All the bikes I have owned have been used and have one thing in common - butchered nuts and bolts and bodged repairs, which results in the apparent lack of reliability associated with British bikes. Examples: a block of wood as a primary chain tensioner; wiring twisted and Sellotaped, snapped rocker box bolts; stripped alloy threads; and much more. British bikes can be twenty, thirty years old with dozens of owners - what else can you expect?
The first Triumph came along in 1978 in the form of a ’77 T140 Tiger Export. The first thing replaced was the quaint Avon Speedmaster, a not very good joke in the wet and not much better in the dry. The apparently minimal vibes destroyed the huge rear number plate, solved by replacement with a small, highly illegal job, and most bulbs blew after 500 miles. In 12000 miles I had to fit one new drive chain and two rear tyres with only ruptured rocker box gaskets spoiling the reliability picture.
The bike was sold in '79 and early in 1980 I bought a 1968 T120 Bonnie for £300 with a free tank mural thrown in on an otherwise stock bike. It was in dire need of a rebore, which wasn’t done until the pistons cracked, indicated by a sudden loss of power and lots of smoke - but it still limped homewards. The rebuilt motor still had loads of high frequency vibration that resulted in tingling feet and hands, but gave the impression of being bulletproof. I kept it for two years, the major hassle the front brake that would've had trouble stopping a Norman Nippy from 10mph, let alone the Triumph from 120mph - no amount of fiddling or replacement could get it right.
Handling was fine in a straight line but abysmal otherwise, again it didn’t seem to be a feature that responded to playing around with suspension settings or bolt tightness Performance was similar to the 750, fuel consumption between 30 and 40mpg. I tried a siamese exhaust but this knocked 20mph off top speed - very clever! The 650 was fast enough to burn off a Triumph TR6 car.
1982 saw the Bonnie part exchanged for a '73 Trident that had lived a pretty hard life - the smoke was worse than my old KH250 on full throttle, covered in oil and accumulated crud of 5 years riding. I only bought it because I had this longing to own one and really love the exhaust note of the triple. Most of the nuts and bolts were well knackered, and oil leaked from almost every gasket. Rebuilt, save for the crank and gearbox, it ran OK and stopped leaking oil,
One disconcerting foible was the Trident’s tendency to pull leftwards, only slightly, but it was annoying enough for me to think that frame, forks or something else was bent. A lot of time was spent trying to find the cause and I eventually discovered that this was quite normal, thanks to the weight distribution. After 18 months the engine blew we in a big way, wrecking big ends and mains, which will teach me to race big BMWs. It cost £400 to fix including enlarging the oil ways.
Enter the 1972 T120R, complete with wooden primary chain tensioner. This 650 twin was the best of them all. The only work I did to the engine was to give it a set of piston rings, top end overhaul, gasket set and a proper chain adjuster. In return, it gave me two years faultless service, the handling bettered the Trident (probably because it’s 100lbs lighter) and the front TLS brake could squeal the wheel. Its performance was about the same as the 750 twin in terms of top end but lacked the bottom end torque. It withstood long distance, hard riding without dumping oil all over the place.
I did eventually sell it because I like lots of low down power, buying a '78 750 Bonnie. Unfortunately, this was a big mistake as it was a real dog (and I'll never trust a dealer again) with an incredible number of bodges present. It’s taken me two years to bring it it up to the sort of standard that allows it to be safely ridden. A total engine overhaul and rebuild, new fork stanchions, shocks, cylinder head and rewire, were among the joys encountered. I used a single carb head which cuts down the vibes and gives 60mpg. Having spent so much money on it, I now find I haven't any left to run it, so it'll probably go for a smaller bike.
Andy Corp