pidjones '72 T150V rescue

[pidjones]

To start the thread. Bought and brought home yesterday. Compression 90 psi on each cylinder after just two kicks. Many things missing. This bike appears to have been kept in the dry, at least in recent years. And, I've yet to find rodent evidence!

Already placed many items on my eBay watch list, but holding off on purchases until some more investigation is done.

Wiring harness appears fairly complete except for many connectors stripped off of the ends. No controls on it. I'll probably attack cleaning it up and rebuilding the carbs first as that has been my normal method. I have the pdf parts and service manuals.

I have a very nice T140 saddle that appears to be very close fit. Might get a pair of hinges and try to mount it. Present plan is for a resto-mod. This is only my second Triumph, and the first was a '69 TR6C fully chopped back in '72.

Present plan is resto-mod. I already had a '72 Bonnie seat in great shape that should fit. This should keep me out of trouble for a while.

Photo is as it sat when purchased.

 

[irk miller]

I know nothing of these bikes, but that rocker box design is pretty neat.

 

[Hurco550]

Man that thing is rad. Looking forward to watching this one.

 

[pidjones]

I'll have some photos up, but after today it may have been foolish to judge the motor by the compression. Drained the oil and got about a pint of water and sludge along with it. Sump in the bottom was filled with an unknown sludge that grudgingly scraped out of the sump pan. Happily the gearbox (separate) was just oil, but the primary cover held water along with oil, also. Letting it all drain and drip while deciding next step.

I discovered with a '79 GL1000 junker I bought that water doesn't seem to get at bearings and journals due to the thick coating and small gap for oil. But, gears rust up pretty bad. Haven't opened the rocker boxes yet. Guess a full set of gaskets should be ordered. These use the same transmission as the Bonnie and TR6C, but this is one of the homologated 200 built in 1972 with 5 speeds. Still right hand shift until 1975.

I guess this negates the bonus of having a seat already that fits. Hunley had a little water in its oil, but very little.

 

[Rider52]

Interesting bikes, too little too late to save the British MC industry. I hope it can be saved.

 

[teazer]

Had a bunch of pre-unit 500 and 650s and unit 500s until one day I scored a Rocket 3 which is basically a unit T500 plus half another one. It's a heavy beast but I was surprised just how fast it ran when it was properly set up. Brakes are somewhat marginal and handling was fine at normal speeds.

I think you are really going to enjoy this bike.

 

[pidjones]

What is it with me and previous owner issues? I think this one may have had the same goons beating on it as the Hunley had. Orange RTV everywhere! The sump cover cleaned up OK. Stuff in it when dried looked like dirt. Gasket RTV'd on of course.

Brought it plastic car ramps and laid her on the right side so I can pull the outer primary cover and get to the oil pump. I figure it at a minimum needs flushed out, and it will give me access to inspect and flush the rest if necessary. So, what do I find? glued on with RTV! Primary sprokets came off easy enough (notice a PO used the hammer and chisel wrench).

BTW, I LOVE this impact wrench!

So what do I find? The *(%&* oil pump is glued in with RTV from the inner primary!

So, next is to remove the inner primary. A look in the bottom with the sump cover removed doesn't look nearly as bad as I feared.

More fun tomorrow!

 

[Rider52]

Some people should have to pass a test before being allowed to purchase RTV.

 

[pidjones]

Oh, Lort. Finally got the oil pump out. RTV had a death grip on it. And, not all of it came out! the base plate is stuck in (not aware of how) and someone broke both body screws off in it, so there is no way to grip it to pull it out. So, I will leave it in. I have been able to blow through the holes in it with 100 psi air to assure myself that water has not been pumped into the oil passages of the engine. If any, it was pumped into the oil cooler line (and the oil cooler is missing) by the scavenge pump. The inner primary cover came off pretty easy. No gaskets (except for the pump o-rings, and they used two of those) were used by whoever put this together - just gobs and gobs of orange RTV. But, it is all scrapped off now and gaskets are on order. Spent a bit of time with needle-nose forceps picking little bits of orange crap out of everything. Haven't taken a cover off of the other side yet and I don't see any squirted out of the other case seams.

Some of the RTV that I scrapped off:

 

[pidjones]

Actually got the rest of the oil pump body out. Used screws through the clamping holes to jack it away from the bottom. Turns out it was glued to the gasket, and the gasket glued to the case with RTV. Fun to get out of the pump cavity, but I did finally get it all cleaned up. Cleaned and reassembled the pump and it turns smooth.

 

[pidjones]

Decided this was definitely going to require engine out of the frame, even if not a full tear-down (not decided on that yet). So, today I pulled it onto a furniture dolly so I can roll it around the garage. Pretty dicey for an old man by myself, but it went Ok in the long run. Might be a different story going back in.

Frame is going to be a fun cleanup project:

 

[irk miller]

Dunno why it didn't register with me that this was a Trident until now.

 

[Rider52]

When you get the engine ready to go back into the frame, it is much easier to lay the engine on its side and lift the front section of the frame over the engine. The trident engine probably weighs nearly as much as the CB750 so it is no lightweight. .

 

[porcelanowy]

Hello
Damn, I have spent 20 minutes searching what a "chisel wrench" is, thank you...

I am very jealous of findings like this motorcycle.
If I see something in Poland parked in the hedge it is usually an old DDR/PRL 2T bike rusted beyond recognition. And the owner thinks he is selling gold

So I enjoy this kind of topics even more.
Again: thank you

 

[pidjones]

When you get the engine ready to go back into the frame, it is much easier to lay the engine on its side and lift the front section of the frame over the engine. The trident engine probably weighs nearly as much as the CB750 so it is no lightweight. .

That is the plan. It is how I did the CB750F. Service manual lists it at 190 lbs.

 

[Rider52]

I assumed the engine weight would be close. A friend shoe horned a CB750 engine in a Trident frame about 25 years ago. On a side note, I looked at a Norton yesterday. It is a bitsa pile made up of different years/models. Supposedly the 750 engine/trans had been rebuilt and had a good title. Price was fair enough that I wouldn't haggle. It would start and run but needed some carb and basic tuning. I was seriously considering it when I noticed a lot of RTV oozing out of gasket surfaces. No thanks, I've got enough problems with the junk I currently own. LOL!

 

[Maritime]

Ha. Nice work so far. Sign me up.

 

[pidjones]

Oil pressure relief valve (regulator valve) off and cleaned. Good news is that there was no evidence of water in it. Timing side cover (plus points and advance mechanism.) off. The points wires are extremely stiff. Think I will replace them and of course the seal. Happily, no water in the timing gear area, only oil.

 

[Maritime]

no water = very good.

 

[pidjones]

Took the covers off the rocker boxes today. RTV of course, but none made it inside.The one inch 5/16 NF bolts on the intake side had both stripped threads and were just hinting at a hold. Measured and tested - they will be replaced by 1.25 inch bolts. Visual inspection in the rocker box area and through the valve clearance test holes looks clean as a pin. Cleaned the advance mechanism and points mounting plate. Cleaning gaskets off is made more fun with the RTV added in. Finding that carb & choke cleaner loosens its grip and a brass rotary brush in a cheap Harbor Freight moto tool makes it look good.