Triumphant

The Triumph is pretty much done.  And it runs and everything works.......lights, horn, alternator, clutch, instruments, and did I mention, IT RUNS!  I made a short video of it running, but can't seem to upload it to YouTube.  I was a happy man.  It was like the first time the Mustang moved under its own power:

Talk about old school; I haven't kick started a high compression four stroke in many years, and I can barely do it now.  Unlike modern fuel injected bikes, there is a routine you must follow to get one of these things going.  The first thing you have to do is free up the clutch plates.  They tend to stick together making the clutch not release, which makes putting it in gear a potentially damaging event.  To free the plates, you pull in the clutch and kick the engine over until the kickstarter moves freely (no longer turning the engine).  Next, turn both petcocks on (one for each carb).  Then "tickle" the carbs by pushing a button on each carb that pushes the carb float down and floods the engine slightly.  When a little gas flows out of the tickle buttons you have done enough.  Now turn on the ignition and move the kickstarter unil you feel the resistance of a compression stroke.  Now jump on it! (giving it just a little throttle).

Once it's running, there is no sound like a classic Triumph twin, and it's pretty loud too.  Even though the bike has stock mufflers, they are straight through, with just diffusers in the side.  I remember back when I had a 1967 500cc twin I strapped an old portable wire recorder on the back and went for a ride just to record the "music".

At the moment it has no leaks of any kind, which is kind of strange......it is British, you know.  We will see how that turns out.

There are still a few things I plan to do.  The tach and speedo are in need of a rebuild, but I may just buy some replica ones instead.  I may also swap the clutch and brake levers for some newer type that should have a shorter reach; I first need to see how the stock ones feel when actually riding the bike.  I look forward to that first ride, but it may be awhile because I am not going to ride it on wet roads, and where I live the roads stay wet after a rain for a long time because of all the shade from the tall trees.

Enough chat.  Here are some pics of the final product: