[RetroRob]

Building a unit Triumph bobber (I know, who isn't) and I picked up a prewar Triumph Girder. I'm planning a 19 or 21 wheel with drum brake. Most 60s era Brit bikes have the clamp on front axle, the girder take a threaded front axle. Can the stock triumph axle be threaded to work ? Also I have no wheels, bike was a basket, so i got to buy whatever I decide to use, and like everyone else money is an issue.

 

[canuck19]

What size is the threaded hole in the girder? Not the answer you're looking for, but you can make pretty much any hub/wheel combo work with a little effort. You can make a custom axle to fit or modify an existing axle on a lathe. If you're going to be running a spool front end its even simpler. no brake stay to worry about.

Is it one of those repop girder front ends from India?

 

[Rotten Egg]

I'm guessing it's that same situation as a springer, that you need to be able to slide the axle out of the rim just like the rear axle does.
Using a drum is much simpler on a girder than a springer, but a disc will work better.
Either way, a front brake is a very good idea.
The triumph axle wont really work unless you want to spread the girder everytime you want to remove the wheel.
A harley wheel is a better choice. Jap wheels will work too just find one with a slide out axle. Upside is there's a ton of them pretty cheap.
I used an old Honda dirt bike wheel. Got it complete with drum off e-bay. You'll need to make a stay (with disc brake too), and you'll also need a cable end bracket.
Not too hard..
Some drum setups have a cable bracket right on the drum which is simpler yet.
Rick

 

[Scavenger]

yep,,heres a Honda wheel on a Springer,,has a stepped axle 15MM ..5/8"

 

[RetroRob]

Slot in the girder is 7 /16th. Not an Indian repop, been warned about them. This was an unused NOS off a 30s something speed twin. I believe made by Webb. The spread is 5".

 

[Rotten Egg]

How about some pics, will help.

 

[RetroRob]

 

[kbg]

why not use a stock triumph girder front wheel, they fit.
And the nuts locate in the forks so the wheel can't fall out if they are loose.

 

[Rotten Egg]

Good idea. Might be the easiest.

The slotted hole makes it easy to use whatever you want.
Maybe someone with more experience can chime in, but my guess is you need a wheel that can be appropriately tightened (again, like the rear wheel), or modified to do so.

You can work out the details, and different wheels / axles will have different needs, but if you want to use the triumph wheel with the stepped axle, you can thread the ends enough to get a nut on both sides of each leg (in & out) so it can be well tightened.
You just have to properly work out the spacers + nuts (if there's enough room).
Again, I could be wrong, but I don't think the stepped axle wheel is designed to be tightened as much as I'd like to be able to tighten the wheel to the girder.

I'm not familiar with this front end, are the smaller holes for a bracket to close off the axle slot?

 

[38speedtwin]

That girder looks like it is probably a Webb one, but is not the Speed Twin/Tiger 100 part. Here is what the heavyweight one used on the Triumphs would look like (this is the 1940 variety, with the helper springs on each side):

The factory front wheel setup for the Triumphs used a pair of machined washers that fit into the recesses at the bottom of the forks. Yours would have been setup in the same way:

I have seen several people in your situation who pick up a single sided brake front wheel (usually the common BSA one works well), machine a front axle and nuts, and do from there. The key is to have the nuts with machined faces on the inside of the girder, and the machined washers and nuts on the outside. That way you can pinch the wheel into the girder, as it was designed to be used when new.

-Shaggy

 

[chassy55]

Great post Shaggy, thanks. Do you know of a replacement for the dust shields, #W12, I can't seem to find copies and figure something modern might be usable. Dave.

 

[38speedtwin]

Dave,

Ace sells a full kit for the rigid rears:

http://www.aceclassics.co.uk/products/wheels

Not sure if they will just sell the just shields, but you can try. I don't know anyone who has bought these yet, so I can comment on the quality. The Ace stuff runs the full gambit - really nice, all the way to crappy.

-Shaggy

 

[RetroRob]

Shaggy, thanks for the great pics, my girder only has the damper on one side, more like this:

not sure what its from. Love to find an early wheel. all I see is post war, what wheel is Ian running on the Bullet ? (pictured above)

 

[38speedtwin]

That is a 1955-1957 Triumph single sided drum with the 8" brake. It's turned the wrong way, and has had part of the brake plate arm removed. Probably a 1957 one, as it looks like it has the recess in the center of the brakeplate. Those wheels were fit to the performance bikes, and tend to be expensive (often $250-$350 w/brakeplate). Real Triumph pre-war heavyweight wheels are very expensive. Figure at least $1000 if they are complete.

The use of that wheel is actually the only thing I really like about that bike. I am going to do something very similar on a non-stock pre-war I am starting this winter, but will place the brake on the correct side (facing the scoop towards the front of the bike as designed).

-Shaggy

 

[Mojomick]

I fitted a disc front wheel to my girders.
I bored the forks to take the axle, centered the wheel, then made the appropriate spacers to suit.



I've still got to mount the caliper, but it's all doable.



Click the thumbnail, if you want to see more.
HTH
Mick.