Rectification and a rapid ride....

Last week, I had a message from my Triumph dealer in Hamilton that there was general recall for Triumph Street Triples and 675 Daytonas up to a certain VIN number to have the voltage regulator/rectifier replaced.  I've never had any bother in nearly 3 years of ownership but from looking at a couple of Triumph forums, some others have been less fortunate.  There was a similar problem with Honda Blackbirds pre-2002 and although the issue had been present for a number of years, Honda-San made no attempt to sort the problem out with owners who broke down, often in out of the way places.  It therefore came as a delightful surprise to learn that Triumph would be replacing the R/R at their cost, including labour - maximum Kudos to them!

The dealer is some 170 km away but as we've had some nice sunny days for a change, it was a good opportunity today to beat the winter blues and go for a decent, rapid ride.  I must say that before setting off, there was some vague unease as to whether Sod's Law would strike with a R/R failure on its last run before replacement; leaving me stranded somewhere in the countryside. Fears turned out to be unfounded of course.

Radar detector locked and loaded!

Most of the journey is through countryside and a "brisk" pace could be maintained with minimal other traffic about.  Rocking up to the Hamilton Motorcycle Centre is always such a pleasant experience because not only are their team on top of their game in terms of competence, the relationship with their customers is flawless.  On pulling up, Matt, the senior workshop technician and one of his team walked out to say hi and that they were ready for me - still getting my riding gear off whilst it was wheeled inside!

Prepping it before hoisting it to eye level

The photo below shows the old R/R (the finned block) just to the left of the monoshock.  Not only is it directly behind the engine, it runs down the axis of the bike so there isn't much area exposed to cooling air and these mothers run hot!!  It would be a really fiddly job, but the guys simply unbolted the top of the rear shock which made it a straightforward exercise.

Not a job for large hands!

Pristine new R/R

The new R/R has a transverse mounting, exposing a bigger surface area to cool air so that should aid reliability, together with whatever they've done to the internals.

New R/R bolted in place

Whilst the guys were putting it together again, I strolled into the showroom to see what goodies I could drool over.  Readers who have seen previous posts about the Hamilton visits may remember that the dealership covers Triumph, Ducati and Kawasaki. First bike to drool over was a Ducati 848 Corse.  This must be one of the most beautiful bikes on the market - absolute design excellence.  I'm not sure that my knees would bend far enough to get my boots on the pegs but if we won Lotto, I'd buy one as a lounge ornament (err... subject to CEO permission of course).

 

Talk about going weak at the knees!

Every line carefully crafted

The seat is a work of art by itself

The 3 pipes of the Tiger Explorer 1200

Retro chic Bonneville - extremely attractive in the flesh

Blue and white Bonneville - gorgeous, shiny engine

Early 2000's muscle bike - the Kawasaki 1200 ZRX

I love it!

If Darth Vader owned a bike, this would be it - the wicked ZX10R

Ducati 996 race bike - drool, slaver.......

Less than an hour after arriving, I was on my way again.  Is there any better way of spending a morning..... riding 350 km in great weather, looking at some fantastic bikes and dealing with a business which is right at the very top of its game - thanks a million guys for the magnificent service!

The past catches up.....

Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll tell you a story...

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there was little factory turning out motorcycles by the name of Triumph.  The engines were indeed a Triumph apart from a few idiosyncrasies and oil leaks, but the frames were anything but a Triumph of engineering and appeared to be constructed of rubber.  Owners who enjoyed a bit of spirited  riding had more than their share of brown-trouser moments with their bikes trying to buck them off at the most inopportune time.

The author on his evil-handling 1955 Triumph Tiger 100, circa 1967
Slim, plenty of hair - is that really me???

Those were the days of real innovation and one of the ways of overcoming crap handling (a technical term) was to stick a Triumph engine in a Norton featherbed frame to make a Triton.  Great-looking, superb handling and even today, they have a huge following among the cafe racer enthusiasts.  However, there was an article in a mid-1960's copy of the UK magazine, Motorcycle Mechanics about a chap who had shoehorned a Triumph twin into a small Ducati frame.  As an engineer in training, the concept of an ultra-lightweight bike with sublime handling really appealed and I never forgot that article by Mick Snaith - innovative engineering at its very best and almost certainly the first Tricati in the world!

In the early 1970's, I'd stopped competitive drag racing and remembering Mick's article again, set about putting the drag motor (minus supercharger) in a Ducati frame.  That story is HERE  in my blog.

