you are talking about are generally called Bosch automotive relays, which is the original manufacturer. Even the no name ones are still generally called Bosch relays or 'Bosch style' by the manufacturer. If you E-Bay 'bosch relay' you'll find them and they are pretty cheap with harnesses/sockets.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks