Hi, I need to identify this Triumph that used to belong to my dad. Can anyone give me details please?
Hi Graham, sorry I can't help you with your question but I welcome you to the Triumph Playground. Some 'senior' members will be along soon to help you..............................
Hi Graham - welcome to the forum. I'm not "senior" enough to answer the bike question - looks as if it could be a custom cafe-racer build, but the boots get the vote!
I think the engine is a mid to late 50's tiger 500 it would have had a nacelle but they were always the first thing to come off, which would explain the 'meccano' bracket, the front brake kinda looks similar, but these sorts of things were always getting swapped, the forks could be off a bonny. that's my uneducated guess
Hi I think that it is a café racer mod, donated from either a 490cc Triumph T100T Daytona or a Triumph T120 Bonneville both sixties bikes. Exhaust system modified as headers on both bike were in line with frame and silencers were straight. Hope this helps a bit, as I say only a guess.
Hi Graham ... done a bit of checking and I'm pretty sure it is a '60s pre unit Bonneville. The Speed Twin (500cc) head had more cooling fins on it compared to the 650 motor (I was looking at photos courtesy of Mr. Google) and the forks (spindly looking buggers aren't they?), front brake (more date than model related), rev counter take off, oil tank, frame and gearbox cover all seem to point in that direction. Pity we can't see the carb(s), although Thunderbirds and later Trophys were often converted to twin carbs as opposed to single carb on a fairly regular basis, so not definitive. The 'silencers' are BSA Gold Star, again an easy and usual fitment back in the day, but it's no BSA. As soon as I saw the photo I thought "early 60s Bonneville" but needed to check a few things to be more certain. Can't remember when the unit construction motor was introduced or when the frame changed from twin to single downtube, though I'm sure the tls front brake was a 1968 fitment. Others may know (I could try to look it up but I'm starting to yearn for my misspent youth!!).
Yup I can see the T120 Bonnie ,pre units dated 59-62 , due to the speedo coming from that part of the engine, but the front where it meets the frame looks like a T100 speed twin or T 110 So I'm getting more confused!
Welcome in Graham this has really got a few members interested hasn't it, nice to see these old bikes and bikers in yesteryear.
Identifying a bike and working out its year (I was going to say 'dating', but that may be misconstrued by some, and Nursey says I shouldn't be getting too excited at my age - dating is for youngsters she says - HUH!) can be a veritable minefield!
Hi Dougie, I've seen that vid before but I didn't remember the VES and bikers delivering blood and other emergency help. Good on them.
Hi Graham and welcome. The silencers are definitely goldies as Steve said and the down pipes were called swept backs in the day. Many Triumphs were modded back in the sixties with different engines or parts appearing in different frames as mentioned. With the engine being a pre unit it most probably had a slick shift gearbox, when you operated the gear lever to change gear it actuated the clutch at the same time. The wheel rims look like flanged alloys in the photo. The caps over the tappets look like the extended finned type which didn't do anything but looked good. When I was 17 (1967)and I managed to buy a Triton, much to the annoyance of my parents who wanted me to save for a car, no chance of that. The Triton had the featherbed frame with road holder forks a 6Tc engine was fitted with 3134 cams and high comp pistons. Clips ons, chrome headlamp, fibreglass petrol tank and a customised Velocette Thruxton seat. All for the sum of £70 Bloody hell did it vibrate with parts that weren't lock wired falling off and the brakes, well you would have been better off with length of rope with brick tied on the end Happy days