1965 Triumph Bonneville TT

[Number 6]

Just a short update. As with all rebuilds progress seems very rapid at the start then slows down as the smaller details take up much time. I got the aluminium bar and made up the new pushrods. The pushrod end caps are copper-plated steel and are a press fit onto the shaft although I think they are Loctited as well. A bit of heat softens the Loctite and then they can be drifted off. The original rods are 7mm diameter which is not readily available so I got 7.9mm (5/16") and turned down the ends to suit the steel caps. I also relieved the top end where the rods pass through the rocker box gasket.



Then I pressed on the end caps with some Loctite 638 Retaining Compound.



Then fitted the cylinder head and the rebuilt rocker boxes.



I'd been waiting for this part for ages, I bought the pipes 4 years ago! There's something very iconic about the 1 3/4" TT open pipes, they just look the dog's bollocks, can't wait to hear what it sounds like. The correct Alloy mudguards are now fitted too, these are new items but made on the same tooling as the originals. I had to wait ages for them to become available and I ordered two sets of TR6C items in stainless steel at the same time. These are now all made by Tricor and are excellent quality, well worth the wait. People have been asking for these on various forums for years.



Temporary primary cover fitted to enable strobe timing of the ignition.

 

[Pluribus]

Fantastic work. I confess that not being anywhere near as technically gifted as you, 95% of the commentary you are posting I don't understand. That aside, I am loving this build and my hat comes off to you - the finished bike is going to look amazing.

P

 

[Tinytim]

@Number 6 has been very quiet recently. Come on Number 6, I'm bloody starving..

 

[Number 6]

@Number 6 has been very quiet recently. Come on Number 6, I'm bloody starving..

Three weeks since I updated this thread, time isn't half moving fast at the moment.

I've been busy with the two TR6Cs, I'm trying to get my collection of parts into something that resembles motorcycles. I've now got two rolling chassis with short engines installed.

I've done some minor jobs on the TT. I fitted the fork gaiter clips, they're stainless steel, made by Tricor and it's not immediately obvious how they go on, it's been over 10 years since I last fitted a pair of these and I wasn't happy with them at the time although they looked OK. A bit of internet research showed the way to go, they actually wrap around the gaiter twice, the first time they go underneath the tensioner and the second time they go through it. They are just barely long enough to fit but they look great once they're tightened up, they work on the same principle as a Sardine tin opener, turning the hex head rolls up the strap and it stays very tight.



I've also done some work on the electrics, I've extended the alternator wires up to behind the side panel and also done the same with the Boyer ignition wires. The Rotor and stator plate are fitted at the 38 degrees Before Top Dead Centre position but this will need adjusting when the engine is running at 4000 rpm which is where full ignition advance occurs with the Boyer system.

I've also fitted the oil tank and feed and scavenge hoses along with the rocker feed pipe.

I polished up the timing cover but wasn't sure how far to go with it as I didn't want to lose all of the dents and scrapes as they're part of the bike's history. This was what I started with :-





400 grit wet and dry followed by 800 then 1200 grit left it looking like this :-



Then three stages of polishing brought it to this which I was fairly happy with at the time :-



I'm going to keep the big dent but I think I'm going to fit a new Data Plate and do some more polishing. I've just done some of the TR6C casings and they've come out really nice, I finished this timing cover yesterday.



A massive difference but would it be too shiny on the TT?

I used a Klingspor scotchbrite flap disc on the angle grinder. They're supposedly for stainless steel (Edelstahl/Inox) but it worked really well, removing just enough material without leaving any large scratches. I then rubbed it down with 600 grit wet and dry and soapy water followed by the 3 stage polishing process, it's the best method I've found so far, I did some outer gearbox covers at the same time and they look great too.



