Triumph - New front brake

When I got the bike it had the standard single lead front brake on a 19" rim with a pretty manky tyre. Whilst the whole system functioned it didn't actually seem to do anything, least of all actually stop the bike! Seeing as that is pretty much a pre-requisite of a brake, it had to be changed! Coupled with that the old brake was hardly a thing of beauty...





Having picked a twin lead hub a while ago, I cleaned it up, fitted new bearings and brake shoes so that it could be fitted. The biggest issue was that the twin lead hub is wider than the single lead hub, so whilst the forks could be reused - I refurbished these first - the old yokes would have to be changed for later yokes that could take the wider brake. I sourced a set of upper and lower yokes from Burton Bike bits (http://www.burtonbikebits.net/) along with new races. The result was a set of forks that would could take the new brake.



The new brake has been laced into an 18" wheel, which matches the rear wheel, and actually was the size that the bike would have been made with. Over time most old Triumphs will have been converted to a 19" front rim, but 18" was the original. It'll be interesting to see how it handles, but it certainly looks better!! An Avon Road Runner has been fitted to match the tyre that has been put on the rear, the 100 width is fatter than the tyre that came off, but it still fits nicely in the forks.





Next steps are to cable the brake so that it works and then to set it up, could be a bit fiddly... Then I need to find and fit a mudguard. I actually think it looks pretty cool without one, but with the British weather a dry ride can never be fully assured and without a guard, if it does rain, I'll be getting facefull of rain water and maybe more... The old guard is a bit too long and obviously fits a 19" wheel...

I'm coming towards the end of the re-furb of this bike, just the last few jobs to be completed, although they are always the ones that take the longest...

The Bikes: BMW R100GS

This is my current day to day bike, I've owned it for about 5 years now and whilst other bikes have come and gone (way too many) this one has stayed and probably will for ever now. Its an 89' R100, 1000cc boxer engine which is engineered much more for torque than speed, so it kind of just chugs along. Those people into GS's will know all about these bikes, but those that aren't will probably know their spirtual sons, the 1150 and 1200 GS of Long Way Round / Down fame. Those bikes are much more modern and have way more electronics etc, but scratch the surface and the DNA from the 100 and its little bruv the R80GS are still there.

This GS is a little modified. The obvious modification is the exhaust system. In standard form the GS has a high exhaust, exiting around the left leg of any pillion. Mine has a low exhaust, not too sure what its off, but it works and means that if anyone is on the back their left leg is unlikely to roast, unlike the bottom of their boots...



Less obvious is the engine, the power plant on the bike comes from a 78 100RS. All the internals have been properly balanced and the gearbox has been rebuilt with new bearings and the fifth gear ratio altered to give a more relaxed cruise. The result is a really smooth engine that is much quieter and more refined than just about any other 1000 engine I have heard, it also puts the 1100 and 1150 to shame, though they really do vibe a bit. Downsides are not many really, the engine obviously now runs with points which can be a faff, but adjustments are pretty easy. The Bing carbs need to be cleaned and checked pretty regularly, in fact they need doing now! This can be a pain, but I have come to the conclusion that these bikes react best if you don't play with them too much! Fix and nurture but don't dabble... They can bite!



No specific plans for this one! It needs new tyres, the Scorpions that are on the bike seem to have been there for ever! Whilst they are still legal, I am going to put some Avon Distazia's on it and see how it goes. There are some repairs that are needed however... When the bike was last serviced I got a garage to do it, lesson here - do it yourself! It seems that the spark plug on the right hand head has gone in cross threaded, so that needs to come out and the threads be restored. The second issue is that the nuts bolting the oil filter cover to the engine case have been put on so tightly that on head has sheared off, so that needs to be drilled out and the others got out. The bike runs fine as is, so that is on the forthcoming list!

It never really ends, but the bike is probably worth it!!

The bikes: Triumph 5TA

My current main project is a Triumph 5TA that I am slowly turning into a cafe style bike. Why the 5T, well mainly because 650s are pretty expensive to buy, especially if the intention is pull them apart! Secondly, the 500 engine, whilst not being the most potent in the world is sweet running and smooth. Finally, the bike had a bit of reputation for being a bit of an iffy handler, I reckon that with modern rubber, uprated front springs and decent shocks some of the handling qwerks can be dialled out... We shall see!

