cosmo rockit

As some of you may remember, I sold my R6 a few months back and boy me without a motorcycle is weird territory. Need another ride but not interested in riding soemone elses pre-fabbed shizit, as good as they may be so I'm looking to build again. Man haven't done that in a looooong time.

I have been pretty much a Jap bike guy, except some of my mid-late motocross forays with the Husqvarna 250CR, CZ 400, Maico 501 (yup...I'm old.....LOL). But I am getting the itch to do a Triumph, BSA or Norton and I mean old shizit man.....mid 60's thru early 70's only. Now I dabbled a bit back when but never was my bike so I am not familiar with the nuianses of these beasts compared to my intimate knowledge of 70's Jap iron (predominantly Hondas). So..does anyone know somebody local who is a guru on that old British iron? Someone that knows much more than the gaskets and oil seals suck and they leak all over hell...more than CRAPPY electrical sysems, etc. Any bike guy knows that crap. And someone who knows reliable sources of parts maybe.

I need someone that can say hey get this bottom end and slap a Bonneville head on it. Watch out for so and so flaw when buying this and that. I'm thinking bobber but I know this thing will wind up Cafe Racer....and sick.....again.

Know anyone, please chime in.

S2KPUDDYDAD

I owned a 1968 TR6R Triumph this is 650cc single carb bike. I owned, and road this bike for years and road pretty much year round in Phila. PA
I loved this bike and would have one again in a minuet.

A twin carb 650 would be a TT and would also require a little more mechanical ability to keep running.

You will want a Joe Hunt mag for spark and a Mitty Max for the rest of the electrical system.
Keep the bike simple and you want have much trouble.

These bikes are very much hands on to ride, and very fun.

cosmo rockit

Thanks Puddy! As a matter of fact after my initial pokings around, my first inclination is to find a TR6R bottom end and slap that head from a Bonnie on there. No more tickling the Amals for me buddy, carburetion will probably be a pair of Mikuni's and DEF a magneto ignition.

I'll probably use an appropriate Jap front end w/disc brake and see what else can be pieced together. Huge part is opting on a frame. Need to start some research on that but man some things you really need to be able to touch, scratch and sniff to make sure you're going the right direction. In the old days I could have just whipped over to Cahill's and Lovengreen's.

Now I wonder where a Rickman frame may be lying around

S2KPUDDYDAD

I had a newer disc brake front end on mine from a 74 Triumph. I have seen the jap carbs used and they do perform much better than an old Amel but, that is part of the charm of the bike for me.
I had to mix fuel (high compression) and kick start half way into the stroke or she would kick you back....Hard. After a tickle and a good kick she would shoot flames out the open TT style headers
I always carried a nail file, a set of plugs, master link, and a few tools in the side cover.

I would love to find a true 650 twin carb bike like a TT instead of swapping out a set of jugs from a 750. I looked at a BSA 650 twin carb years ago, wish I could have bought it.

I would attend the Turkey Rod Run in Daytona this year if I were you. 2 years ago I looked at a 1968 Tr6r very much like my old bike that was 98% original and would have been a pretty easy restore

cosmo rockit

Thanks again. Everything you describe sounds familiar from back in the 70's heyday. But heck, we rode Hondas on the street (heavily modified CB-750's) and heck we didn't carry much in the way of spares and such....didn't need it...ultra reliability, just like our cars. Why you guys think I still drive Hondas?!

But all that take the plugs out mid trip, curse PROFUSELY at the Amal carbs and for the Harley boys, crap that just falls off going down the road resulted in a ban of those folks riding with us because we always had to stop and fix their bikes. Heck we used to ride our street bikes over to Bithlo, run them in brackets and take the Corvette boys money and then ride 'em back home. They didn't like us very much.

Right now I have all these thoughts running around in the accretion disc of my mind. Gravity of determination is bringing these rivulets of thought to coalesce. Yup, damn thing will look like a cafe racer had sex with a bobber. This is going to be a quest.

Remember this Puddy....aMal is one positional element in the alphabet from aNal, which would be a much more apt description of those damn carbs!

S2KPUDDYDAD

I never had much trouble with my single it just needed a little more lean jet to be perfect
The twin looks pretty trick with the jap carbs and a nice set of velocity stacks . I bet you could curb the oil leaks with Honda bound instead of gaskets too.
I like the double pull drum brake setup on the 69 TR6 I think if I built a bike it would have that, as well as the twin jap carb setup, Joe Hunt magneto with clear cover so you can see the sparks fly
Now you have me thinking bike build

PrimoGen

does anyone else think they are speaking some alien toungue??? they lost me days ago.....LOL


good luck kiddo, the project sounds fun

cosmo rockit

I know right!! And I am with you.....the more I look at those old drums up front it is looking sexier and sexier....with the brake scoop and all. Have to roll up sleeves and go PICKIN'!!

But first....an interruption.....clanging noise coming from I believe right rear... notice only when I first start from a stop, or sharper turns in a parking lot at around 10 mph. I sure hope this is nothing more than the right rear inner joint. Any way you cut it though, some expense here. Parts are TOO damn much locally PERIOD. I will order out of CA....can get the inner joints for $234 or the whole bloody axle w/inner and outer joints, boot...whole smash for $447 a side. What would u guys do? (after confirming it is the joint that is)