triton john

As mentioned bar end mirrors or if they ar the old fashioned chrome stalk type cut the stalk in half and then run a die down it ie 8mm then turn up a bar of about 3 inches and thread that internaly at each end or all the way through. Screw the bit you have internally threaded onto the bit from the handlebar then screw the mirror end onto that bit and hey presto you have gained some mirior. Make it decent though and use a bit of stainless it is just as easy to do a job properly than do a bodge joob !

How fast do you expect it to go then ? You say it could be lean - what does the plug say ? What is standard gearing ? To get something to go faster there are so many variables best thing to do is get it going right as standard first. If you want to p/m me i will help you if I can but get back to standard is the first point to get anywhere.

Are you sure it is the clutch plates to start with ? If so it aint going to cost you a fortune and you can do it yourself in less than a morning. If it is the friction plates buy original if possible as in the long run they are not going to be expensive unless you can find some pattern ones with sureflex linings on. New springs are only going to be in the region of 3 quid or so each so change them if you want to but for the cost involved its a no brainer realy, however if you aint sure check the length against the spec.

Too much brand snobbery with tyres nowadays. Bit like chav's having to wear certain trainers. If you are happy with the tyres use them. OK so tyres are a real important bit of kit to us lot but you must feel comfortable with the kit you use and tyres are no different. I use Heidenau tyres on my race Triton - I can hear it now at the back of the room what and who are Heidenau ? - Well I can tell you after seasons of using KR 124 and the like I tried these tyres and have never loooked back. They come in sticky compounds even in 18 inch sizes do not cost the earth and are superb in all weathers. I have also started using them on some of my road bikes and still they are superb value and offer predictable usage. If you ever venture over the pond to watch classic racing you will see Heidenau used on all sorts of kit including TZ's who at one time were the place to find KR 124's !! We do not anymore thankfully have the old style Nitto no grip crap from the 70's. But saying that I bought a new TZ and it came with Yokohama's as standard ! but they were a direct copy of the old trigonics in the pattern and profile. We should all share our experiences with tyres with each other but bear in mind we all ride different. We have been ripped off by tyre manufacturers prices for too long now, start looking at the alternatives and share data via the site.

Sorted then. Who needs a main dealer ? The old ways are the best !

If the end nipple has got stuck just heat it up with a blow torch and it will dissintegrate itself ! Then measure up what you have left and make your new one.

If its just the inner thats gone as that inner looks to have a nasty bend in it just make one up then you know its the right one. Any probs on bowden cable supply p/m me or get a copy of old bike mart.

blackhat250 this has not scratched the surface of what I have realy cos I have no idea myself ! It is spread around a bit due to space but you get the gist of what I think is essential to keep "in stock" Where are you based in Scotland as that is where I am just in case you need something that I may have "in stock" to help out.

Forgot to add chains and sprockets for everything split links including half links. Buy your chain in 5 meter length's cheaper and you allways have spare !!!!

I keep just about everything even for bikes I no longer have ! I try to keep the stuff in boxes marked up with what is in them. So................ Plugs various grades for all bikes - buy them by the boxfull from fleabay Cables for all bikes plus bowden cable, outer cable, nipples and stuff for making my own cables. Oil - lots of it for all bikes and filters. Spokes and wheel rims. Crankcases. pistons and rings. bearings for everything marked up for what they fit eg - 6202 wheel bearing for Triton front wheel spare engines - a good way of keeping track of spare parts taps, dies and hellicoils - all threads imperial, metric and japanese metric thread guages and files bits of brass, tuffnel, dural, phos bronze, delrin, ally for turning up spacers bushes etc footrests light lenses, bulbs and fuses nuts, bolts and washers - all sizes and threads loctite crankcase sealer grease blue hylomar triflon bits of inner tube seat foam dzus fastners split pins lockwire hand grip rubbers footrest rubbers plastic nuts and bolts for fairing screens grp and carbon electrical wire and connectors and shrink wrap Tape - electrical and duct cable ties This is by no means all of what I have in "stock" and does not include tolls, lathe, mill, welding kit ( metal and plastic ) grinders, polishing kit etc etc. It seems to just creep up on you realy but I reckon all the stuff is usefull !

