Triumph Chopper
- Thread starter sisdavid
- Start date
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Heh heh, points...yes, old school indeed. They are very easy to install or change, adjust and set.
The carb re-build is the same, easy. Does it have one or two? Amal carbs I am assuming?
What is the guy asking? 2000 or less?
The carb re-build is the same, easy. Does it have one or two? Amal carbs I am assuming?
What is the guy asking? 2000 or less?
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
I think I still have my Clymer manual fro Triumphs around here somewhere...do you have or are you willing to invest in some Whitworth tools? You'll need them.
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Plus, I'd be a little leery of buying an older Brit bike that doesn't start...could need a lot more than just a carb re-build or points....
Consider all that before you jump. Non-running ORIGINAL bikes aren't much over 1-2000.
Consider all that before you jump. Non-running ORIGINAL bikes aren't much over 1-2000.
Norman
LORD VADER Moderator
have you ever ridden a bike like this? It will beat your kidneys out of you and the springer will make you think your riding a pogo stick. It looks like a bike that one of my friends had back in 1970 it looked good but was very rough to ride.
I rode a chopped pan head Harley then ridged frame and it rode like an ox cart out of control rough as yell but it looked good and sounded good. I was very young then I built the bike from a stock pan head hog 1952 model I spend over $100.00 on just the chrome which back then was big bucks. I even bought a springer front end and ditched the hyd. forks which turned out for me to be a mistake. But if your young and like to ride rough riding machines and you might end up spending large chunks of cash for tools and parts go for it.
Remember its a kick start and that can ruin your knee. My $15000.00 right knee knows all about the kick starting thing. It is a good looking old school chopper at least it looks nice in the picture.
If you can check out a magazine called "The Horse back street choppers" this mag has all kinds of bikes like that in it and places to get parts for that bike.
One thing to check if your planning on tearing it down is to make sure the crank is clean inside they have a plug that you can pull out and clean out the inside of the crank it seems to gather all kinds of bearing eating trash in there. You will have to tear down the engine for that and will need the whitworth wrenches I used to have them but I don't know what ever happened to them.
Norman
I rode a chopped pan head Harley then ridged frame and it rode like an ox cart out of control rough as yell but it looked good and sounded good. I was very young then I built the bike from a stock pan head hog 1952 model I spend over $100.00 on just the chrome which back then was big bucks. I even bought a springer front end and ditched the hyd. forks which turned out for me to be a mistake. But if your young and like to ride rough riding machines and you might end up spending large chunks of cash for tools and parts go for it.
Remember its a kick start and that can ruin your knee. My $15000.00 right knee knows all about the kick starting thing. It is a good looking old school chopper at least it looks nice in the picture.
If you can check out a magazine called "The Horse back street choppers" this mag has all kinds of bikes like that in it and places to get parts for that bike.
One thing to check if your planning on tearing it down is to make sure the crank is clean inside they have a plug that you can pull out and clean out the inside of the crank it seems to gather all kinds of bearing eating trash in there. You will have to tear down the engine for that and will need the whitworth wrenches I used to have them but I don't know what ever happened to them.
Norman
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Saddletramp1200
Custom MB Buiilder
Had a Trident that looked like that, It was longer tho 
knucklepanshovel
New Member
looks great depending on price. as others said unknown engine shape drops price values greatly.
you will need to invest in whitworth tools these didnt use SAE nor Metric they used their own sizes it wasnt until the left foot shifting bikes around 1975 that metric fasteners began being used.
if you plan to ride you will need to invest in a nice KIDNEY BELT it will help you deal with the hard tail chop on longer rides the only suspension will be the air in rear tire & people usually lower it to around 25psi to cushion the ride. you can also add a seat on springs to help or even mount a seat on a air bag to smooth the ride out.
also the triumphs are notiorious for needing top end rebuilding faily often.
as said dont forget about kick only which can be a real drag to most people. I myself refuse to own an electric start bike. my old panhead, shovelhead & flathead are kick start only & when bikes are tuned right they will crank easy once you learn their tricks & every bike has a trick to crank.
as for points they are real simple to replace & just adjust often as they wear & replace every so many miles as they burn or pit.
as for carb rebuild I havent rebuild an amal but most carbs are relatively easy to rebuild & shouldnt be a problem.
also the bike was built old school way & the frame is up in the front which can cause problems with oil scavanging & with a passanger the bike can try to do wheel stands uncontrolable most chopper builders try to get frame level in front not raised up.
