In 2015 I bought off a prominent member of the forum, a 1963 Thunderbird in bits. It was definitely minus its Bikini rear cowl and a few other parts but the bikini was the main part to source, My prominent member friend suggested a want post on the forum and after posting, it attracted a few comments but no bikini. Having enquired with every Triumph parts dealer and searched every magazine advertisement along with Ebay etc I got no result. The nearest I got was a dealer telling me that 3TA 5TA and 6T bikinis were all the same and he had a 5TA one, Luckily I new that 6T were not the same. Move on to January 2017 and I received an email from Andy, a new member to our forum who was just looking through old posts and lo and behold he has one. Yippee ! Only problem was he and the bikini were in Canada, Still he sent me pictures and we agreed a price and he very kindly posted it to me. Today I received it and it is wonderful, I do not think they put salt on the roads in Canada as it is rust free. Interestingly after I add up Andys very reasonable price to the postage from Canada and the Import tax for our government it cost about the same as the total cost of a new bike when it went to Canada 54 years ago. I am thinking about buying a new Triumph and storing it for 54 years then selling it in bits, Could make a fortune, Only problem is I am now 70 and if I get to 124 I wont need the money. Steve
Just shows if you have the time and patience you can find almost anything no mater how rare nice that you are going to all the trouble to restore it as original as most people back in the day dumped them.
Guilty as charged - 1960 5TA Speed Twin 500cc. Full bathtub + panniers designed to fit exactly + headlamp nacelle + front mudguard + many other sundry bits and pieces. Worth a fortune these days!!
Lol, nothing wrong with that, my 69 t120r is the only bike i have ever gone out of my way to keep standard as i always have to change things on a bike, mind you its only been in the last few years i have felt this way as i destroyed many an old Brit bike years ago as a youth lol.
Yo Steve, glad yer got it sorted finally. Call in sometime and see my new project..ain't seen yer fer a while.
Heh heh is the pope a catholic, yep but only a T140 Bonnie Cafe racer.. been polishing mi' puddin' lid up (the one in my avatar) and the old silk scarf is waiting impatiently...
