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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[John H]

I'm looking for a Triumph T120 or TR6 pre-62 gas tank in fair condition in case anyone has one laying around. The tank on this project is probably for a Triumph or BSA Cub and not suitable for mounting on this frame.

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The duplex frame has 2 mounting points as shown here.

[Lotus54]

I have not been on in awhile. Looks like a fun project

[John H]

I got a call from the previous owners son today saying he found a nice poster showing his dad on the old Triumph in a desert race in central Washington in 1967. He also found the 14x number plate seen on the bike. I'm still researching, but I think it was the first Desert 100 for the Everett MC's which later became the Stump Jumpers Desert 100. This year was their 52nd. Need more info to verify this.

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[Lotus54]

I got some steel or aluminum tanks from India. They are really pretty good and quite cheap

[John H]

I'm holding out for a correct tank in fair condition, with some patina would be great. It's a bit confusing on which tanks have a front mount spacing of 4-1/2" or 5". Tanks also came in 2-1/2, 3 and 3-1/2 gallon sizes.
The S&S air cleaner is mounted and the tube to the carb has a slight dent to clear the frame.

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[John H]

This bike is full of surprises, why am I surprised The forks were stuck so with some kroil and other persuasions I got the forks apart only to find grease instead of oil, and a lot of water. The tubes have some pitting but still acceptable for use. Also not surprising, the tubes were bent. One spring was broken and the lower damper tubes were missing. The outer tubes had some slight rock dents which caused the new bushing to stick so with the torch and a turned up piece of round stock the dents were removed and the bore was honed. I don't think I'd want to do a hundred mile desert race on the old girl.

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