VINDICATOR - 60's style Cafe Racer TR1

I've tried the other two Gold rattle cans - and neither is "right". :'(

I'll keep looking for another shade for the time being - otherwise it looks like Satin Black !
 
Repeated here due to the dire consequences of not taking ANY action.

Final costings through now .................... I will be offering these bearing conversions and gauges commercially at a normal markup.

However, as originally stated I'm prepared to offer them to Forum members [ here, DTT ] at a token cost which covers my expenses.

What's the protocol here Mr. Moderator ?

Several overseas members have expressed an interest in "bulk" buys. This will ultimately make it cheaper for the freight to US, Canada, Australia, etc.
If anyone IS interested in becoming a drop ship destination for the US or Canada - or any other far flung place come to that, please contact me.

As a guideline -

Sealed Bearings [ pair ] [ These are top quality Precision Oilite bearings - not some Far East copy ]

£7.95 [ Forum ] £11.95 retail

Gauge [ 40mm face Stainless Steel cases ]

6 or 10 Bar back feed - £9.50 [Forum ] £12.50 retail
6 or 10 Bar side feed - £10.25 [Forum ] £14.50 retail

Due to the high cost of having bolts specially made - the fitting of the gauges [ front head ] will simply require the head of the OEM bolt drilling and tapping.

I paid £10 to have 3 modified here in the UK by a local machine shop. The gauges can be fitted to either / both top unions. If the side entry is fitted to the front head, it will be visible seated on the bike.

There is NO UK tax [ VAT ] payable [ 20% ] and freight / postage will be charged at cost.

Hose line kits [ stainless ] will be finalised in the New Year - again the same deal for costings.

Whatever the above - simple check of the union bolt oilways is a NO COST peace of mind excercise. I see someone on the VT forum has just experienced the dreaded "screeching" from the top end ........."a stitch in time" etc.
 
Next week the project gets a kick up the ass, or maybe it's me that gets a kick up the ass !

Frame is having final de-cluttering of brackets and other non essentials and the swing arm will be blasted / stripped ready for paint.

Forks are in for the same prep treatment along with the yokes [ triple trees ].

Once painted the plan is to get the chassis back as a roller whilst the engine is being Soda blasted and painted / detailed.

My polisher is back from his holiday break next week - so a big box of parts off to him to do the business.
 
Just got the latest batch of top union bolts back from the machine shop.

Duplicated here for clarity.

here it is for those who want to carry out the mods themselves.

Drill and tap 1/8" BSPT [ no need to turn the head flate ] and use Teflon tape on assembly - simples.

 
Beachcomber;
The oil pressure and bearing upgrades look great. It would probably be a good idea to sell a largeish quantity to a US Virago-DTT member and have him ship around to the US customers, as I imagine most of the cost would be in the shipping?
I'll be buying a set.
 
rundown said:
Beachcomber;
The oil pressure and bearing upgrades look great. It would probably be a good idea to sell a largeish quantity to a US Virago-DTT member and have him ship around to the US customers, as I imagine most of the cost would be in the shipping?
I'll be buying a set.
Click to expand...

Exactly so RD,

freight is a killer for individual sales !

From the feedback I've had so far in the US and Canada - the gauge / bearing set would still be competitive with domestic prices even with the individual post costs, but a bulk buy and drop ship is by far the most cost effective arrangement.

We did such a deal with the BMW K11OG for RAM rear shox on packages of 10 shox, and the freight came right down.

Both the gauges and bearings are top quality items - NOT some inferior Far East copy ! NOT that all FE goods are sub-standard.

I have had a couple of enquiries from interested parties, but nobody yet willing to get the ball rolling.

With the first batch of RAM shox they pre-sold 8 of the 10 shox which paid for the shipment.

It depends if someone wants to make this a commercial venture where they would purchase the sets and then they would retail the items. A group buy on the other hand will ensure that everyone gets the benefit of the Club / Forum discount.
 
OK - 2014 finally begins offcially for me on 1st Feb !

Various boring problems last year capped with the sudden demise of my MIL over Christmas. Due to Christmas apparantly being a popular time to die, the funeral is not scheduled until the 27th. Jan.

This has caused all kinds of grief and mayhem as the family is spread far and wide - my SIL has just [ November ] relocated to the Woodstock area [ USA ] and was concerned about getting back due to the severe weather conditions - now achieved.

Anyway enough of that - two bits of good news. I did a deal with a pal for my unloved GS450 Tracker, and in return he is going to carry out various bits of welding and minor fab on my other projects - including the Vindicator. Secondly, he is going to store the Flat Tracker after he has finished the welding and has agreed I can build up the rolling chassis in his garage. As I now have a 1950s Standard Vanguard Estate to play with [ !!! ] I'm seriously running out of space. I had the offer of a PVR [ Peugeot /Volvo /Renault ] V6 engine and 4 spd box with O/D that I could just NOT refuse. Same model as fitted to DeLorean and the Alpine Renault sports cars [ this one's on carbs ]. At £35 [ $70 ?] it was a steal, but only just fitted in my already overcrowded garage !

I'm currently bidding on a 60's period Alloy 5 gallon tank, which is the right sort of shape [ G50 'ish ], and even if it does not fit the TR1 Frame - I have a tame alloy welder who can alter the underside of the tank to suit.

There IS light at the end of that there tunnel !!!!!!!!!
 
Tank won - let's hope that's an indicator for 2014 !

It cost me £100 in the end - but stil lcheaper than finishing off the GRP buck and having moulds / product made.

Almost certainly the tank tunnel or the frame will have to be modded to make it fit.



 
teazer said:
Nice price for a Wassell tank.
Click to expand...

