68 Triumph T100S.....

[fastar1]

Funny, I'm not much of an old bike buff but when I study that bike and put myself in the shoes of someone from the 70s I can't imagine what could be done differently to make a bike perform better. Well, other than disk brakes which they knew about at the time.

A cast aluminium frame? - Huh, what for? It's not like that spindly steel frame would be heavy.
Liquid cooling? - Meh, with added cost and weight to counter the extra power, not a clear choice.
Electronic engine management? - Hahaha yeah right.
Adjustable suspension? - Say WHAT now!?!
A starter motor? - Again, more apparent downside than upside.

So it's kinda interesting that things did eventually progress, but my guess (correct me if I'm wrong) is that these bikes represent a bit of a plateau in the development of motorcycles for a few years, maybe decades. They were the pinnacle of pragmatic technology at the time. Maybe? Dunno, that's just my reaction.

Looking at bikes today I don't see much room for innovation either, other than standardizing ABS and throttle-by-wire to enable proper cruise control.

Hybrids? - Nah, benefit would be marginal.
Direct injection? - Is it really needed?
Composite frames? - Seems like that woud be a bit overkill.
Runflat tires? - Hmmm OK maybe.

But progress we will. In another 40 years like it or not bikes will be on a whole other level from where they are now.

[Tripletrouble]

I was never interested in getting a newer bike as my Norton Commando was perfect for me. It took me on quite a few trips including down south and never let me down. One day I was following a 1000cc Honda arouind a curve and was right on his back wheel thinking to myself how good I was doing. Just then the rider in front glanced over his shoulder, saw me and vanished like the millenium falcon! Time to rethink. My first test ride was on a '94 1200 Daytona and I was amazed at, not only the performance, but how little effort riding it took. Then I started thinking, this bike is about 20 years newer and what was available 20 years before my Norton? A 1953 Norton? And my Commando was light years ahead in performance. The changes are incremental but always moving ahead. I ended up with a '94 Triumph Sprint now sold and I ride a Rocket III. I still have my Norton and hope to be out and about on it this coming year. The old beasts have a special feel and are tons of fun though.

[Mutt]

Whoa!! THANKs for that link,. JoeT.....neat.

[codemonk]

Update for 2011 Dec 30

Frame is powder coated and mounted on a home made jig. Ready for basic assembly



Parts from the original bike
cleaned , painted , and organized in cans - Here yo see Mutts favourite food


Mutts garage with the engine opened up


Engine opened - close up #1


Also the broken engine head cooling finds were welded and sand blasted. the following two picture shows the before & after state.

before


after

[Mutt]

Im not a fan of sandblasting aluminum bits, but there were two broken fins on this one....donor fins located and welded, and the sandblasting removes the weld.....kept the damn thing outta the head mating surface and combustion chamber. When the valves arrive, Ill swing by some shops to see about seat cutting and the cost of guide inserts, something some Brit Iron guys have been doing rather than replace the entire guide. The cases await only the final cleaning/air blowing, which I do right before assembly. The project advances.
FWIW, Ive been riding and fixing these things for a long time, and Ive never been attracted to "modern"machines....just me, Im a dino. I christened my shovelhead build of 15 yrs ago- my only bike for a long time, now, "Dreadnought", because, like its namesake, it was hopelessly obsolete the day it was launched....... My idea of a modern bike- my only other want- is an xs650.....BSA's being thin upon the ground.....its been too many years since I had a proper English motor-cycle to fettle, and I dont have to pays the bills.....

[Mutt]

Got the head back from competition automotive, L4C 6P3. Replaced two exhaust seats, 80 inc seats, fit four guide bushings- Ive been wanting to try that. $44. for the four, complete. cut four 3 angle seats- they use something like router bits, not stones- $100/4. Seems to be the going rate. They also skimmed the head, enough to show it was flat.
I see now a pocket where a steel washer goes is distorted....Ill have to use a dremel or something to clean it up so the washer sits flat. ill post some pics of the work when The Brains of the Outfit has time to push the various correct buttons. The project is on hold until the next box of parts shows up- swing arm steering head, and front slider seals.....Gotta get the fork in, then the rear subframe bolted on, then the rear fender, battery box, oil tank. With all that in place, I can lay out the fuze box, regulator, Boyer black box, and oil filter all which Im thinking will fit in there.....then start the wiring harness.....

[Hachi-Roku]

Sub'd

[bitzz]

If you are worried about the effects of media blasting on your head you're using the wrong media to blast.

You are correct; you shouldn't blast sealing surfaces with aluminum oxide or course glass but fine glass or walnut shell or plastic media or even baking soda will not remove material from the sealing surface.

I usually start with walnut shell and finish with really really used glass or plastic.

I wouldn't blast a carb with anything but plastic or baking soda.

