atomsplitter
Living Legend
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 2,773
- Location
- Keller, TX
- Ride
- 17 T-120 Black, 20 Bobber Black, 98 Trophy 1200
Well being a sucker for project bikes really hits you in the wallet. I started looking today at what I wheeled up on my Handy Lift last Thursday. The guy I bought it from has never ridden it, as he bought it from someone in New Jersey and had the bike shipped to him. It was a non-running entity when it arrived. Being the judicious individual that he is, he stored it carefully under a tree beside his garage. When I picked the bike up off the side stand water started running out of various components. Cool. I'm guessing he didn't bother to put it in his garage until well after the hail storm that went thru here a few weeks ago. The left mirror was smashed, the front fender has a chunk missing, and the gas tank looks like some toddler with a ball peen hammer was playing a tune on it. I popped the gas tank open and was greeted with the eye-watering aroma of rotten gasoline. Sweet. I then noticed the left front and rear turn indicator lenses are scotch taped on (hopefully someone sprung for the good 3M stuff). The rider seat benefitted from the daily exposure to Texas weather by dry rotting and cracking down the middle exposing the foam interior to warm sunny days and winter's gentle caress. On the plus side the bike is complete and included a tail trunk. The tires are in decent shape. The chain drive looks like it was made from rust. I decided to see if the engine would crank on the battery and was rewarded with some carpel tunnel inflamation when I pulled the clutch lever in. The clutch is hydraulic actuated so I'm thinking the hydraulic fluid is now a 50-50 mix of phospate esters and water. The engine did spin over when I mashed the starter button so that's good. So as to keep from being surprised later I put my battery charger on the battery to get it fully charged. In the trunk was all the original stuff you get from a dealer, and it included a Haynes (hard cover) manual for Triumph Triples and Fours. This is the quintessential shop manual for those that desperately need insufficient information and rabbit holes to run down.
After a brief whiff from the tank I got on line to Bike Bandit and ordered a few odds and ends, bits and bobs to replace anything made from elastic material between the gas tank and the carburetors. Turns out there's only about 40 or 50 pieces of rubber pipe needed at a going rate of $20 an inch. I also ordered some new carb diaphrams as a precaution to avoid my inevitable frustration of why the carbs won't sync. Having been through this exercise a time or two after a carb set rebuild on anything approaching antique-hood I've learned it's best to just wholesale change out all the rubber stuff. The bummer is you can't get any of this stuff wholesale, they usually want what's in your retirement nest egg, plus shipping and handling. Last Thursday I got on line and ordered a set of coils for the bike from Fleecebay. The options to getting new coils were few and somewhere between slim and none, so I opted for slim. The choices I had were: get coils from Bike Bandit at $155.71 each (they could have named themselves Bike Pirates) or $41.43 each shipped from the UK for $25.00. So it takes a while to clear customs, I'm patient. So now I'm waiting on some parts to continue the process of turning my wallet into a no-fly zone. I figure once I have the carbs rebuilt, the gas tank flushed, the coils replaced and any other little jobs (like replacing the front fender, drive chain, brake and clutch fluid, oil, filter, air filter, oil, turn indicators, etc.), it will be time to give it a crank and see if it starts.
Boy am I glad I'm made of money because it feels like this is going to take a river of cash and a ton of patience........
After a brief whiff from the tank I got on line to Bike Bandit and ordered a few odds and ends, bits and bobs to replace anything made from elastic material between the gas tank and the carburetors. Turns out there's only about 40 or 50 pieces of rubber pipe needed at a going rate of $20 an inch. I also ordered some new carb diaphrams as a precaution to avoid my inevitable frustration of why the carbs won't sync. Having been through this exercise a time or two after a carb set rebuild on anything approaching antique-hood I've learned it's best to just wholesale change out all the rubber stuff. The bummer is you can't get any of this stuff wholesale, they usually want what's in your retirement nest egg, plus shipping and handling. Last Thursday I got on line and ordered a set of coils for the bike from Fleecebay. The options to getting new coils were few and somewhere between slim and none, so I opted for slim. The choices I had were: get coils from Bike Bandit at $155.71 each (they could have named themselves Bike Pirates) or $41.43 each shipped from the UK for $25.00. So it takes a while to clear customs, I'm patient. So now I'm waiting on some parts to continue the process of turning my wallet into a no-fly zone. I figure once I have the carbs rebuilt, the gas tank flushed, the coils replaced and any other little jobs (like replacing the front fender, drive chain, brake and clutch fluid, oil, filter, air filter, oil, turn indicators, etc.), it will be time to give it a crank and see if it starts.
Boy am I glad I'm made of money because it feels like this is going to take a river of cash and a ton of patience........