It is a kickstat model so the battery is a real small one. I can fabricate an ally oil tank myself as well as engine plates in dural. The airbox will be ditched for k & n or similar. Changing an engine over in an hour is not rocket science I can and have got my Triton engine changed in under an hour and that was at a meeting not at home in the workshop. Bracing the frame will also be done myself and will be doing some serious working out where to do it. I am not tuning the motor or uprating anything on it and will use the standard pipe set up on the XT and for the 125/600 bike will make an underseat route pipe to finish in a aftermarket silencer. So at worst It is jetting that will need to be changed between the 2 bikes. I do have a spare pair of carbs so that is something that can be left in place on each frame. Cynic if you can remember what bike mag it was in I would be interested in reading it. Probably help me avoid some screw ups !

Had thought of that Nev but I have a supermotard type thing. Its an old CR 500 Honda, last of the aircooled ones but with pro link ( must have been last of one model and first of the next ) I used it for hillclimbing for a few years before getting it sorted for the road. It's a real hoon to ride n makes you want to ride like a hooligan all the time. I even had a bit of tuning work done on the motor as if that was realy needed ! The best thing about it for me though is it's a 2 stroke. It can be a pain to start at times but that soon offsets itself when you ride it.

Fowlers of Bristol but make sure your wallet is fully charged lol !

Sounds reasonably straightforward but I am sure there will be some bloody hiccup ! The plan is to put the XT 600 engine in a TZR 125 frame for the summer but put it back in the XT frame for winter. This is I suspect where I will have the problem. All I want to do is have a big single sport bike in the summer and trail in the winter. I know buying another bike is the easy answer but a few reasons not to do that 1. I have enough bikes as it is 2. I like the XT engine in a 125 frame idea 3. I like a challenge and a project. Once sorted an engine and exhaust change from one bike to another is a matter of an hour and I get the best of both worlds. I am unsure of all the model numbers/names for the 125 but want one that is a beam frame so I guess I will be looking for something from the last 8 years or so. If someone knows which sort I am looking for I will be gratefull for the info. I looked at an Aprillia frame which would be ideal but I want to use a Yamaha set up so that is the sort of frame I am looking at - basically a dead engine 125 complete is what I am looking for.

I am planning to put a different engine in another frame. Is this just a straight forward logbook change ? The engine is a different one to the one that was originally used in the frame but it is still a Yamaha engine Yamaha frame configuration. Has anyone had any dealings of this sort of things before ? I know all the dodges to get a Triton registered but have never done this type of thing before so any info would be helpfull. Thanks in advance.

Where in Holland are you based Henk ? I do some classic racing over there during the summer. Best one for me has to be Barneveld.

Anything can be made to fit anything depends on how much grief you want to give yourself ! Whats up with the Yamaha front end ? lets face it Yamaha have got a much bigger shed than you or I and tend to do things for a reason. Best thing to do is decide what you want and then do some serious measuring. Do you have access to a decent machine shop, lathe at home etc ? By changing one thing it can upset another. Keep us posted how you progress.

Why not go the other way ? Car engine in a bike frame. Like the other ideas it's been done before but it's less common. Get yourself a featherbed frame, roadholder forks or whatever - actually roadholder forks aint that good ( at the time they were there was not many options ) so hunt aroud the breakers for a Jap front end. A Hilman Imp Stilletto engine and a Triumph box goes in quite easily ( at least mine seemed to ) with not too much buggering around. Yes there are all manner of things to do when you embark on one of these type of idea's. How about a Trabant engine in a CB 500 frame - cheaper than the featherbed option and Trabbi's are tuneable !!! Or the Saab 900 2 stroke can be made to go like hot snot and has been put in a featherbed before. The only limitations are your imagination and wallet !