Talk to "Freak Daddy" at VRRA.CA for info on blast media, or to get your media blasting done.

[Acadian1974]

Got the head back from competition automotive, L4C 6P3. Replaced two exhaust seats, 80 inc seats, fit four guide bushings- Ive been wanting to try that. $44. for the four, complete. cut four 3 angle seats- they use something like router bits, not stones- $100/4. Seems to be the going rate. They also skimmed the head, enough to show it was flat.
I see now a pocket where a steel washer goes is distorted....Ill have to use a dremel or something to clean it up so the washer sits flat. ill post some pics of the work when The Brains of the Outfit has time to push the various correct buttons. The project is on hold until the next box of parts shows up- swing arm steering head, and front slider seals.....Gotta get the fork in, then the rear subframe bolted on, then the rear fender, battery box, oil tank. With all that in place, I can lay out the fuze box, regulator, Boyer black box, and oil filter all which Im thinking will fit in there.....then start the wiring harness.....

Just double check your clearance now that the head's been decked, you don't want to run into problems with the push rod tubes at reassembly (ask me how I know ). Also, as far as your wiring is concerned, take some advice and bypass the kill circuit ENTIRELY, that lucas switch will give you nothing but headaches, just run the white wire from the boyer directly to the ignition switch.

[Mutt]

On the head, barely a pass- just enough to show its flat.....and, yuh- there was umpty changes to the pushrod tube sealing rings and stuff....this is all original, if abused.....I got a gasket set from MAP cycles- they make their own, pretty much.
ANYHOW, tracked down a old machine shop with line reamers from auto kingpin daze- THEM were the daze- usta like working on cars til they quit putting tail fins on them- and the line bored the swing arm bushes I previously installed using the Archemedian Screw:-Althread - and thats now all resting peacefully in the frame.
Im not that big on powder coating- its real tough & shiny, I know- but I've spent a lot of time w/ a rasp carefully removing the damn stuff from mating surfaces- eng and frame bolt up points, swing arm clearance surfaces, cleaning out threads, and so forth. The frame coating part of the job wasn't in my parvenue.....but its shiny as hell, and now I can get to install the oil tank, batt tray, and rear fender & dummy out where the fuse box, Boyer black box and Podtronics rectifier goes.
I assembled the sliders the other day- new seals, a cleaning,, they were good to go. Waiting tapered rollers for the steering head, still, . Hat tip to Geoff, from the BI list and builder of offset Brit bike cranks, for the loan of the nifty special tools.....

[Mutt]

Im a firm believer in a kill switch at your thumb..iI got later alloy switchgear- a joke, compared to Japanese gear of the same era- but I know my around around them- I just use them to control a relay. the small load means they don't burn and so forth. I ran those later switches for years, but they aren't as well designed as a jap bike junkyard find.....but, original kit, they look nice, and say LUCAS.

[codemonk]

Update for January 28th 2012

We got the first wave of parts so some basic assembly is complete. The rest of the parts should be ready in the next 10 days


pic#1- The new fuse box mounted
pic#2 - Observe the integrated cat door and access ramp that is now part of the rear sub assembly.
pic#3/4 - The big picture

[Mutt]

Ive used these type fuse boxes on a few re-wires. The top row of connectors get a wire right down across all of them, connected to ignition switch, and gets a cover made from cutting a piece of fuel line to cover, and a couple dabs of black silicone keeps the cover in place. The cover is below frame rail height, so if the seat pan rubbers jump ship, the fuse box is still not being fouled.....then the various circuits- head/tail, ignition (the Boyer box is velcroed under the battery tray), horn and brake get their own fuse. A couple Bosch relays fit in there, the high/low relay goes in the headlight bucket...After a few years with old Brit bikes with a solitary fuse, this is much better. Im waiting on the sealed battery, I want to see how it fits in the holder. Have an oil filter and podtronics volt reg to site in there, too. Still waiting on steering head bearings and rod bearings....after rasping off unwanted powder coat from mating surfaces and bolting the frame up, I went around w/ a small brush & painted the nuts bolt heads, and washers, as the cad plating is long gone & they'll just rust up. Some of these fasteners are SAE, some are SAE head sizes, but BSF thread, and some the bolt heads are just strange. Iver had a 19/32 socket rattling around in my kit for 30 years, I finally used it. 14MM is good enough on another oddball size. Not Whitworth, either, just idiosyncratic brit stuff.....the fixing bolts for the headlight bucket ARE Whitworth- It a Lucas component- and they are guarded most jealously. They were chewed up from "PO's using the wrong wrench on the chronically loosening bolt heads, I took a file to them and now they are 9/16. Rubber shock absorber biscuits, cut to fit, will keep it immobile once tightened. Its gonna be pretty damn sharp at the end of it all.....

[codemonk]

Update for February 3rd 2012

front forks and bearings installed , lots of wiring work done.