Hi Everyone, sorry if this is a bit war n peace. Newbie here. I’ve been biking for 20 years or so on the road (mucked about on field bikes before that) and have got a reasonable mechanical knowledge from tinkering about at home over the years and my first Saturday job at Age 13 working in the local car garage. (Before the days of health n safety lol). I picked up a bit of a running resto fun project in November last year. It’s a bit of bitsa with no history to speak of but it was a reasonable price and it rode well on the test. More importantly the bike looked great in the sun from a distance and my body was telling me it was bucket load more comfy than my Zx6r! So what is it?... it’s originally a 1959 Triumph 5ta that left the factory in amaranth red. At various points along its10 previous owners its lost its bath tub and been converted into a semi t100c scrambler look. Which is why I liked it. The biggest change is that it’s got a later 1971 engine fitted, good news I think from a reliability point of view. I bought it with my eyes open but I’m not a triumph expert and this is my first classic bike so I will be finding things along the way. I knew it had some rough bits and few leaks when I bought It like the push rod tubes. But that’s the fun of these things. I’ve ridden round a few short trips (limited by the push rod leaks). Current situation is that after changing the front tyre I’ve noticed it has the wrong length spindle so the forks need to be squeezed together about 6mm ish to fit, so need a new Correct one of them. Rear QD hub has the wrong nut on the Speedo/bearing sleeve, previous owner just added an extra flat washer as you can’t tighten properly so need to get the correct nut. The bike was charging on the test ride but now doesn’t so need to investigate that (I’m thinking it’s the solid state regulator maybe?). The clutch kept sticking and then went ping. On inspection the primary oil was like pea soup so Completely stripped the Clutch/primary and discovered not only pea soup but also loads of bits of silicone sealer used on the gasket that was merrily clogging up everything Including clutch plates so I’ve cleaned and sorted that and put a new alternator Cable rubber. Just need to make a new gasket. On the outer gearbox side I looked to check the ping and found the clutch return spring had snapped. At the same time although the oil in the inner gearbox looked pretty good through the filler cap, the outer was filled with a layer of treacle filled with loads of glitter which is a bit worrying. It was also covered in bits of silicone. the biggest issue is that I’m building a picture that While the engine feels solid, doesn’t smoke or rattle the last Person in there clearly liked silicone and I can see it has been used on the crank case too. So I’m guessing the crankcase is also swimming with bits and my fear is the sludge trap/oil ways will be blocked... I’m now resigned to pulling it apart and cleaning it out. apologies for the essay, I think I’ll be calling on a bit of advice once I start to strip the engine (time permitting). thanks.
Easily Distracted. Great intro nice machine and welcome to the family. You will find some terrific peeps here. Some that take those 500's and make them better than the original factory machine. But not many stayed oem that was what made them so special. Regards & Ride Safe Joe.
nice looking bike, have fun the later type engines are definitely better. they are fairly easy to strip with a minimum of special tools reqd. so in this CV-19 time just get it apart and rebuild it yourself so you have the confidence it is right.
Wouldn't really give anyone's name out unless they were happy for me to do so. But the chap I am thinking of is an encyropedia of knowledge and I am sure if it is a 500 he will give it a once over by the picture. So do post as many pictures as you can Easily Distracted. Use the upload a file button bottom right corner. Regards Joe.
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone and for the kind words on tge bike. It definitely “looks right” in the flesh. Ive got some plans to do a bit tweaking and tidying to sharpen the looks up a bit once the mechanicals are stabilised. I’ll definitely be happy for some top tips! I’ll get some more pics up as soon as i can if your interested. This is the first forum ive joined so please shout if i “break” any unwritten rules. Im guessing i can just keep this thread updated but let me know if i need to do something different... hopefully might get some time in the current lockdown. Although im trying to juggle work and home schooling my daughter so i’ll see how it goes... below are a few pics of things ive mentioned in the original post such as the pea soup primary oil, orange n blue silicone, broken clutch spring and wrong speedo nut.
Welcome from S. California. Very pretty old bike. Not totally original, which is as it should be. The bike has a history. If you find the right thread here, I'm sure you can find the right people to help you. I am not your guy. I play with Hinckley era triples and twins. A different kettle of fish. Enjoy and have fun with it. ...J.D.
if the forks are pulling together, it would be more of a spacer issue rather than the wrong spindle. if you dont have one, get a parts list as they are invaluable to see what goes where. lovely bike by the way, and sod the purists. i'm modifying a classic honda at the moment, but it's mine and i can do what i want to it!