1970 Triumph T100C T500 Trophy
07/11/2011 new photos at bottom of page - And Click Here for 2012 update
Last Sunday, after
working on this 1970 Triumph T100C T500 Trophy for more than the past
year, this sweet little machine burst into life for the very first time
in around 15 years, maybe more. It was my grandson Joe who put together
the final pieces, which included re-wiring the whole bike and timing it,
so it was fitting that he be selected to be the very first person to
sample it on it's first test drive. It drove exceptionally well with no
major surprises other than it fired second kick once a wiring connection
and carburetor issues were isolated and rectified. It was a bit like the
old 'Frankenstein' movie when the monster showed life after receiving
the lightning bolts.
Because it appeared
to be 90% complete when we bought it, there are no 'before' photos, it
had the usual dry-rotted rubber, rust everywhere and and had to be
lifted bodily onto the truck. What we have discovered over the past year
was that although almost complete in appearance, the bike had many parts
that were either incorrect for this model or, were corroded or damaged
beyond restoration and had to be hunted down and replaced. The entire
front end retains only the fork yokes, and even they turned out to be
incorrect but have been kept. What was supposed to be a few weekends of
tinkering just to get it ridable turned into a major tear down and an
almost total restoration.
Young Joe has put so
much of his time and energy into making this project of turning "A bike
from Hell" into a thing of great beauty and it is going to be a joy to
ride once the good weather returns next year. We look forward to riding
together on our British bikes from time to time come next Spring and are
currently working to complete finishing touches on this Triumph and his
own 1971 BSA 650 Thunderbolt in hope that we might get a couple of
places to display them on a classic bike club stand at the 2010 Detroit
International Motorcycle Show starting New Years Day.
A few more photos will follow for some of you on a separate e-mail to avoid computer download delays.
Bestest to All of Yez,
Roger G.
07/11/2011 Update
Gentlemen,
How are you keeping, it's been a while since we were last in touch and I hope this note finds everyone hale and hearty.
Yer old friend Roger G.
PS Thanks for all the help and guidance you have given to my grandson Joe Taminski. (That's his BSA after winning the BSA Class in last years Battle of the Brits show.)