A Triumph of motorcycle design (not)

Modern Triumph motorcycles, along with most other modern bike brands are the epitome of good engineering.  The generation of riders who have grown up with modern bikes quite rightly expect high levels of reliability, but it wasn't always like that, oh dearie me no! Teeth-gnashing and loss of temper was a regular occurrence for the old farts among us.  At least we all became mechanically and electrically competent as a result of it all.

"Electrickery" problems were legendary and manufacturer Joseph Lucas wasn't called the Prince of Darkness for nothing.  However, it was a recent post about lubricants on a Triumph forum which took me back to the 60's when training as an engineer. Triumph motorcycles were my sole form of transport and as such, reliability was paramount to get me to lectures (and more importantly, the pub) in a timely manner.

Now, Triumph in particular produced some of the earliest oil-cooled engine designs on the planet.  At least, I'm assuming that was the main reason that there was more oil on the outside of the engine than sloshing around the internals, although woeful seal design could well have contributed!  The old joke about the first after-market accessory Triumph owners bought being a large drip tray wasn't all that far from the truth.  Anyway, I digress.....

Oil leaks aside, Triumph twins were pretty sound mechanically although there was one little device on them which had the potential to cause mayhem for the unwary.  Let me introduce you to the Oil Release Valve and Indicator:

 It served 2 main functions apart from the unintended one which I'll come to shortly.  The first function was as a pressure regulator for the lubrication system.  The second function was to visually demonstrate that the engine actually had oil pressure and wasn't about to lock solid and chuck the unfortunate rider up the road.  The photo below shows its location at the bottom of the timing gear cover on pre-unit construction Triumphs.  Later models saw it located on the engine block just in front of the timing cover.

 Location of the valve on a pre-unit construction Triumph

When the engine was running, the oil pressure lifted the cruciform-head screw (shown on the first photo) clear of the body to reassure the rider that the bike did indeed have oil pressure so that he or she could then concentrate on worrying whether the electrics would fail before reaching the intended destination.  So what's wrong with that you may ask - an enlightened bit of design, surely?  Well..... no, actually.

From the line drawing below, you'll note that part #5 is a piece of rubber tubing which slips over the indicator shaft to prevent hot pressurised oil from making its escape from this particular location.  Those of a cynical nature or legal persuasion will note the word "should" on the second line rather than the more reassuring word word "will" in terms of maintenance requirement.  In horse racing terminology, this wording must be equivalent of Triumph having a dollar each way, and with good reason.

The problem was that in the environment it worked in, the rubber sleeve had a limited life before it perished or split, pumping hot oil out onto the rider's right boot.  At least Triumph riders had one dry sock in heavy rain, which I suppose was the only (unintended) good thing to come out of an engineering cock-up.  A close friend and I both owned Triumphs which waterproofed our right-hand boots every 6-12 months.  There was no real risk of running out of oil when this happened as the smokescreen from oil pouring onto a hot exhaust pipe was a fair indicator that something was amiss, even to the visually challenged.

Why Triumph shifted it to the front of the engine on later models is a bit of a mystery.  To see if the indicator was actually working required quite a forward stretch combined with a downward focus - not exactly an OSH-approved riding posture when tearing up the highway!  Also, although an oily boot was a thing of the past, oil now streamed round the crankcase and the slipstream neatly redirected it onto the rear tyre, adding another interesting dimension to already indifferent cornering.  After a few decades, Triumph came to their senses and did away with it altogether.  Only a tiny component but perhaps indicative of resistance to change and the eventual collapse of the British bike industry.

Who'd have thought that one tiny component would have been the subject of a (slightly) tongue-in-cheek bike blog?

As an aside, I still have 2 pristine Triumph manuals which are an endless source of amusement, particularly in terms of their earnest optimism.  I may share more from their pages in the fullness of time if I continue blogging...

The time is now...

 Receiving tender loving care

Had a 320 km round trip today to Hamilton to give the Street Triple its 10000 km service (also it's 1st birthday within a day or so).  I'm always impressed with the superb service at the Hamilton Motorcycle Centre where you are always made to feel a valued customer by literally everyone working there.  The service was about 3 hours long, so plenty of time to look round the superb showroom packed with Triumphs, BMW's, Ducatis and Kawasakis.  More on the showroom in a minute.    One of my riding partners for the Grand Challenge also dropped in unexpectedly so it was great to have coffee and a yak on comfortable settees, surrounded by exotic hardware.  Also bumped into a prominent member of Kiwi Rider magazine, Todd Sutherland.  I worked with him at a manufacturing company before he turned a shared passion into a living - we hadn't seen each other for probably 20 years so that was good Karma too.