So I've been busy but not a lot to show regarding the TT. I've also stripped down a T140 engine, which I bought from off this forum a few years ago. The crankcases were mis-matched, the engine number had been re-stamped and the whole engine had been painted silver, it looked horible from the outside but was surprisingly good internally. The crankshaft is on standard sized bearings and is absolutely mint. There was a brand new 7 plate clutch pack and a new alloy chainwheel/clutch drum which I've fitted to the '67 TR6C and the 5 speed gearbox is going in the '68 TR6C.

The TT is now only a few hours work away from being a runner, firstly I want to re-plate the intake stubs and then the carbs can go on. I'll get my finger out next week.

 

[Number 6]

WEAR EYE PROTECTION!

As mentioned above I recently stripped down a T140 engine and I struggled to remove the inner bearing race from the timing side of the crankshaft. I got it very hot with a propane torch but it wasn't for moving at all. With the Dremel I cut two slots across the width of the race 180 degrees apart and used a hammer and chisel to get it to start turning which it did, so far so good. I continued with the chisel and then a very small fragment of the race suddenly broke off and hit me in the hand, it hurt like hell and bled profusely even though it was a tiny wound. Undeterred, I struck again and another fragment broke off and hit me in the hand again about 10mm from the first one. This was also bloody painful and again it bled a lot, I was going to take a picture but the actual injury was very small, I was just surprised by the amount of blood.

A quick patch up with Elastoplast and Germolene and I was good to go.

After a few days I realised that things were not healing up as fast as usual and the area around the holes was very red and painful, I assumed it was just some minor infection so attacked it with a sewing needle and more Elastoplast and Germolene. Today it was no better so I had another go with a needle as I thought there might be something stuck in there, after digging around for a few minutes I couldn't find anything but it just didn't feel right. I then had a brainwave and tried running a small magnet over the area. Wow, that hurt! The magnet pulled quite strongly over both areas and even supported it's own weight, I dug in again with the needle as far as I could bear but couldn't find anything, whatever is in there is in deep.

So, what the fuck do I do now? I am NOT going to A+E. I'm thinking along the lines of a really powerful magnet to just pull out whatever is in there, my theory being that there is already an entry wound so the shrapnel will hopefully come back out of the same hole?

A few years ago I had cleaned out some threaded holes in an engine casing with a tap and then blew them out with an airline when I felt something go in my eye. I thought nothing of it but after a few days the eye was getting very red and sore. I had no choice but to go to A+E, fortunately I was seen fairly quickly and immediately referred to the Eye Clinic on site. After several more inspections I was treated by a nurse with a needle who proceeded to remove several bits of metal from my cornea, it didn't hurt thanks to the anaesthetic drops but I could feel and hear the needle ticking as she pulled the bits out. I ended up having to return twice more to get it all out and as a result the cornea now has scar tissue wwhich causes any lights I look at to have halos around them. I dread to think of the consequences if those bearing fragments had hit me in the eye instead of the hand.

So, another question. How did those bearing fragments have so much energy? I can understand being stung by small bits of metal, it's almost a daily occurrence, but for them to travel so deep into my hand and cause so much pain and bleeding is scary, they were like miniature bullets, where did that energy come from?



Magnet hanging vertically.

 

[dean0n0]

2lb? hammer hitting a chisel, all that energy being concentrated on the point of a chisel, in to hardened steel.
You know the rest.
Wear PPE, glasses, gloves, boots, ear plugs, ovis, visor even (I've had wire stuck in my face)

 

[Bubb]

OUCH!

Hope you manage to get the bits out. You could just leave them alone, and the body will eventually form pus around them, and the eject them from your hand….hopefully.

 

[Number 6]

One down, one to go. I dug a little deeper with the needle and could finally see something black. I waved the magnet over it and it gradually came to the surface but every time I tried to grab it with tweezers it sank back in.



