Introduce yourself and your classic bike(s) - with photos!

[triumph david]

TO TT, from Mississippi,very nice bike!!!!!!

 

[GreeboIOW]

offhand it sounds like the classic timing chain and sprockets wearing out and then skipping a tooth to run retarded. dunno how often that problem surfaces with your machine. how many miles on it?

or the cam chain tensioner itself could have gone south.

retarding the valve timing will cause the motor to be low on power, may not even start. the noise won't be any better.

I've been told it's the classic fault with the original triples. Behind the clutch is a plate with springs on it that don't last long and should've been modified.
Apparently the black engines are the old ones the silver are the later and already modified. Both this one and my other Daytona have black engines. Typical. I'm hoping that one of the previous owners modified my newer model 2001 dual exhaust (BUMBLEBEAST) seems much more powerful than the T595.

 

[grandpaul]

This thread sure has become a mess since all the "unpopular" photo hosting sites died...

 

[tbconcrete]

A few of my toys. 1973 Tiger 750. 1976 Bonny 750. One is right foot shift and one is left foot shift. They let me know when I am not thinking.

 

[grandpaul]

A few of my toys. 1973 Tiger 750. 1976 Bonny 750. One is right foot shift and one is left foot shift. They let me know when I am not thinking.

Nice pair of classic Triumph big twins!

 

[speedrattle]

lol

i have a commando too which is right shift but one down three up.

between the normal right shift bikes and the modern left shift one-up something-down machines, i m too stupid to remember what to do with my feet while im riding.

the only one that makes sense is my old T120 that i bought 45 years ago and is permanently ingrained into my muscle memory

nice machines you have. classics both of them

 

[Dashfixer]

I posted earlier in a different forum. This is my 79 T140E. I got it cheap with a snapped crankshaft and signs of a lot of abuse. I decided to do a complete rebuild with a few modifications. It's not quite finished and I want to do a couple more mods.

 

[Don-Spada]

Hi A new member, just came across the forum. I ride a 1988 Harris Bonneville that I have owned for about 8 years, plus I have several old Guzzi's
Here's the Harris
Harris Bonneville by Don West, on Flickr

 

[Greyfell]

Looks nice! Tell us more about it; that is a special edition I haven't heard of.

I did find this on Wikipedia: A licensing agreement granted to pattern spares manufacturer, Les Harris, kept the Triumph Bonneville in production until Triumph initiated a new range during 1990 and 1991.

 

[CarlS]

Hi A new member, just came across the forum. I ride a 1988 Harris Bonneville that I have owned for about 8 years, plus I have several old Guzzi's
Here's the Harris
Harris Bonneville by Don West, on Flickr

Very nice!

 

[speedrattle]

what kind of old guzzis? i know little about them, but i have always liked their looks

i wanted a le mans for a long long time

 

[Don-Spada]

Looks nice! Tell us more about it; that is a special edition I haven't heard of.

I did find this on Wikipedia: A licensing agreement granted to pattern spares manufacturer, Les Harris, kept the Triumph Bonneville in production until Triumph initiated a new range during 1990 and 1991.

They were produced by Les Harris in Devon from 1985 to 1988. When the Meriden Co-op went bust, John Bloor bought the Triumph name and licensed Harris to continue building the old T140 Bonneville. The bikes are pretty much the same as the Meriden bikes apart from Paioli forks and rear shocks, Magura switchgear and Brembo brakes. I have added the little flyscreen on the front. He made around 1,250 bikes, none were exported to the USA, but I do know of one that has been exported there by its owner.

 

[Don-Spada]

what kind of old guzzis? i know little about them, but i have always liked their looks

i wanted a le mans for a long long time

I have a SP1000, a California 3 and a few little 125 Stornello's, Like an old Brit bike, they have great character, but in my opinion, they are a little bit better engineered. This is my California and Stornello. I did have a Lemans many years ago, a great bike, but not the most comfortable for two up riding.

MH2304-2795-(ZF-1534-88367-1-001) by Don West, on Flickr

96774959-Shangton020723-605 by Don West, on Flickr

 

[grandpaul]

Hi A new member, just came across the forum. I ride a 1988 Harris Bonneville that I have owned for about 8 years, plus I have several old Guzzi's
Here's the Harris
Harris Bonneville by Don West, on Flickr

Nice. The Harris bikes were forced (by license) to retain much of the final Meriden spec (maybe not a bad thing). It resembles the '83 TSS that I had (except mine was an 8-valve e-start w/ cast wheels)

 

[grandpaul]

I have a SP1000, a California 3 and a few little 125 Stornello's, Like an old Brit bike, they have great character, but in my opinion, they are a little bit better engineered. This is my California and Stornello. I did have a Lemans many years ago, a great bike, but not the most comfortable for two up riding.

