TRIUMPH DESERT SLED RESTO

[John H]

I started riding seriously in 1962. The day after I graduated from high school I bought a brand new Triumph Bonneville. After many hours of pure enjoyment I removed the mufflers and the front fender, then bobbed the rear fender. After several tickets for speeding and noise I re-painted it and traded it for a 51 Chevy pickup. Over the years the idea of getting another Triumph was always there. Since then I've owned several and until now just had my 62 Bonnie and a 66 flat tracker which I later licensed for street. All that just to say I now have another Triumph project. A friend recently passed away and I was fortunate to talk with his son and came home with the his Dad's 1961 Triumph T6C dirt bike. These bikes were the choice of many desert racer including Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins who gave them the name Desert Sled.

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The plan is to give it a good cleaning and make a list of what's needed to put it back in good mechanical condition. I'm going to enjoy this one.

[John H]

The cleaning revealed a lot more breaks and bruises under the grime. First thing was the primary case which had several cracks, and cobby welds.

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I cut out the worst of the damage and replaced it.

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[John H]

I got the primary cases welded up and machined so it will be oil tight One of the reasons the center was badly broken is due to the loose foot rest bolt that goes through the primary cases, through the frame and to the right foot peg. If the spacer behind the inner cover is missing there is no way to properly tighten the bolt without damaging the cases.

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Got ready to install the clutch and noticed the input shaft on the gearbox was chipped. Luckily the taper wasn't galled so with a bit of tig welding, filing and lapping the tapers it all went back together well.

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[John H]

The carb which is an old Amal 376 Monobloc will be replaced with one similar but in good condition. The air cleaner is missing so the plan is to make one. Webco made one for the TR6 back then. Of course, they are 'unobtanium' now, at least at a reasonable price.
The magneto was more of a challenge. Removing it required part of an open end wrench welded to a length of rod so the bottom nut could be reached. Complete disassembly proved the old mag was bad. Luckily I have some good mags. I did have to replace the seals, bearing insulators and contacts. The special driver was made of aluminum so it would locate the seal, the isolater/insulator and the bearing race all at the same time. The outer sleeve piloted off the internal magnets.

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Timing is tricky and tedious when trying to get both cylinders set at 38º. If the points cam ring is off a few degrees you then split the difference.

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