The bike arrived like this:






It isn't original in any sense at all and whilst looking pretty enough, to my eyes it looked a bit dull. So first up was to create a mental picture of the bike I wanted; basic essentials were: clip-on's, rear-sets, humped seat and swept exhausts. I also wanted to switch the front wheel from the 19" wheel it had back to the original 18" but also to incorporate a twin lead brake rather than the puny single lead.

So work to date...

The forks have been rebuilt with new seals, springs and legs. At this point I reverted to a set of clip on's and new headlight supports, throttle, grips and levers. At the same time the yokes have been swapped to later ones so that a twin lead brake will now fit between the fork legs; the races were renewed as well.





The effect is pretty cool, but it does mean that by the time the choke and light switches have been put on there is not a lot of space on the bars! One area I did overlook was where to mount the ignition switch; it was on the old, much bigger, fork shroud, but that has now gone, so still need to figure out quite where that is going to mount! The Chronometric clock still works looks much better on the bars than just mounted roughly as it was before.

At the rear the old dated mud guard has been switched for an ali one that has been cut down to accept a new light and plate holder. The aim is try and show as little of the guard as possible whilst still making it useful - I think its tuned out OK! The seat has been switched for a pretty cool humped seat. Initially I wasn't sure about this, but it seems to work well, its certainly more comfy to sit on and induces a more leaid out sporty riding position. The changes have tidied up the back end massively.

To help with the handling the rear shocks have been changed for Hagon items and the rear tyre, which before looked more like a car tyre, has been replaced by an Avon 130/18 Road Runner that just fits in the rear swing arm... Just! The low level pipes have been changed for higher upswept ones and Thruxton silencers. They sound like thunder with the baffles out...! I've now lost the baffles!!! MOT will be interesting!!!







With the new exhaust and the bars, the need to sort out out the foot pegs is pretty obvious! Clip-on's and standard pegs would lead to hop surgery pretty quickly! So I have mounted rear-sets by removing the passenger pegs and mounting the new pegs on the pillion mounts. The brake has been easy to modify but on the gearbox side the selector has had to be turned through 180 degrees so that it sits near the new peg, so reversing the gear selection pattern. Instead of one down and three up, it is now back to the more conventional (for old Brit bikes) one up three down; and of course it is on the right not the left...



That's the progress to date; next on the list is the new front wheel incorporating the twin lead brake - I have already bought and re-furb'd a hub - mount a new front mudguard, sort the electrics, give it a really good clean and polish and then actually ride the bike. The aim is to get it ready for the London to Brighton run later in the year.

Why Blog?

Having read numerous other blogs on the net, the single question I still ask is why do people actually write blogs? Who reads them and what do they actually say about the writer. I still have no idea! But, in thinking about the questions I thought, why not?

So what is this about? Literally anything, but probably bike or motor orientated with the odd rant thrown in, hey... It’s my age!! It isn’t really about life day to day; I live a pretty normal life in a normal place and bimble along. It isn’t about work, my job isn’t that exciting, although it does provide plenty of subject matter for ranting, but it isn’t really worth writing much about. So what actually is it about...?

Old bikes!! I own 4, well maybe 5 if you count the one farmed out in another friend’s garage - a common phenomena, so I hear, that seems to afflict older bike enthusiasts. There is a 1956 AJS 16M, looks like a wreck but goes well and gets used for trials; a 1960 Triumph 5T that is being slowly turned from a cooking bike to a cafe style bike. Two Yamahas, an XT600 – pretty early, kick start only with long range tanks and really slack chain! And, and FZR400RR, actually quite a buzzy little bike that is fun, way too small for me and hasn’t run for 2 years... Finally the day to day bike, a BMW R100GS, older GS’s have that kind of ugly / beautiful thing going on, although probably more ugly than beautiful! What they certainly are is purposeful, they run and run... And leak! When the camera is sorted they will all be properly introduced. It won’t all be bikes and petrol; there will be music, discussion and anything else that comes to mind whilst in front of the keyboard.

Through this I’ll chronicle the ‘joys’ of keeping them in the road, as it stands only two of them a legal and one of those only has one wheel, something of fundamental flaw when it comes to a bike! As it goes on, and if anyone actually reads this or begins to answer the opening questions, feel free to leave comments and suggestions; even if it is simply to tell me to shut up or point out my total lack of mechanical skill!! Hopefully, this blog will chronicle the victory of optimism over talent... The optimistic biker!