MH2304-2795-(ZF-1534-88367-1-001) by Don West, on Flickr

96774959-Shangton020723-605 by Don West, on Flickr

I agree regarding your opinions of the big Guzzi; the little 'un is very nifty!

I had a '74 Eldorado (with the single disc up front), tons of torque! Made a great sidecar rig...

 

[Don-Spada]

Nice. The Harris bikes were forced (by license) to retain much of the final Meriden spec (maybe not a bad thing). It resembles the '83 TSS that I had (except mine was an 8-valve e-start w/ cast wheels)

View attachment 56368

Yes they are very similar, the side panels used were different to yours, but were from the TSX. I do like the styling of the late Italian fuel tank.

 

[grandpaul]

Just went back and deleted all my old posts that referenced photos from the long-closed photo hosting site that I used to use.

We moved from Laredo, Texas to Leander, TX, 285 miles north. It's a suburb of Austin, and my driveway is now 5 minutes from some of the best riding in Texas! The hill country is right in my back yard, as well as several very nice lakes. We sold our 1-acre place in Laredo and I bought a 4-acre "ranchette". Had the guys relocate my steel building, and fixed the place up. Then property values went nuts, so I flipped the 4 acres for enough to buy 11 acres and build a brand-new "barndominium" with room for my ultralight airplane (hangar and runways).

So, UPDATE:
I am now down to only 12 bikes, which is STILL too many to keep running, road-ready, legal, insured, etc.

The list:
1966 Triumph Triton that I built some years ago, basically a show bike. Lots of M.A.P. go-fast stuff, Suzuki GT550 front end with 4LS brakes, etc...



1965/66/67/68/69/70 Triumph T120R Bonneville 650 Historic Production Heavyweight vintage roadracer, built from scratch and successfully raced in 2007, 2008, and 2010 with a GREAT year in '08. I built it as a 50th birthday present to myself, and raced with AHRMA. It is BONE STOCK, down to the mufflers and air filters. It is a holeshot son-of-a-gun that was never beaten to Turn 1 in 30 races, after I got the hang of launching in the first 3 races. That was against OHC fours and 750 triples. Not bad...



1968 BSA A65 Lightning 650, got this bike exactly as you see it here, as partial payment for a client's Norton Commando restoration project...



...

 

[grandpaul]

1972 BMW R75/5 "Toaster Tank" Boxer that belonged to my late buddy, "Nacho". It had a badly bent frame and a rear gearbox that was failing tooth by tooth. I fixed both, but haven't ridden it much...



This is a very recent acquisition, 1974 Norton 850 Commando Roadster, all original except custom paint. I'm in the process of doing a "make-run" on it, for eventual sale (at least 2 potential buyers already lining up)... "groovy, baby"



...and a "little bit nicer" '74 Commando special that I built with some of the last Kenny Dreer VR880 bits that he sold me as he was completing the sale of Norton America to the RIP-OFF Stuart Gardner. Anyway, it's a Yamaha XS750 front end, Honda CB750 rear wheel in a custom box-section swingarm, with 880 bits including the VR880 Spyke electric starter...


...

 

[CarlS]

I hope to see your diminished collection in person this Spring. Do you still have your Guzi sidecar rig?

 

[grandpaul]

This is my masterpiece - the ORIGINAL Dreer/Norton America 952 Monoshock Prototype bike that was shown at the NY show when Kenny announced plans to re-open Norton and build new Commandos. He was forced to sell the empty dummy engine to Gardner with the deal, so I used a stock 850 e-start engine. Front end is from a ZX6.



1982 Honda MB5 w/ 80cc engine, that I restored in 2019 just before moving up here to the Austin area. I taught my youngest daughter to ride on it. She can kickstart it easily, and never once killed it trying to take off. VERY cool little zinger. (the headlight is fixed now)



The little Honda's big brother - '83 Honda VF750F Interceptor V45, a Honda "Milestone" bike with several innovations that first appeared on this bike. I'm in the process of restoring it, still fumbling with the infernal V4 carbs that are a NIGHTMARE to assemble and install properly. Awfully fast bike... Stock, apart from the D&D exhaust system.