Don't think it's a Wassell Teazer ........... looks way too big enough. There's another pic that gives the scale [ a guy holding it ! ], but I hope to check it out in the flesh next week when it arrives.

Difficult to tell from the pix I have so far, but it's reminiscent of the alloy tanks that Tom Kirby sold from his Romford shop in the 60's. One of my pals also had one on a Metisse [ alloy ]. His [ Kirby's ] T90 race bike he built specifically for the Island sported one of these tanks.

All that said - a good price for a 5 gall alloy tank ! A grp tank, very similar shape, just sold on e-bay for £160 !


I might even get my old pal Steve Wassell to check it out !

Just for comparison, here's the Wassel item - as you can see, much smaller and a different shape - central gas cap, centre bolt mounting, etc.,etc. and had the indent for the Wassell logo. Later versions were very squared off and carried a large embossed square Wassell logo on the sides.

 
Just spoke with the seller. The tank was part of a Triumph Metisse kit his FATHER bought in 1972 'ish.

The alloy tank was an on cost option [ standard was GRP - same shape ].

Here's a pic as original - the PO painted it himself and had the "Triumph" logo hand painted by a previous Triumph employee - Birmingham - NOT Meriden !

The bike was involved in a serious accident and the frame was a write off. The tank only suffered minor dings and dents. The insurance paid out and he kept the salvage - in his LOFT for the past 30 odd years. Most of the big parts sold [ including the GP100 engine ], but they forgot all about the tank until the plumber went into the loft to repair the cold water tank a few weeks ago.
Now, if only my Brass Monza gas cap will fit ....................................



Here's another shown on a bike. WOW - just spotted the Gold painted front hub - THAT'S the colour !!!!!!!

 
That's a gorgeous Rickman Norton.

This was Wassell long tank
1978marchWinton.jpg
Hard to see in that picture but it looked the same on top but different front mounts.

Ask Mr Wassell about his long tanks, not the scrambles tanks. I suspect they may have been made in the same shop as the Rickmans had theirs made. Is Steve Ted's son? It would be interesting to hear more about the range of tanks they used to make and sell.
 
Looks spot on Teazer.

yes - Steve Wassell was the elder of two sons involved in the business and was a customer at my Speed Shop [ how we met ] and over the years became a very good friend. Tim was the younger brother who had a serious accident that confined him to a wheelchair. Didn't stop him from continuing in the bike business after the demise of Wassell Ltd. in the late 70's [ ? ]. He still produces specialised components today. Steve went on to become a full time playboy ! Bought his own wine bar after the business collapsed.

I spent many a happy hour in their private bike museum, with unfettered access to some amazing [ and unique ] bikes. Even got to ride a few. There were many ex. factory prototypes, like the one and only factory Ariel Square Four in a swingarm / twinshock frame and a water cooled 4 cylinder engined LE Velo.

Spot on with the assumption about the common supplier for the tanks ...... combined brain fade precludes ANY idea about the actual manufacturer !!

I suspect that they were quite commonly supplied within the trade during that period as they are definitely the same as the one's supplied by Tom Kirby. I actually bought one of the tanks that was originally scheduled for the Tiger 90 race project - as well as some trick engine parts.
 
The seller has just confirmed that the tank has been despatched - should be here Tuesday or so next week.

He also checked with his Dad, and said he had to pay an extra £12 [ $20 ? ] for the alloy tank over the GRP one !

Thanx UJ and BB .........WELL pleased !!!!!!!!!!! ;D
 
Tank arrived - overjoyed ........ ;D

It's in perfect condition inside [ no corrosion ] - small dents and dings, but it's going to be painted anyway.

I had a rough mock up on a spare frame, and decided to mod the frame rather than the tank. As usual with oddball tanks on the TR1 - it's the frame width at the rear that is the problem.

I may have to go for setting the tank up high at the back [ a la Benelli Mojave fitments ]. That in turn exposes that fuggin uggerly frame at the rear, so probably "side panels" a la old BSA / Triumph to cover the offending area. It's about 10% smaller than the GRP buck I made up - which is a good thing as I was never completely satisfied about the size of the modded TR1 tank.

I've decided to concentrate all efforts on getting the Vindicator finished this year - I'll also put some effort into the Kay Fighter, only because I may be in need of a sidecar outfit in the next few years - both knees now giving aggro !

The frame and tank [ Vindicator ] are off to my pal AC's next week to have his fabricator slice and dice the frame to fit the tank. IF I had the time - I would definitely go with a trellis frame or mod the top frame section to take Manx style layout.
 
Any photos?

Speaking of trellis frames, if your heart is set on it, you could consider the frame off a knocked off TRX850. And you'd stay true to colours - if that's important to you - since both engine and frame would be from the same maker...
(Just thinking out loud here...)

M.
 
Cuba Libre said:
Any photos?

Speaking of trellis frames, if your heart is set on it, you could consider the frame off a knocked off TRX850. And you'd stay true to colours - if that's important to you - since both engine and frame would be from the same maker...
(Just thinking out loud here...)

M.
Click to expand...

CL,

I'll take some pix once the cutting and shutting is under way. These tanks [ Metisse ] are quite plentiful in the UK - mostly in GRP, but still some alloy ones about.

Last year I offered up one of my spare Kay frames to the TR1 power unit - which with the addition of a few tubes could be made very "trellis". It would be a fairly straightforward job.

However, I really have come to the realisation that there is only a finite amount of time to play with all these projects - so [ for now anyway ! ] it's concentrate on getting the Vindicator and Kay finished.
 
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