Later,
Randy
you will need to invest in whitworth tools these didnt use SAE nor Metric they used their own sizes it wasnt until the left foot shifting bikes around 1975 that metric fasteners began being used.
if you plan to ride you will need to invest in a nice KIDNEY BELT it will help you deal with the hard tail chop on longer rides the only suspension will be the air in rear tire & people usually lower it to around 25psi to cushion the ride. you can also add a seat on springs to help or even mount a seat on a air bag to smooth the ride out.
also the triumphs are notiorious for needing top end rebuilding faily often.
as said dont forget about kick only which can be a real drag to most people. I myself refuse to own an electric start bike. my old panhead, shovelhead & flathead are kick start only & when bikes are tuned right they will crank easy once you learn their tricks & every bike has a trick to crank.
as for points they are real simple to replace & just adjust often as they wear & replace every so many miles as they burn or pit.
as for carb rebuild I havent rebuild an amal but most carbs are relatively easy to rebuild & shouldnt be a problem.
also the bike was built old school way & the frame is up in the front which can cause problems with oil scavanging & with a passanger the bike can try to do wheel stands uncontrolable most chopper builders try to get frame level in front not raised up.
Later,
Randy
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
So, what's the asking price?
D.J.
Member
One other thing that you must watch out for is the shifting . If you switch back and forth from a modern style bike to the older British bike you really have to think about which bike you are on . I used to have a BSA Starfire and a Big Yamaha at the same time . The shifters are on the opposite side . I would go to put on the brake and end up downshifting a gear . It lead to a few butt pucker situations . .... D.J.
The guy was asking $3500. I was going to offer about $3000, and get it running myself. He called yesterday and said he had it running. That means he will probably take no less than the asking price the way he was talking. After thinking about it for awhile I will probably just let it go. It was kind of an impulse thing anyway.
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
That would be my advice, especially at that price.
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
You could get a really nice stock, running example for that much, less even.
Looked at another one today. This one is a 75 the engine is a lot more level, and it looks cooler in my opinion. Just needs a cluthch only problem asking $5000, by the time he left he was talking $4500. I could probably get him down to $3500. Just thinking about getting a bike like this just not 100% serious yet. Like the look of the Triumph old school chopper. This is probably too much still hu?
Bikeguy Joe
Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
A cut up plunger frame from the 50's, tires older than the hills, blued pipes scrubbed sorta clean, rocker boxes leaking, a lot of corrosion and half assed paint job?
I'd pass.
Sorry to kill the dream.
I'd pass.
Sorry to kill the dream.
Sisdavid-I had a chopped 62 and the only time that thing was safe was when it was sitting in the driveway.I'm going into the hospital in a week to have the last of the damage repaired from the crash in 1966.
You should own one just to say you did.
When you show them the scars you can tell them the story.
Steve.
You should own one just to say you did.
When you show them the scars you can tell them the story.
Steve.
chopperjoe
New Member
first thing is replace the plugs, Champion N3C or N4C work the best, trumps are notorious for fowling plugs, next thing sink the carbs, if you have dual Amals the throttle valves have to lift perfectly even, im talking about 1/32 of an inch no more than 1/16 next is clean up or replace points, cant remember the gap its been awhile, does bike have a battery eliminator (Sebring) brand? do you know its probaly a positive ground. is it a bonneville or tR6 i can help as much as possible, about 12 yrs. experience on the Limey bikes, you gotta have a love for them, they need constant attention. bought a 1971 TR sat in garage for over 15 yrs. changed oil (in frame, pain in the ass) replaced plug ,cleaned fuel tank,, cleaned points, after about 10 kicks it fired up, a little more fine tuning a nd that bike ran for about 5 more yrs. then was sold and wrecked. avoid NGK plugs, they will not last on the triumphs. best of luck. Chopper
chopperjoe
New Member
just realized how old that post was, guess i was a little late, if you ever need help, i can try my best. have a good holiday. chopper