Anyway, back to the bikes in the showroom.......

I love bikes.  Don't care where they're made or what badge is on the tank, I love 'em.  Back in the 60's, it was the European makes that were looking tired and outdated, with the Japanese being innovative and producing bikes with great performance, stunning looks and superb reliability.  It's only a personal view, but I reckon that the pendulum is swinging the other way.  The Kawasaki range in the showroom, all of them good bikes; looked "same old, same old" - simply an incremental development of previous models.  Of course, this Kaizen approach (small incremental improvements) has been the cornerstone of Japanese prosperity but I can't help thinking that innovation is getting increasingly buried as a consequence.  The European bikes in the showroom all seemed to have flair, whether it be in overall design, an item of detail or paint finish.  Have a look at these photos (click to enlarge and drool):

Thruxton Bonneville

The Thruxton Bonnie retains the Triumph purity of line starting some 4 decades or more ago, but there's nothing old about any of the detail.  A pearl white metallic tank and seat cowl with a red frame makes it a stunning bike.  It takes clever people to create elegant simplicity.

Triumph Daytona 675 SE

Most people know what a huge world-wide success the faired and naked 675's have been and continue to be so enough said on that subject.  I'd seen photos of the blue and white SE and my initial impression was that it was a tart's handbag. How wrong I was!  The pearl white finish combined with an unusual but "just right" shade of blue frame and suspension is absolutely beautiful.  And look at the shot of it's muffler below.  Even an old guy in his 60's can feel certain stirrings when looking at that!

Oh my, my.....  I've come over all faint!

Moving on to BMW's, they had an HP2 Sport in the shop.  Arguably the ultimate development of BMW's flat twin with 4 valve head, fuel injection, Telelever front suspension and Paralever rear suspension with an Ohlins hydraulic unit, it simply drips with class.  Ok, the performance isn't on par with a Japanese sport bike but neither does it pretend to compete.  It's also very expensive but its quality has strong appeal to a section of the market, just as something like a Morgan Plus Eight has to a certain section of the car market.

 The componentry drips class

BMW HP2 rear wheel - tell me that this isn't pure art

I ADORE the BMW HP2.  If ever some unknown rich relative leaves me a legacy, this is where the money is going.  And the bike is going in the lounge, alongside Jennie's art objects! (Subject to executive permission of course).

Ducati - not much else to say when the name is mentioned, is there?  The race-bred styling is legendary, but it was the angular lines of the Hypermotard which caught my eye.  Simple, elegant lines which exude purpose.

 Bad to the bone!

It's fortunate that Hamilton Motorcycles are just over 2 hours away from home or I'd be spending every second day in there drooling on the bikes and their beautiful wooden floor.  However, it's a rare treat and a real pleasure to drop in and see what's on the showroom floor.  I rest my case about European bikes.....

Before finally departing from the showroom, I thought you might enjoy the photo below.  In one corner of the showroom, there's a huge photo of a BMW GS  which I thought was a superb composition.  In front of it, an old 350cc BSA B40 (I think?) prepared for off-road competition.  I reckon the two go perfectly together and would grace the corner of any guy's den!

Old meets new

With the Grand Challenge on Saturday, it's all starting to hit home and I've busied myself for the last couple of days gathering items to take, hopefully avoiding any last-minute panics.  One lounge is strewn with "guy stuff" ready for packing, discarding and re-packing maybe half of it.  Included in this is my staple sustenance for the ride to avoid the energy "crash and burn" cycle of sugar-based junk food from gas stations.  This is a mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruits known as scroggin in NZ, Trail Mix (I think) in the Americas and God knows what else in other parts of the world.  Tastes great, easy to digest, more or less linear energy release and minimises embarrassing unscheduled stops at the roadside to meet the needs of nature.

 Scroggin - yummm!!

 Because it's 7 years since completing the last 1000-miler, I've been getting a wee bit introspective and wondering exactly why I entered as it's never easy and at my age, it's certainly going to hurt.  Going for a decent ride with treasured mates a sufficient reason?  That's part of it for certain, especially as three of my friends are doing the Grand Challenge for the first time and sharing the momentous occasion with them is going to be very special.