Now a few days ago, one of those events happened which leaves you genuinely lost for words. A friend of Mick Snaith  had seen my post, told Mick and he'd taken the trouble to get in touch 44 years after the article was published - simply incredible!

This is what he wrote:

Hi Geoff
I was the guy that built the first Tricati that was featured in Motorcycle Mechanic,( July 1967 from memory). I’ve still got a copy somewhere.
I did the same as you and inverted the swinging arm to swop the drive over. As I was serving an apprenticeship in a power station at the time I was able to make nearly all my own bits to fit and adapt the Triumph engine which I also tuned to beyond T100 spec. The rear sprocket was the only custom bought part, I made all the rest from raw material, mostly aluminium alloys. I drilled holes in all the plates/ brackets as a lightening measure as this would reduce the weight and hence increase performance. The original bike had a purpose built oil tank in the saddle made from fibreglass kits. This used to get warm which was nice in winter. I built a MK11 with the engine oil in the frame after boxing in the top and front tubes join area to increase the volume.
I actually raced one at Cadwell Park in an open road bike class and did quite well, the performance was pretty good by 1967 standards as it would do over 120mph with terrific acceleration due to the low weight. The handling was typical Ducati again pretty good in 67.
Mick Snaith

As you might expect, I was so excited and felt pretty privileged too.  An exchange of emails followed and amazingly, Mick still had the original article which he scanned and sent.  I've reproduced it below to show what a brilliant idea it was and how well the whole job was executed.  This was way before the days of nipping down the the local bike shop and buying over the counter farkles, which really puts Mick's achievement in the context which it fully deserves.  It's really worth looking at this article in detail for the very fine engineering so (hopefully), I've attached them in large scale so they can be clicked on to enlarge, then clicked on again to enlarge even more.

The world's first Tricati

Engineering details

As an amusing aside, Mick tells me that one of the early suggestions he received for naming it was a "Dumph" but wisely called it a Tricati, therefore preventing it from sinking into the realm of smutty jokes!  He also has photos of his Mk 2 version lurking about somewhere and if these ever come to light, I'll post them up.

So what a wonderful conclusion to my original post in May last year and even more importantly, being able to give Mick the world-wide recognition he deserves through the internet, albeit over 40 years late.  I take my hat off to you Mick!

Addendum: 

A week after this post, I've had another delightful email from Mick with some notes and a photo of another development version of his Tricati in 1967.  In this version and given the tight space behind the engine, he has the oil tank in the seat hump, which was innovative in itself.  He writes:

"Hi Geoff,

We found a picture of my revised bike with oil tank in the saddle. Sadly the picture is not the sharpest on the right side ( my photography has improved a lot since then) but the scanner was good. I still think it looked great even now.  Seeing these old pics has reminded me of some of the design details.

I had fitted racing cams and then flattened the followers radius to give even more valve overlap. I ground and smoothed all the valve gear to allow for the quicker movement of rods and rockers, and minimise valve bounce

I had worked out the best tuned length for the exhaust and fitted reverse cone megaphone 'silencers' the effect was give a real kick to the acceleration, and noise, when the revs got up but admittedly it was a bit noisy for a road bike. I only got away with it because  in town it only had to be in gear at tickover and it was doing 30mph. My friend Paul reminded me I didn't get away with it at a race meeting where a scrutineer insisted it couldn't be road legal and would not believe it was standard on a Tricati!  Despite me telling him I rode it to work like that every day I had to race it with some silencers borrowed off a friend's bike, They had something called baffles in them which took the edge off the performance slightly but it still easily kept up with a 1000cc Vincent.  Those were the days."

Isn't it wonderful that we can share Mick's enthusiasm and craftsmanship decades further on and as he rightly says, it still looks great even now.

Mick's 1967 development Tricati

Mick's early Tricati, possibly at the Silverstone circuit

2 years with the Street Triple

It's almost 2 years to the day since I bought the Street Triple and the comprehensive reviews earlier in this blog (HERE and HERE ) still stand good - it's a peach of a bike and I've loved every minute of owning it.  Today was its 20,000 km service so I knew that my wallet would get a lot lighter but hey; it was a sunny, warm day and the 320 km round trip to the dealer down mainly country lanes should take away some of the sting!

I love visiting Hamilton Motorcycle Centre as Heath, the dealer Principal and his team are more like friends than a business entity and it's that high quality personal service delivered with a smile and accompanying leg-pulling which puts them at the very top of the tree.

