[Goldy]

Ok...I suppose I will put this job on the JJ too. Gives me an added bit of drive to get the work done, and besides that, I like sharing. This is another case where I rebuilt an engine for a friend who had great intentions of rebuilding the machine himself, but somehow just couldn't get inspired to get his project under way. So having said that, the engine was totaly rebuilt about 14 years ago by yours truely and since that time has just sat around unused, waiting for somebody to put it in a motorcycle. Over the years a LOT of stuff went missing, or got all rusty and crusty (if it wasn't already like that anyhow). The owner has not put me under any budget restrictions which is great, but would still like to keep costs within reason. So with that in mind I will be building him a nice looking machine that resembles the original, without going too overboard with absolute originality...I'm more about 'go' than 'show' anyhow. I had a photo of the frame, wheels, side pannels, forks etc. when I drug them home and can't find it now! Anyhow, we all know what a half a truckload of motorcycle parts look like...here's a shot of the engine:

 

[Ratso]

Do I deduce correctly that the engine is a '71? My favorite. The rest of the '71, not so much ... at all ... but I'm glad you've started another of your good threads.

 

[Thunderbird]

let me grab a beverage and settle in, better than any 'reality' TV programme as things develop.

 

[Lester]

I'm in!

 

[Goldy]

Sorry to disappoint Ratso...this one's a '72. I got started on the work a couple of weeks ago...not in too much of a rush to finish this job, but would like to have it ready when the warmer weather rolls around. I tried cleaning up the rims and spokes, but the chrome on these ones was beyond redemption. So fitted a new set of chrome seamless rims with SS spokes...these particular rims are welded and ground perfectly smooth before going into the rollers, so you get a really true rim to begin with...no little 'blip' where the weld is, makes for an almost perfect running rim once laced and trued...expensive, but IMO worth the extra cost. With new tires on the way, I got to work on the forks. The left slider was jambed onto the tube, but I eventually convinced them it come apart. The factory finish on these aluminum sliders is terrible; looks like they took it out of the sand mould, tossed it into the tumbler and sent them straight to the machine shop...no polish, just that rough foundry finish. I couldn't stand it....got busy with the emery cloth and the buffing wheel...British cast aluminum will never pollish up to look like chrome, but I think I have made an improvement on what the Triumph factory was doing.

 

[Nanonevol]

Do I deduce correctly that the engine is a '71? My favorite. The rest of the '71, not so much ... at all ... but I'm glad you've started another of your good threads.

What's special about the '71?

 

[richbob]

nothing its the same as the 72
then went to disc.

 

[Ratso]

Just that I've had a couple of '71 engines -- no, three -- that ran excellently and long.

 

[Goldy]

Got a few more things done in the past week or so...the frame had been sand blasted, but the previous owner had the wisdom to keep the oil tank and connections well sealed. I gave it several good flushes just to be sure there was no contamination inside, then got it ready for paint...I'm pretty pleased with the results. Also got the new tires mounted. I've been calling suppliers and cruising ebay for the missing bits and pieces...soon be able to begin assembly.

 

[Ratso]

Did you rattlecan it? Looks good so far.

My best work with spraycan paint usually produced mediocre or mediocre-plus results, nor could I ever get consistent results. Also, over the course of briefly owning a lot of mosickles I didn't love enough to stick a bunch of work into, I got pretty gloomy about my prospects for a rattlecan job to look mediocre-plus for more than a couple years, after which time the bikes so painted quickly slid down the chute into awful-plus, awful-minus, and sometimes redheaded-stepchild territory.

... And I called myself a painter. (It was true, at least, that I'd learned from the best.) I didn't begin to see bragworthy finishes executed in rattlecan till I wandered into JJ, i.e., 5 or 6 years ago. By then I had not spraycanned anything much bigger than a coil mount or switch housing for prob'ly 30 years. What I learned here was that (1) canned paint technology has come one fuck of a long way since c. 1983, and (2) that some of youall have approaches to paint prep that never occurred to me (and are willing to work harder than me, on paint prep and everything -- everything! -- else that concerns your bikes).

 

[tomsoftail]

Did you rattlecan it? Looks good so far.

My best work with spraycan paint usually produced mediocre or mediocre-plus results, nor could I ever get consistent results. Also, over the course of briefly owning a lot of mosickles I didn't love enough to stick a bunch of work into, I got pretty gloomy about my prospects for a rattlecan job to look mediocre-plus for more than a couple years, after which time the bikes so painted quickly slid down the chute into awful-plus, awful-minus, and sometimes redheaded-stepchild territory.