It's more than that though.  Without wanting to sound too philosophical or any way "new age", most of us have fairly comfortable routine lives which can border on mundane if we're inclined to let it be that way.  Occasionally stretching one's self and stepping outside the comfort zone is a means of reminding us all that life is to be lived and unless the Buddhists are right, we only get one crack at life on this earth.  That's exactly my reason for doing it and becomes more important the older I get.  Back in the late 80's, I lost my best friend and work colleague in a motoring accident.  He was an innocent victim, leaving behind a wonderful wife and 3 lovely young kids.  Jennie and I were contacted by the police to help break the news to them and with only 10 minutes' warning,  that's something you don't want to do more than once in a lifetime.  That tragedy completely changed the lives of Jennie and me.  It drove home the importance of not sitting back and putting things off as you can never predict what's round the corner.  Stretching one's self in all sorts of ways but enjoying it at the same time all is part of  avoiding those dreaded words "if only I....".  Riding a motorcycle on a physically and mentally demanding long haul is just one step along the path of worthwhile activity and enjoyment at the same time.  (Errrr... if you can call a lot of pain and anxiety enjoyable!)

Phew, that was all a bit deep and I'm not sure that I've done a particularly good job of explaining myself.  However, I'm sure that if anyone is going to understand the sentiments behind it, it's going to be people who ride motorcycles!

Anxiously scanning the weather forecast on a daily basis.  So far, it looks less horrific than some of the past Grand Challenges. Currently, there's a band of rain scheduled to hit the north island around daybreak on Sunday.  Most people won't mind this as it's usually in the middle of the night on some god-forsaken unlit goat track in the back of beyond that conditions are at their worst .  The start and finish is at the southernmost tip of Lake Taupo, right in the middle of the north island.  As to where the bit in between will take us, it's anyone's guess until all is revealed the night before the ride. If any of you have a connection to the Weather Gods, we'd all appreciate some positive vibes please!

Errr... not looking too bad by normal standards

Hope to catch you all next week with a post about a successful outcome.  In the meantime, ride safely everyone.

Saturday, 16th October.  3.03 pm start time.  Showtime.....

Classic British bikes

I took the following photos at a classic bike ride-in a few years back.  The emphasis was on a ride-in rather than drive 'em in on a trailer and ride them the last few hundred metres; some of them coming over over pretty long distances.  All were beautifully restored but they certainly weren't show ponies and on the open road section of the ride-in, some were being pushed along at a fair old pace!  These photos are just a small selection but it's wonderful that so many older bikes not only exist, but are used quite regularly:

 1963 AJS CSR 650

 1956 Triumph Tiger 110 650

 1960's Royal Enfield Constellation 700 - not all that reliable but nice-looking!

 1960's Norton Atlas 750

 Late 1950's Velocette Venom 500 (capable of a genuine 100 mph)

The following two pictures are of me, my BMW K100RS and some friends whilst at the classic bike weekend.  The Beemer is hardly a classic but the scenery in Taranaki province is really nice!   The first photo has Mt Taranaki, a 2500 metre high dormant volcano as a backdrop.  The second photo is with the same friends, parked up on an old timber stagecoach road bridge a few km from the classic meeting.  It was noteworthy in that it had been closed to traffic for some years due to rotten timbers but we managed to squeeze the bikes through the bollards and carefully ride them onto the bridge!

If there was one great thing about 1960's British bikes and earlier, it was that the seat heights were perfect for vertically-challenged people - nothing over 800mm.  At 5'8", many modern bikes rule themselves out of my consideration on seat height alone!

Death of a Triumph engine

I've just been sorting through some old photos and the one that's attached here still makes me wince!  In my early motorcycling career, I had a pre-unit construction Tiger 100 500cc twin . (See: The passion really starts to get hold)  The previous owner had lavished a lot of care on tuning the engine, with 10.5:1 compression pistons, E3134 sports cams, tuned exhaust and so on.  After owning it for a couple of years, I discovered a small crack at the bottom of one of the cylinder liners.  The crack didn't look recent but to be safe, I decided to have a new pair of liners fitted and a local company undertook the work.

Carefully put it all back together and commenced carefully running it in.  A week or two after the rebuild, I was going up a steep hill a few miles from home and it felt sluggish so decided to pull over and have a quick check.  Peeked in my rear view mirror before stopping and saw an awful lot of smoke - oh sh*t!  Got towed home, stripped the motor and holy heck.....

The resolution of the photo isn't all that good (you can enlarge it by clicking on the photo) but the arrows mark the obvious damage - it's an excellent example of cause and effect.

The cause is that the new steel liners had gradually rotated in the alloy block.  Each liner has 2 cut-outs at the bottom to give clearance to the con-rods when the crankshaft and rods are at half-stroke.  As the liners rotated, they gently shaved the con-rods, depositing fine alloy powder throughout the lubrication system until the motor seized (the effect!).  The broken piston is testament to that!!

