Triumph Basket Case

Ride around the block

2012-12-04T20:16:00.001-08:00

The weather this weekend was perfect for a quick ride on the Triumph. Rode about 5 miles. Way to much fun.

shes a runner

2012-09-17T19:18:00.001-07:00

So its been way too long since my last update. The good news is that the triumph runs like a very loud kitten. Bad news is I go a nail in the back tire while braking her in. There are more things to sort out but she is fun to ride and I can wait to fix that tire.
Thanks Paul!

Working on the seat

2012-03-18T20:13:00.001-07:00

On to the electrical.

2012-02-23T13:45:00.001-08:00

So it has come time to start thinking about the electrical for the Triumph. I have been going back and forth to either use electronic or stock ignition. There are benefits to both, but as my friend Paul would say, the battery, coil and stator are the best. They can be made to work, where as a black box is either dead or alive, but never in between. That being said, I am going with the stock ignition for now.

I went through my boxes of parts and found the original wiring harness. Needless to say it is almost useless. I have decided to make my own wiring harness. I have been studying the schematics in my owners manual and what I can find on-line, and it looks fairly easy. I drew out what I think I will need to get it running. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

New tank

2012-02-06T13:55:00.001-08:00

I just received my new used tank that I won on eBay. Needs a paint job but there are no dents and the inside is pretty clean.

Roller in the new year.

2012-01-17T21:19:00.001-08:00

This new years eve was very productive. Paul and Alex helped me put a new continental front tire on the original wheel. Finally we are rolling.

Cylinder and head

2011-10-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

The motor is all closed up. We finally put the new cylinder jugs and pistons onto the main motor assembly. I had to machine the jugs to fit a oil bung but other than that it fit like a charm. We also ground the valve ring in the head and we are ready to reassemble the springs. I think it looks pretty good. Next up carburators.

Solidworks moving right along

2011-08-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Primary Side complete.

2011-08-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

After almost a year and a half, I finally have the bottom end back together. This weekend I put the finishing touches on the Primary side of the motor. The hard part was finding the clutch push rod. For some reason during dismantling of the motor, I put the push rod in a draw in my tool box. Needless to say I don't remember doing it, but just by luck I found it. The good thing is I cleaned off my work bench in the process.

Now that the bottom end is complete I mounted the motor in the frame. I thought this might be the safest place for it. It looks good and the bike is getting closer to being road worthy.

I also found out this week that my cylinder barrels are too pitted for boring. My guy from Integrity Auto suggested I get a new barrel. Thanks to Ebay, there is a rebuild .030 over barrel and new pistons on its way. Turns out it was way cheaper than boring my cylinder and buying new pistons.

great article

2011-07-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

I found this article really interesting and though that I should share.

http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/motorcycle-form-and-function-why-its-hard-to-live-with-an-italian-supermodel.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+frog-design-mind+%28design+mind%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Solidworks almost finished

2011-07-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have found some time to work on the solidworks model. I am almost finished with the motor and the frame is finished. I think it looks pretty cool.

Transmission Rebuilt

2011-06-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

My buddy Paul got me a hook up on some Gardener-Westcott cover bolts for the motor. Which look really nice. Thank you very much Paul.

I have also rebuilt the Transmission. It was actually fairly simple and surprisingly it shifts through all the gears on the first assembly.

On to the Primary side.

Kibblewhite

2011-06-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

After many hours of searching and comparing, I have decided on valves. I went with the Kibblewhite Black Diamond. I have been told by several people that they are the best. So with that advice I jumped. If all goes as planned she should be a clean running machine.

Progress report

2011-05-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

It was pretty nice this weekend, so I thought was time to take the Triumph off it's stand and get a picture or two of it in the day light and on its wheels. As you can see most of the frame is put back together. I have my buddy Paul working on a front tire for me, but I am still up in the air for a seat and oil tank.

On the motor, I have the timing side and transmission rebuild. I have ordered valves from Kibblewhite Precision Machining Inc, and sometime soon I am going to order some pistons.

Cheers,

New transmission

2011-05-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

One step closer to a roller

2011-05-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

I finally found all the parts I needed to rebuild the front forks. This might have been the hardest part so far of the rebuild. The original forks that sat outside for 25 years were rusted to nothing. The only thing I could use off of them were the Dust Excluder Sleeve Nut. I have bought 3 set of forks off of ebay and none of them worked. Just a warning people will say anything to sell there stuff on ebay. I finally found a local guy who sold me a 68 triumph front fork and all is good.

I used the internal parts from the 68 forks and bought some new tubes from my Racing Norton's guy. Mike gave me the bottom members and finally we are assembled. I also bought some new handle bars.

next up the front wheel.

68 bonneville timing gears

2011-04-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Seat mock up

2011-04-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the seat and think I have found the way I would like the bike to look. You have to use a little imagination but I think this is right there.

Timing side assembled

2011-04-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

The cases are now one

2011-03-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

Uncle Hank

2011-03-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

The Triumph bug is going around. My buddy Hank is building a Triumph Chopper. Awesome!

3D rendering

2011-02-24T19:20:00.000-08:00

Exploded View of the motor rendered in solidworks.

Footrest

2011-02-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

One night I went through and found all the hardware for the footrests and brakes. The cool thing was I found everything. The bad is that most of the parts are really rusty and both footrests are bent.

Whats cookin?

2011-02-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

Friday night the wife went out with the ladies and I cooked up some Triumph crank shaft bearings.
It was almost too easy. It's freezing outside, so I put the bearing on the back porch for a few hours. Then I fired up the oven to 350 (I chose 350 because my mother cooks everything at 350). I cooked the primary side first for 20 mins. I pulled the case out of the oven and dropped the frozen race in. I was ready to have to force it into place but I was able to push it in with my fingers. A few minutes later the race was not moving and in its proper place. I did the same thing for the timing side and the transmition bearing.
Next up reassembling the cases.

The Frame is coming together

2011-01-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

As the long cold winter slowly passes through Chicago I have found warmth in my basement living room which I have turned into my winter garage. You might notice that the ceilings are just high enough for me to put the old handle bars one while the bike is sitting on my Mototrcycle/tv table.

This sunday the sun was shining and I had to roll the Triumph out to take some pictures for the seat I am going to build. I have decided to build a Solo seat with a back hump for cargo. I need to see where it was comfortable for me to sit on the bike before I built a seat.

Cheers,