Hope you are gona change it to hand change for a real retro look. Dit it for a mates Kawa 750 twin bobber project a few years ago and looked the bizzo and easy to do. We also kept the bars cable free on the outside to clean the look up - that was a pain to do but also worth it. Convert the clutch to hydraulic - an easy mod - then use the clutch foot operated. Hand change for me realy suits a bobber why more are not converted to it is a shame. Keep us posted.

Amazing bits of kit the old 60's two strokes. Thank goodness for the East Germans eh ? One thing comunism certainly got right was the 2 stroke engine tuning and expansion chamber design. OK so the far east and europe did their fair share but until Walter Kaaden discovered the harmonics involved in exhaust design 2 strokes would still be using megga's ! Puch for some strange and obscure reason known only to themselves still used megga's on their twin in the 60's !!!!! The biggest step forward was the defection of Ernst Degner aided and abeted superbly by Suzuki. Some say he sold himself too cheap and from some articles I have read I tend to aggree. But the fact remains that if it were not for his defection and talent as a rider and engineer and the superb brain and skill of Kaaden we would probably never have seen or heard such amazing bits of kit. Certainly 2 stroke development as we know it would have been much slower.

Guess the best idea is to collect this type of stuff over the years ! My mates allways deride me for keeping " stuff in bacci tins that will never be used " well here is a case in point ! Never throw owt away and keep odds n ends in bacci tins and old chinky tubs etc. When at autojumbles you often see bacci tins of woodruff keys and the like. Just buy them some of them will fit, some wont, but they probably only cost a couple of quid so money well spent. It's allways the small bits that hold the job up.

Cafe race it. Why put yourself through all the grief and expense to find all the right stuff to be told by some pedant that " the screw on the back of the speedo is wrong for that year " ? And, after all that you find you have a bike that cost so much to restore you will loose thousands if you sell it. I have a few bikes restored to "original" but to be honest they are not, why you ask ? Well, when Triumph's left the hallowed works at Meriden the frames were painted - mine is powder coated, they had poor quality chrome on the whole - mine has stainless spokes and fastners, I have fitted a Bransden instead of points the list goes on. So what is a restoration and what is not ? If you look around at shows and see restored bikes that claim to be as original ask yourself does it actually run, was it ridden here ( doubtfull ) and how much of the shiny stuff realy was shiny when it left the factory ? Yes it is nice to see a bike in good order and fair play to those who do it but surely its better to see a bike being used than trailered. A sympathetic resto job is much better ie stainless exhaust, uprated brakes and lights etc to make it easier to live with on a day to day basis. So sod the purists and cafe race it and keep us all updated as you do it. A 500 twin well sorted is a fun bike to ride believe me.

Have a look around in the mags and shops could give you some idea but, as you have had it stood up for so long, why not wait until the spring when you generally get a bit more for a bike ? At the end of the day it's only worth what someone will give you for it realy. Wait till spring and put it up for a grand over what others are fetching then barter with any potential punter. How long is a piece of string etc. However if you are still struggling to get shot my offer of a quid will stand for a year lol. I have some bikes in my workshop that mate A says is worth XXXX and mate B says its worth xxxxx neither put up the dosh so what is it worth ? Good luck with the sale.

M & P ?

If the bike is a 2002 its a good chance the wheel bearings are on the way out. Take the wheel out and grease the spindle lightly to see if this does any good. But for peace of mind and what wheel bearings cost it's a no brainer realy. Make sure you get decent bearings though as a lot on flea bay are quite honestly crap. Take the number off your bearing and go to your local bearing supply ( most large industrial estates have got one ) give them the number and they will cross reference it in the skf book and hey presto. You will probably be suprised how cheap a decent bearing ie - skf costs compared to a Yamaha item. Why not post the number of the bearing on here for other users to use as a reference ?