Whilst Matt, the Chief Technician started tearing the bike down for the major service, I wandered into the parts and showroom area to grab a coffee and look at the bikes as there's always something new and interesting.

Some serious dismantling at 20,000 km

Mighty big holes for 3 - 225cc cylinders!

Let me share some of the nice stuff which the dealership currently has on the floor......

The first bike inside the door is a BSA trials bike, probably from the mid 60's.  Compared with modern bikes, they look so elegantly simple, almost flimsy.  I didn't bother to photograph the whole bike but was rather taken with the simple little muffler.  It was one of those designs which just felt and looked "right", if you know what I mean.

What a neat bit of engineering

The next bike to catch my eye was the touring version of the Triumph Rocket 3.  This was the first one I'd ever seen and it looked far more integrated than the roadster versions - I really liked it.  Woe betide  anyone who mistakes it for a conventional cruiser and tries to show it up on the road - there could be some red faces!

A wolf in sheep's clothing

Next bike to interest me was a new T100 Bonneville.  Bonnies have always had that iconic aura but the paint job on this one was very similar indeed to the early Bonnies when they were arguably the fastest thing on the road.  Triumph play the nostalgia card very well indeed.

Beautiful standard of finish

The Ducati brand really is sex on wheels and a row of them always makes a nice composition, as do the carbon Termignoni carbon end cans.

These get the hormones sloshing about!

..... and so do these, sigh.......

The next bike to catch my eye was the Triumph 800 adventure bike.  The attention to detail is superb with more than a little artistry about the design.  If I was being practical about replacing the Street Triple right now with something else, I think it would be one of these.  It gave me that hard-to-describe emotional connection inside which a lot of other bikes don't, despite them being excellent bikes in their own right.

Horny triple pipes on the 800

Pilot's eye view on the 800

Elegant simplicity

A customer's Kawasaki H1 500 triple was on display.  These bikes had a wicked reputation with the narrow powerband meaning that an incautious and heavy-handed rider was likely to need dental surgery when the front end came up and smacked him in the face.  Comparing it with modern bikes, the forks are ludicrously skinny and no doubt contributed to poor handling.  The narrow drum brake looks scarily inefficient!

Mountain bikes have stiffer forks than these!

Voted one of the top 10 motorcycle engines

of all time in an international poll

The Triumph Tiger is a bike which has been around for some time and for some unexplainable reason, I really didn't pay a lot of attention to it.  That certainly changed seeing the one below.  In hot orange with a deeply-sculpted seat and some of the nicest panniers I've ever seen on a bike, it looked simply stunning.  Nicely done, Mr Triumph!

 

 This is a seriously good-looking bike

That was the last of the photos I took in the shop but one of Heath's regular customers turned up on his Beemer R1200 and sidecar combination - something you don't see every day!  With the 2 big alloy side cases, an alloy top box and space inside the sidecar, it looked like you could tour with self-sufficiency for a fair length of time.

For the serious enthusiast!

Whilst I was waiting for the Triple to be finished, Heath wandered over and said, "Would you like to take the Ducati Streetfighter for a spin?"  This is the bike I showed in the 3rd and 4th photos of THIS recent post.  Would I what!!!!  However, experimentally cocking my leg over it, I was right on tip-toe and a nightmare vision of dropping an expensive piece of art at the traffic lights outside flashed before my eyes.  Sadly, I thought it was better to decline..... at least until I've mentally prepared myself for it!  Heath's generosity shows why he's so highly regarded in the industry.

Just before I left for home, I was having a chat with 2 biker gang members who proved to be really interesting as well as entertaining.  One of them uttered a sentence I thought I'd never hear, "Man, Harleys are sh*t, don't know why we had them".  They both had Rocket 3's; more effective for doing a runner on, that's for sure!

The ride home was glorious with warm temperatures and sparkling seas on the coast road.  In the town of Thames, a Triumph 675 Daytona and what was possibly a Triumph Bonneville America pulled out of a gas station  and followed me north up the twisty coast road.  I wasn't going to get sucked into a dick-waving contest so more or less stuck to the speed limit and maintained high cornering speeds to see what happened.  The Daytona rider stuck with me but made no attempt to pass and the guy on the cruiser got dropped off a bit.  The convoy re-grouped when I got baulked by a car in the twisties for a few moments which I then overtook down a straight bit.  The Daytona rider was content to sit on my tail at a sensible distance but the cruiser was hell-bent on getting past.  Unfortunately, it took him most of the straight to do it and he entered the next bend far too hot for his ground clearance and basic suspension, dancing all over the road with sparks coming off his stand or footpegs - quite a sight!   He must have been really close to filling his underpants as he slowed right up and waved me past.... what a hoot, but the consequences could have been much, much worse for him.  Would imagine that he felt a complete dick.

