The bike had been slung to the back of my garage for many a year. What grabbed my attention was the offer of a recently rebuilt engine out of a crashed bike. A well built T140 motor is a veritable joy! And I knew the owner was a proper bike mechanic not the usual bodger. Cash changed hands and the old girl was rolled out from the garage. On its rims as the tyres had perished! The whole chassis was splattered with rust but, surprisingly, it wasn't that deep-seated - most of it cleaned off with a bit of elbow grease and a damp rag. Even the chrome was in pretty good shape, all things considered.
The same couldn't be said for the electrics, the insulation rotten, the battery corroded solidly white. A wiring loom was ordered and a suitable battery found in the breakers, where I also picked up a switch cluster (off some old Honda) and a pair of tyres. New cables were made up, nylon lined as the clutch needs all the help it can get.
The engine was basically stock but taken right down, blue-printed, and lovingly reassembled. I'd go as far as to say that it was better than anything the factory assembly-line ever managed. This was immediately evident when I got her fired up - quiet, oil tight and very smooth (for a British twin). Most people reckon that the single carb 650 (or even the 500) offered the best combination of torque and smoothness but a mildly tuned 750 has that added bit of urge without that much extra vibration - if meticulously assembled, ratty ones can be pretty awful!
A few grazed knuckles, a pile of nearly new consumables, some help throwing the motor into the frame and the usual head scratching getting all the electrics to work as the manufacturer had intended. In most ways the Triumph's a very straight-forward machine that's as easy as can be to work on!
We're talking about 45 horses in a 400lbs chassis. On paper that doesn't sound brilliant but the Tiger had something of a vintage charm, chugging away from 1000 revs onwards, hardly ever needing to go beyond five grand, Which was lucky because from then on the primary vibes increased in intensity in an exponential manner. Anyone who runs this kind of mill at seven grand must be very insensitive to internal stresses, not to mention the physical punishment resultant from the fierce vibration.
The gearing was very tall, so much so that the heavy clutch had to be slipped in first gear when moving off on a steep gradient. Took a fraction of a second for the torque to catch up with the back wheel and propel the bike forwards. The primary chain would, on occasion, clatter away quite loudly and there was the odd bit of clutch judder, but it all cleaned up as revs rose past the 1500rpm mark. From then onwards it was maximum happiness.
The grunty engine was complemented by the sharp chassis. Fresh fork oil and a couple of new seals were all that was needed to reinvent the Tiger's taut suspension. The previously well greased chassis bearings had survived their period of rest intact. Large of wheel and narrow of tyre section, the Triumph relied on a relatively low centre of gravity and good steering geometry rather than the outright stickiness of modern iron.
The ride was full of interest, could feel the tyres reacting against the tarmac and the bumps rumbled through the chassis. I was well braced by the riding position, the large petrol tank gripped firmly between my knees, could take most of the road abuse. The Triumph held its line even when shook about and could be heeled over as far as the rubber allowed (various prongs and brackets had been cut back; standard ground clearance a very definitive limiting factor).
I could surprise many Jap bikes with the Tiger's fluidity in the tighter curves, thud inside them in top gear whilst they went berserk on their gearchanges. Of course, their high rev power so exultant that they soon came flying past in revenge mode; not wanting to be put down by a rider and machine both ensconced in vintage ways. I doubt very much that they could match my 60mpg in spirited riding nor the 70mpg that resulted from mild running!
But then they didn't have to become very involved with their machines. The Triumph's Boyer electronic ignition was more or less maintenance free but that was merely one mountain climbed. I found it necessary to do the four valves every 250-300 miles, the exhausts' prone to tightening up. The singular carb solved the perennial need of balancing the Bonnie's twin Amals but the slow running circuit needed a daily tweak - to compensate for humidity changes? The primary chain and about two hundred bolts needed frequent, tedious attention if the bike wasn't to rattle itself into an early grave. Only because all the electrical components were mounted on extra rubber did they escape serious debilitation.
Of course, it all depends what kind of mileage you do on a Triumph twin. The Tiger wasn't my main machine and it soon settled into the role of a weekend toy that provided a blast of my past youth, nostalgia personified! So I'd do a couple of hundred miles over the weekend and then tinker with the bike for a couple of hours one evening during that dead time between coming home from work and getting into the serious TV dramas.
In such a role are old British twins immensely popular, whole packs of born-againers going on unlikely runs and generally living it up. Two to three grand, or even more, the normal entrance price. My bike ain't immaculate, nor even totally original, so is probably worth around the 2500 quid mark. I'm not pressed for cash and enjoy my outings, so I'll be keeping the old beast for a few years yet!
G. Jaminson
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