I went into the garage to see if a magnetic tool tray had any more pull but that didn't work. Then I remembered I had several more of the small magnets so I stacked them on top of a magnetic pick-up stick and had another go. The feeling in my skin was weird, a hot tingling, and as I moved the magnet around I could feel the metal moving under the skin. Eventually I could feel a metallic scraping but again as soon as I tried to grab it with tweezers it sank back in. I carried on waving the magnet around in small circles and then suddenly there was no more pull. I didn't actually feel it come out but there it was, it's amazing how something so small can hurt so much and also how strongly it was attracted to the magnet, I could see the skin lifting as the magnet passed over it.





Next to a normal sewing needle for comparison.



I'll get the other bit out tomorrow hopefully, hands a bit sore now.

 

[Number 6]

2lb? hammer hitting a chisel, all that energy being concentrated on the point of a chisel, in to hardened steel.
You know the rest.
Wear PPE, glasses, gloves, boots, ear plugs, ovis, visor even (I've had wire stuck in my face)

Yes, I get that but wouldn't most of the energy would be absorbed by everything else? Could the fracturing of the metal cause some energy release? These things really hurt when they hit!

 

[dean0n0]

Yes, I get that but wouldn't most of the energy would be absorbed by everything else? Could the fracturing of the metal cause some energy release? These things really hurt!

As teach used to say "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed". Some will be disipated, but it looks like quite a lot was concentrated in to the tiny bits of shrapnel that found your soft flesh.
I don't think chome moly is good for your biology.

 

[Bubb]

Well done for persevering and getting it out….you will heal better now it’s out.
Can I suggest bathing the wound in tcp ( or very salty water if no tcp)….

 

[SBD]

Hot water will also soften your skin, and hopefully make getting #2 out easier.

Wear safety spex!

 

[dean0n0]

I may be worth attaching the needle to the magnets, I don't know if it'll work but I use a magnet on a sciber for clearing out holes.

 

[Number 6]

After watching various Youtube videos showing the removal of metal fragments with Neodymium magnets I've just ordered some from Amazon. I had to order a bottle of Plymouth gin in order to get free delivery so hopefully it'll be a win-win.

Here's one of the videos.

 

[Micky]

Well done for persevering and getting it out….you will heal better now it’s out.
Can I suggest bathing the wound in tcp ( or very salty water if no tcp)….

TCP is my 'go to' for anything like this. Sworn by the stuff for decades. Cuts, stings, burns, scratches .... anything

 

[Number 6]

Amazon quoted me a delivery date of Thursday for the neodymium magnets so I had another go yesterday with the needle and the magnets I already had and got the little bastard out. It had gone in wide end first and wasn't visible until I'd had a good dig withthe needle, it must have been about 5mm in at it's deepest point. The magnet drew it to the surface but when I took it away it sank back in, eventually I got it to where I could just grip the end with tweezers to yank it out.

It's still in there, hiding. Top one is healing nicely now.





Then the bloody new magnets arrived today! They are seriously strong and I reckon they would have ripped these bits out no bother, I'd have loved to have given them a go. Ah well, maybe next time.

 

[timeandtide]

Amazon quoted me a delivery date of Thursday for the neodymium magnets so I had another go yesterday with the needle and the magnets I already had and got the little bastard out. It had gone in wide end first and wasn't visible until I'd had a good dig withthe needle, it must have been about 5mm in at it's deepest point. The magnet drew it to the surface but when I took it away it sank back in, eventually I got it to where I could just grip the end with tweezers to yank it out.

View attachment 395413

View attachment 395414

Then the bloody new magnets arrived today! They are seriously strong and I reckon they would have ripped these bits out no bother, I'd have loved to have given them a go. Ah well, maybe next time.

Ouch!!

 

[KMD]

TCP is my 'go to' for anything like this. Sworn by the stuff for decades. Cuts, stings, burns, scratches .... anything

Sore throats , a TCP gargle

 

[dean0n0]

Sore throats , a TCP gargle

I think you can get TCP flavoured Whisky.

 

[andysdad]

I think you can get TCP flavoured Whisky.

Southern Comfort?

Well done with the surgery, Number 6; you're now a free man!