All in all, one of those days which makes the soul sing and most car drivers simply couldn't begin to understand.  Oh, and considering that I had a new air filter, oil and filter, new plugs, cam shim check, full diagnostics and a thorough check including a test ride; I thought that the charge of just over NZ$500 (US$400) was extremely reasonable!

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.....

What might have been... Tricati

In the mid-late 60's, there was an article in the UK magazine, Motorcycle Mechanics, about a guy who shoehorned a 500cc Triumph twin unit construction motor into a 250cc Ducati rolling chassis, calling it a Tricati.  That article was subconsciously filed away in the back of the brain for future reference.

After giving up competitive drag racing in the early 70's (a combination of building a career and being financially strapped at the same time!), there was a hankering for building an exotic road bike based around my 350 cc Triumph drag motor (Drag Bike) and that article on the Tricati was remembered. 

You may not have heard of the Ducati 200cc Elite as there weren't many about but in my humble opinion, it's still one of the most beautiful bikes ever made and the fuel tank shape is pure sex!  Here's a pristine example:

As it happened, a local bike repair shop had a Ducati Elite tucked away in the back of their workshop.  The motor had a cracked crankcase and heaven knows what state the internals were in.  I'm sure they thought I was insane for even enquiring about it but my interest was in the cycle parts and got the whole thing for next to nothing.

The first job was to see how difficult it was going to be to squeeze the 350cc Triumph twin into what was a pretty small chassis.  There was no intention to transfer the supercharger too, so there was adequate room for replacing it with twin carbs.  Clearance under the tank didn't look like an issue as the short-stroke motor was already lower than standard and it also looked shorter overall  than the original Ducati motor.  Some very crude engine plates and spacers were made and the motor pretty much went in first time. This photo is of the motor although the head was reversed back to standard configuration and the supercharger removed before the transfer.

But aha, I hear the knowledgeable ones say, "The Ducati final drive is on the right and the Triumph is on the left".  Well spotted!  This wasn't much of an issue actually.  Inverting the swingarm and re-welding the suspension lugs on the other side was all that was required and the bonus was that the front and rear chain sprockets were almost perfectly in line.  Precision alignment could be achieved by carefully machined engine spacers.  With all that sorted, some engine plate patterns were sent to top drag racer Alf Hagon and back came some fantastic alloy plates with an engine-turned circular finish; simply magnificent.  Spacers were machined from stainless steel and the engine slotted in perfectly. 

Next step was to sort out some of the cycle parts.  A half-fairing identical in style to the original Ducati 900ss was fitted and a single racing seat not unlike that on Cal Rayborn's racing XR TT Harley was made from polystyrene and glass fibre.  The intention was to manufacture high level pipes and mufflers like the factory 500cc Triumph Daytona racer shown in the last photo of this post: Nostalgia.  However, events were taking an unexpected turn.

Because of other commitments (including the minor issue of getting married and buying a house!) progress was slower than originally anticipated and construction activity virtually stalled.  At best guess, detailed finishing including a new wiring loom and painting would have taken perhaps 18 months working most weekends.  A further complication was that a good job offer working on the other side of the world in New Zealand was made - too good to turn down in fact.

It would be fair to say that the focus at that time wasn't on motorcycles, more on the upcoming new life and when an offer for the rolling chassis was made, it was accepted.  The drag engine was given to a friend I've lost touch with and for all I know, it might still be sitting in the back of his shed.  It was some 12 years after emigrating that an active interest in bikes was re-kindled: Getting back into it and memories of the Tricati also surfaced again.  Not one to have regrets about the past but I'll admit that with the benefit of hindsight, I was a complete plonker to sell as it wouldn't have taken up a lot of space in the container when we moved to NZ.  Also wish I'd had the foresight to take to take photos at different stages of construction just for the memories.

Ahhhh... what might have been! (But there is a happier sequel to special-building which will be the subject of the next post).

Update: For an amazing sequel, go to THIS post.