Shit is all f’d up right now. 

The shop will not be taking on any new work/bikes until after April 30th. The doors are closed, but we will still be taking parts orders and finishing any projects in the shop.

For your safety and ours (and state mandate) the shop is closed for normal retail hours - Please call, text, or email your parts orders and we will get them filled.

After April 30th the shop will be by appointment only. This, I believe, will be the new reality for the unforeseen future. I am putting an appointment calendar on the web site right now and hope to have that working soon.

We are getting a late start on this project. It arrived at the shop close to a year ago, but beyond the theoretical we have not been able to start work in earnest on it until now (sorry Nick).

The customer has requested a light cafe approach to the Honda's resurrection. Lower bars, different seat, alloy rims, etc. is in the planning. On the back shelf I have some fairings I am interested in possibly using if he is game.

Yesterday, Mike and I starting the initial tear down to see what we have to deal with and despite what appeared to be a decent condition barn find there are two things that gave me pause. First, the tank exterior is fine, but it is filled with rusty sludge and the top is very thin and flexible. Second, the electric seems super toasted as there was no juice going through the system with a battery hooked up and some basic voltage tests - not catastrophic, but just frustrating.

Today we popped out the carbs and put them in the ultrasonic cleaner. They will need several rounds as the bottoms are filled with sludge.

This awesome little scoot is up for sale. Same owner since 1963.

In the ongoing saga over the Quaker City Motor Works shop name, I have started a Go Fund Me in order to pay the retainer for a lawyer.

Backstory: Triumph Philadelphia/Manayunk Triumph recently changed their name to Quaker City Motor Sport. Before this was in use I had reached out to their Dealer Principal and informed him how it is amazingly similar to my shop name and that both shops are in the motorcycle biz (even with the same brand) that he should not go forth with the name, because it would cause confusion in the marketplace. Much to my dismay he has proceeded with the name change.

It is my goal that the lawyers talk and come up with an amiable settlement that does not injure either of our businesses.

I know many of you are taken back and outraged, but please do not disparage his shop or leave nasty comments on any of their social media accounts. Philadelphia is a small community and I know folks who work there and they are decent folk.

If you feel so inclined here is the link to the Go Fund Me page.

Thanks

Here is a quick little snippet of what is to come with the newly revived podcast. The current set-up may not function with iTunes, so I will be figuring that out in the meantime.

One of the things I learned is that the stock gearbox on the TR5T is somewhere between wide ratio and standard. The classic/cool thing to do would be to source a close ratio gearbox. This would be the gearbox run back in the late 60s at Daytona when the Triumph 500 was a bike to beat. The problem is the difference in the races being run. The first gear on a close ratio is too high for a speedy start that is so key to getting yourself out front for a short race. A longer race, like Daytona, gave you enough miles to make up for a slow start. The low 1st gear in the bike gave me some goods starts that the bike and rider were not up to task for.

Tracks like New Jersey Motorsports Park have a lot of twists and carousels that will keep you between 2nd and 3rd more than you would expect. My experience for the Triumph was that the distance between 2nd and 3rd was too great and that it left me at a great disadvantage. 

The ratio for 4th stays the same Between the different wide, standard and close ratios.  It was hard to see a considerable change in 3rd from the TR5T and standard gearbox, as well. The plan is to keep all other gears, but update 2nd to standard specs. 

Part of getting into the gear cluster requires tearing down of the clutch. This is where I should mention that prior to racing I never saw the bike run for more than a couple seconds. It turns out that the clutch decided not to work on race day and I had to jam another friction plate in there to get anything to happen. The truth is that I had planned on rebuilding the clutch beforehand, but the parts never arrived in time. New clutch springs and friction plates await installation.  

 

 

Getting myself and the Triumph on the track last season was an incredible experience. Starting to assemble the bike less than two weeks before racing was something I wanted to avoid the next time. If plans have gone, as planned, the bike would be done by now and already tested. As it stands, Roebling is about 4 weeks away and I am just starting to get to work on the bike.

There only thing I got done right away to the bike was putting proper exhaust spigots in. For some odd reason on the TR5T Triumph decided to use push in exhaust pipes unlike every other T100 engine. Last year at the track, I returned to the pit with a pipe dangling off the side. Many thanks to John Melniczuk for bailing me out that day and Tom Healy for getting the heads tapped for the spigots.

This engine was run as I got it. I have no clue what is really inside. My understanding is that it was raced on some local TT tracks. Having to remove the head to get the spigots in revealed some oddities. Stock valve guides were in the intake and some mismatched oversized guides were in the exhaust. Replacement guides and valves all around. For some reason I had been running lightened racing springs in my everyday T100 and those have been 'borrowed' permanently to complete the head. It also appears that whoever did the engine before me was using an earlier copper gasket that is thicker than the proper one (let's hope there was not a good reason).

I should be buttoning up the top end today and then will get on the gearbox and clutch next week.

Luca Cipolla is a four and two wheel moto addict going to school for film. A nasty incident with a car not noticing his bike put him out for more than a semester last year, but his love of two wheels lives on in this short film.

Unlike some hipster homage to grooming and pseudo manliness here is a simple vignette of a real person with their actual bike just getting as much out of a day as he can. 

Last week I just finished up the custom wiring for a customer's Triumph. The bike is a 1963 TR6ss that came to him as a basket case in 1971. It came to me when something crazy went on with the wiring.

Along with a custom harness a new digital ignition was installed. This allowed us to swap things around and make the bike a negative ground system as per the owners request.

Early on the single carb TR6 was changed into a twin carb along with the standard 650 jugs being replaced with an oversized 750cc set. A belt drive and dry clutch is also hidden below the primary cover. As this bike is done for the guy riding it and not for anyone else, it contains a mix of styles that make it unique. Along with a mix of cafe and bobber elements, two of my favorite unique/interesting elements of the bike are the large tank and the Aermacchi front end. The owner says the front brake could be better (after some test riding, I agree), but at the time it was an easy way to get a set of Ceriani forks. The meager front brake has stayed on during the search for something better. TT pipes along with a bobber style seat, a custom oil tank, and pillion pad complete the look.

This bike is a good example of a personal project that will morph and change over time. It may send the critics into a tizzy over certain elements, but the performance of this bike is real and the ride is quality.