I wasn't confident that I'd be able to get every trace of the powdered alloy out of the oil galleries and wasn't about to have it happen again, so gave the motor away for basic parts and got an inexpensive bog standard second hand replacement which ran perfectly until I sold the bike a few years later.

Putting new liners in an alloy block involves chilling the liners and heating the block to ensure a good interference fit.  I've got no proof, but did wonder if the people undertaking the work perhaps skimmed the bore in the alloy block to make fitting a little easier.  Of course, this was denied and I had to wear the problem.  

However, it's incidents like these that ultimately give us a better understanding of things mechanical, even though we don't see it like that at the time!

New bookcase triggers a nostalgic bike episode!!!

Well, the title of this post sounds a bit preposterous but it's absolutely true!! Jennie and I recently commissioned a local craftsman to make us a 1.8 metre high oiled solid macrocarpa bookcase (the first picture shows it freshly unloaded from the trailer today!).  In anticipation of its arrival, I started sorting through a few old boxes of books that haven't been opened since I don't know when and looking on storage shelves to see what should go in the new bookcase and what can go to the local charity shop.

Sorting through old books wasn't exactly a riveting prospect but then Karma stepped in as it sometimes does in times of need!  Within a minute or so of starting rummaging, what should pop up but two Triumph maintenance manuals which haven't seen daylight for decades.  Not any old Triumph manuals, but one for the second bike I owned back in the 60's - a 3TA 350 (plus the T90, T100 and Speed Twin).  The other manual covers all Triumph twins manufactured from 1945 to 1962.  This latter manual says 10 shillings and sixpence in the flyleaf so I'm assuming that this was a 60's purchase too!  What's more, they're in pristine condition - not an oily thumbprint to be seen on any of the pages which is a bloody miracle!  (The handful of scanned pages I've posted here can be enlarged by double-clicking on them).

As you might imagine, sorting books stopped immediately and has yet to re-commence as I leaf through these wonderful documents which have triggered so many memories.

The first thought was how few special tools were required to completely strip the engines, which was just as well for an impoverished trainee mechanical engineer  who's bike was his only form of transport!  However, reading how to replace the tappet shafts brought a wry smile. The manual exhorts owners to buy a special tool (an overpriced skinny bit of split pipe with a chamfered bore if I remember correctly) to stop the O ring seals on the shafts being damaged on re-fitting and causing oil leaks.  To be honest, I think the Triumph Marketing Department had their collective tongues firmly planted in their cheeks when selling this tool.  Despite every care, mine still liberally dribbled oil all over the cooling fins.  However,  the wonderful smell from the weekly application of Gunk brand degreaser to remove it did offset the annoying effects of the leak to some extent!

Although sprung hub Triumphs were a little before my time, I've heard chilling tales regarding the maintenance of these hubs and have posted a picture from the manual to show how they went together (err... or were abandoned in this state).  At the heart of this frightening device were blocks of rubber held in place by wicked springs under compression which would have taken the weight of a main battle tank.  I wonder how many owners on-sold their bike to some unwitting sucker rather than face rogue springs ricocheting round the shed destroying the contents and causing severe bodily harm.  Looking at it in a dispassionate manner, I suspect that military scientists used the Triumph Sprung Hub as the basis for modern anti-personnel weapons like the Claymore.

The other photo is part of the tech data sheet from the Triumph 350cc 3TA which I owned after selling my Suzuki 50.  The data sheet records a mere 18.5 bhp and allowing for Marketing Department hype, it might have been rather less.  Anyone reading my earlier account of being given a hiding by a newly-released Yamaha 100 twin would have seen the writing on the wall for the British bike industry and it was mainly that incident which caused me to sell it and buy a Tiger 100.  More power, but just as many oil leaks despite my best efforts!  Thank God it wasn't a Tiger 100A though.  Joe Lucas wasn't called the Prince of Darkness without good reason but the Energy Transfer ignition system fitted to the T100A was a triumph (no pun intended) of poor design and had owners spending more time running alongside the darned things than actually riding them.  Still, I suppose that fitness levels increased dramatically.

Before we finish these musings,  I also noticed that the headlight bulb was a 6 volt 30/24 watt Lucas item.  How we found our way anywhere in the dark without colliding with large, solid objects is probably testament to the ummmmm... modest performance of the bike and comparative lack of traffic rather than the headlight actually being effective.  Still, we lived through it all and are wiser (a debatable proposition) for having owned early British bikes!

Wonder what else I'll find in these fabulous books with their charmingly optimistic instructions?