2003 Speed Triple 955i Total Rebuild

Right lets start at the beginning.
Many moons ago there was this
I think this was taken around 2004 so Id had it for around a year and it was mint (My other bike at the time was a Pan Euro 1200 and my previous toy was a CBR600)


In 2017 it was starting to show signs of wear



And in 2025 after many miles and some of the worst British winters there was this:









Pretty grim...
So I've had this loose plan in my head for ages that I wanted to strip it, change the forks, the lights, the yolks, maybe some kind of one off undertray, different exhaust, maybe a bit of work on the engine, have it repainted in a subtle but cool colour scheme that matches across the engine, the hoses as well as wheels and body, and of course give it a name.
Because a customised bike HAS to have a cliché name right?

My son had his YBR125 stolen and the fucks who stole it dismantled some of it, smashed it up, hammered a hole in the side of the tank and set light to it.
But having now rebuilt that so it looks mint again I was wondering what to do next as an excuse not to do the building work on my house that my wife wants done...

and I was looking at the speed triple thinking now was the time and then I jumped into the rabbit hole...

edit
sorted the image links

 

So throughout my life Ive had my share of certain mental health issues that have resulted in sleep deprivation more times than I can count, especially when Im obsessing with something like say, every single tiny perfect detail of how my current build project will be...

So the perfect cliché name for my bike when its complete just rolled off my tongue.
Sleepless Nights.
And so Project Sleepless Nights is born.

So it went onto the ramp in my little hideaway



Bits started to come off it



More bits came off




The exhaust studs were a problem



But after hours of swearing I did eventually get them off without shearing any studs



Dropped the engine out



Cleaned off a lot of the corrosion and flaking powder coat off the front of the engine. (actually I did that after I took this picture)
The powder coating on the engine has not fared well over the years...




Stripped the wiring loom out



Im just going to throw this out here.
People tell me the ABBA skylift is a better stand than the normal ABBA stand.
Well strip a bike like this on a skylift and come back to me...

 

So where Im at right now is this, with the engine on a work stand with the rest of the bike on various shelving systems.




And Im trying to figure out how the fuck Im going to get these exhaust studs out...




Ive been soaking them with penetrating oil for days and Ive managed to get 2 of them out in one piece with heat and a stud extractor and a bit of shouting at the dogs.

The remaining stud on cyl 3 did move today, so I think I might be able to get it out with a bit more coaxing (but its still in there at the moment) which leaves the middle 3.

The pictures dont really do them justice... they really are shit... the one thing I have in my favour is I have no time limits, so slowly slowly catches the studs in one piece.
I think thats the saying anyway.

So if anyone's got some good ideas or suggestions on how to get the rest of these bastards out please, I'm all ears here. All advice welcome.

Except for cutting them flush, putting a washer over them, welding the washer on, then welding a nut on.
Because I dont have a welder.
Although... if I save for a couple of months and dont tell the wife, its a good excuse to get me one...

I REALLY don't want to end up drilling them and re-tapping them or using heli coils. I just hate doing that so much... its just the worst job...

If that does end up being the only way because they shear off, I'll leave rescuing them until the head is off so I can lay them flat and work on them from above.

 

Id driven it into the ground.
Over the last 22 years, its not been my only bike, but Its been used as a daily commute and a Sunday toy. At one point I used to do blood deliveries for S.E.R.V Surrey and I had a home made welded luggage rack on the back until got a Pan Euro 1200 and eventually they started to move over to SERV owned and marked up bike.

It got used for school runs when my boy was at primary school (because the car just aint as cool as arriving in the playground on an 'infernal machine' that pissed off the head teacher)
It went on riding holidays to Wales and once made it to Assen.
Its been ridden in the sun, the pissing rain, icy winter and slid around like a flat tracker in the snow.
Its been caked in road salt, covered in mud and once fell in a ditch full of water when the side stand sank.

And its never missed a beat.
Its time for a rebuild back to better than its its former glory.

I'm starting to baulk a bit at the list of parts and bits that I need that Triumph don't make any more...
And I have bugger all money to do it with.
But I have time so Ill find a way
We can rebuild it