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  1. #1
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    Default Another Triumph, last of the 650s with 4 speed gearboxes.

    Around 1973 I bought a 1971 Triumph Trophy, this was the first of the oil in frame Triumphs/BSAs, and also pretty close to the end of the 650cc Triumphs with 4 speed box and right hand gear change. This bike had a breadbox tank so in street guise was a pretty ugly bike really.

    I rode this bike around for a while, installed a sissy bay highish bars and painted it metalic verdun green, a pretty close match to British Racing Green.

    I think the 650 Triumphs were the pinnacle of Triumph twins, they seemed to go harder than the later 750s.

    As per usual I pulled the thing apart and was fixing it up as a cafe racer. I was living in a flat on the 8th story at the time so work was pretty slow. I can remember bringing it down stairs at one stage, just the frame on wheels at this stage. I waited till around midnight, wheeled it out of the flat and into the elevator, and who do you think was in the elevator - the Consierge. Luckily I got on pretty well with him and his wife so he never made a big deal of it.

    Not long after that an inspection was carried out by the owner, I presumed, in company with the Consierge, he just smiled at me, the owner didn't though, he didn't look pleased but didn't say anything me. The Consierge later told me he was instructed to tell me to remove it, he never did.

    Not long after I joined the RAAF and flew off to Adelaide for boot camp. After that I was flown off to Toowoomba where I did a Police Dog Handler's course; and, after that I was posted to Townsville. The bike sat in a few wooden boxes at my folks place for a few years along with all my hand tools. I was wanting to do a trip from Townsville to Perth to pick it up but couldn't get any leave, two years before I was given leave. Anyway my brother, a mechanic, was coming over to Ipswich to contest the Australian MX championships and said he's bring it over for me.

    I don't think he realised how far Townsville was from Ipswich so when he arrived in Ipswich he rang and told me to come down and pick it up. I managed to wrangle a few days off and blasted my way south in a 250/6 Cortina, man could that thing move!

    I hung around the track for a day or so, respoked one of his Huskies wheels and got the gearbox working again and then made the trip back to Townsville. I thought it very odd that a mechanic who was the state 250 champion couldn't spoke a wheel, but even more odd, he wouldn't touch the Husky, saying it was to complicated for him. Truly amazing.

    Once back in Townsville I stored the bike in my on base quarters until I managed to wrangle one of the four lock up garages that were available from time to time. I turned the garage into a workshop and started work on the Triumph, being single, money wasn't a problem.

    Once finished I took it down for rego and started riding it around, boy did this beastie get some looks, each time I parked it in town to go somewhere I had to fight my way through the crowds. I rode it over to a bike shop on the other side of the river one day to see about some parts, The guy that owned the business was from the US and dealt in Harleys, although every now and then a Triumph would show up. I'd bought a two into one exhaust of this guy, modded the baffles to make a bit more noise and fitted them to the Triumph.

    The Yank heard the din when I rode up and came out to investigate, to say he was stunned is an understatement. His statement over and over was 'you could eat your dinner off that, how much do you want for it'. He must have said that a half a dozen times, eventually he gave up but made an offer he thought was pretty good - I didn't!

    Triumphs had a little black aluminium plate fixed to the timing cover with Triumph written on it, he suggested he fix a slightly larger brass plate with the name of his business on it. On offer, parts at cost prize - nope, nope and nope again I said. I built the bike, I'm not going to fix someone elses name to it.

    He was pretty good about it and ended up selling me a complete Bonny motor for $200, so I got the motor for less than cost price.

    Anyway the bike: very heavily modded this beastie, from the lights 750 fours had trouble beating me. Gone were the air filter, heat sink, battery, guards, rims, spokes, foot pegs, handlebars, headlight and a heap of other parts. Where possible everything was re-manufactured in aluminium. Aluminium engine mounts and spacers, guards with same material supports, single seat, shortened frame to accommodate the single seat, a capacitor in place of the battery, a very large aluminium bin under the seat to do dual purpose: hide the coils and the rest of the electrics and serve as a heat sink. Clipons, rear sets, Borrani rims, chrome spokes and chrome fasteners throughout were also added. The engine was stripped and the crank electronically balanced, I found a couple of cams in a magazine added a Mikuni carb, Barnet plates and heaps and heaps of other goodies that I can't remember now.

    I thought the wheels were the best part of this build, hubs both front and rear were very large conical items that I polished to a mirror shine. They were then laced to a couple of Borrani blanks with shortish chrome spokes.

    The crankcase and barrel were painted wrinkle black, the head was also painted wrinkle black and the fin edges scraped clean. I experimented with paint for the carbs as it kept peeling off, ended up with some paint I can't remember and baked it in the girlfriends oven.

    Only the frame, tank, crankcase and carbie were painted, everything else was either chrome plated or mirror polished aluminium. I sprayed the frame and tank gloss black with my little beaver spray outfit and then spent another three days scrubbing it smooth with Repco cutting compound. It didn't turn out too good, it turned out brilliant, smooth as a babies and shiny as.

    In essence, this bike was just a stripped down racer with headlight and tail light added. When I took it in for a roadworthy, they sent out a young female officer who knew zip about roadworthies, let alone bikes, so I peed in her pocket explaining as the bike was a sports model and pre 1972 vintage it wasn't required to have a full chainguard, indicators (prior to 66 for indicators I believe), battery, parking lights and so on. she swallowed it and the bike was registered.

    I moved off base after a while and rode the Triumph to work every shift. But silly me rode out to Stuart one day to watch the MX races. After everyone had gone I put the Triumph through it's paces on the track - clipons and rear sets aren't really made for MX tracks, but hey, boy racer I was.

    Single carb Triumphs had a bolt on manifold to mount the carby on; unfortunately, boy racer here shook the bike up that much around the track it loosened up a few nuts and bolts, no big deal usually but; the manifold came loose sucking in lots and lots of air and eventually the piston crowns melted into the crakcase, stuffing the pistons obviously, and also a little damage inside the crankcase.

    I rang a work mate and he came out to Stuart in the work vehicle and picked us up. Two weeks or so later I ran into the Yank in town. We had a bit of a natter and he told me about a bike show coming up and asked if I'd like to enter my bike - under his banner of course. I told him what I had done to the bike and got really peed off, called me all sorts names for stuffing the object of his desire.

    After a little while he said 'doesn't matter that much, it's show and shine so doesn't matter if it's not going, there's nothing like this in Townsville'. I declined and he never spoke to me again.

    I found another better workshop on base and started work again, didn't get too far though, re-sprayed the tank gloss black and did a nice gray lace on it, redesigned and made up anther electrics box, sent off for some parts and then wouldn't you know it - posted to Sydney. Once there I couldn't find anywhere on base to work on it so it rested in a 6x4 trailer under a tarp for a couple of years. Truth be known, I was having a ball in Sydney, girls everywhere.

    Eventually I sold it for bugger all, and wouldn't you know it a couple of weeks later met a nice girl and we were married three months later. With marriage comes houses and sheds, sheds to work on bikes in!!! Some other good stuff not bike related is generally included in the deal.

    This was an amazing bike, but had one glaring fault: I never took any photos of it, the Yank did but as he wasn't speaking to me???

    This is a 1971 Trophy, mine looked nothing like it.
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  3. #2
    crowie's Avatar
    crowie is online now Life's Good, Enjoy each new day & try to encourage
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    Just a brief side step..
    I do hydrotherapy in Penrith with a retired RAAF Guard, Bob, who did 20plus years in service.
    I believe he also trained the RAAF Guards too....
    Good bloke, you may know him...maybe a PM would be in order..
    Cheers, crowie

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