... And I called myself a painter. (It was true, at least, that I'd learned from the best.) I didn't begin to see bragworthy finishes executed in rattlecan till I wandered into JJ, i.e., 5 or 6 years ago. By then I had not spraycanned anything much bigger than a coil mount or switch housing for prob'ly 30 years. What I learned here was that (1) canned paint technology has come one fuck of a long way since c. 1983, and (2) that some of youall have approaches to paint prep that never occurred to me (and are willing to work harder than me, on paint prep and everything -- everything! -- else that concerns your bikes).

Not to derail this thread but a guy on YouTube, Pacific Mike, showed heating parts in an old oven that is no longer used for food!!!!, is a good way to make rattle can paints work.

I heated up after rattle can painting and it worked great!

 

[Stormin]

Not to derail this thread but a guy on YouTube, Pacific Mike, showed heating parts in an old oven that is no longer used for food!!!!, is a good way to make rattle can paints work.

I heated up after rattle can painting and it worked great!

Good idea I think i'll try that. I know if I have heated metal somewhat warm before I spray it seems to look better and dries quicker.

 

[Goldy]

Did you rattlecan it? Looks good so far.

Well, I must confess that I did use rattle cans on this job, but years ago I discovered that after applying the colour coat (I lost count, but it's at least five coats of black on this job) laying a few coats of a good quality clear makes all the difference...in this case it's 2K clear, the kind they use in auto body shops for small jobs. It's exactly the same product I used to spray on with a gun...produces a good thick layer that is both tough and fuel/ oil restant and protects the colour underneath, plus it glosses it up really well.

 

[Ratso]

Huh. So the clearcoat is tougher than the pigment coats. That is surprising, but I guess it shouldn't be.

Thanks, Goldy and others.

 

[Lester]

Sorry to disappoint Ratso...this one's a '72. I got started on the work a couple of weeks ago...not in too much of a rush to finish this job, but would like to have it ready when the warmer weather rolls around. I tried cleaning up the rims and spokes, but the chrome on these ones was beyond redemption. So fitted a new set of chrome seamless rims with SS spokes...these particular rims are welded and ground perfectly smooth before going into the rollers, so you get a really true rim to begin with...no little 'blip' where the weld is, makes for an almost perfect running rim once laced and trued...expensive, but IMO worth the extra cost. With new tires on the way, I got to work on the forks. The left slider was jambed onto the tube, but I eventually convinced them it come apart. The factory finish on these aluminum sliders is terrible; looks like they took it out of the sand mould, tossed it into the tumbler and sent them straight to the machine shop...no polish, just that rough foundry finish. I couldn't stand it....got busy with the emery cloth and the buffing wheel...British cast aluminum will never pollish up to look like chrome, but I think I have made an improvement on what the Triumph factory was doing.

Goldy, who make the rims you mention? Not your typical E-bay find...

L

 

[Goldy]

I beleive they are Devon rims...got 'em through BCS.

 

[Lester]

I beleive they are Devon rims...got 'em through BCS.

Thanks, I'll look in to it.

L

 

[Goldy]

Got quite a bit done in the past couple of weeks. Fork seals in place, front end and swing arm. Found a nice looking pair of used shocks in my shed that I will donate to this project. Wheels on and engine in. There's a lot of stuff you can't really see that had to be fabricated, sourced or repaired along the way....engine spacers, investigation into a reluctance to shift, repairs to bent steering stops and side stand weld clean-up. Lots of missing parts have been placed on order. Completed the body work on the fenders...they were originally chrome, but had been sandblasted by a previous owner and the chrome on the front fender had begun to peel quite badly. Anyhow, they are now ready for paint.

 

[Ratso]

Niiize.

Goldy have you ever been involved with an OIF whose top tube got modified to relocate the oil filler in front of the fuel tank, where god intended it to be? Is that a medium-big deal with lurking pitfalls?

I ask because I've bought more than one low-mileage '71 Bonnie, cheap, after their owners attempted to hardtail them and, in so doing, blew big holes in the thinwall rear downtube (the same tube as the top rail, of course). Beyond that known danger, are there others? Such as, uh, baffles (or even a wall) inside? If the latter is present, maybe the welds forward of such a wall wouldn't have been tested for pinholes or worseholes? Et cetera?

Thanks for indulging my curiosity and for your good thread updates. If I haven't said as much (a few times), I rilly dig spying on your workshop in the background.

 

[Goldy]

I would resist the urge to relocate the filler...in the first place the oil tank is going to accumulate some scale from the welding process...they are hard enough to clean out as it is, being stuck in the frame...most importantly is gives you a golden opportunity to over-fill the tank, which will soon spew great gobs of oil out of the vent tube all over the front of the engine when running hot at highway speeds. I've gone the hard tail way myself and was never really satisfied with the results as far as looks go...my advice for anybody thinking about that would be to save up your pennys and get a proper chopper frame....so much nicer looking. Besides that, if you ever decided to go back the other way (toward a swing arm set up) it would be just a matter of swaping frames....and my workshop...i hope you enjoy looking at the friggin' mess it's in!