Bike Dated

The bike is a 1964 T20SM Tiger Cub Mountain. It was built for the US and is one of 801 1964 vintage bikes manufactured of this model. I'm hoping to learn a bit more about of this specific bike's history from the former owner. It would be great if he had some old pictures of the bike.
Tonight I hope to get the engine cases open and to see what needs work and what just needs a clean-up.

Cleanup

I've got things pretty much apart now and wanted to get them cleaned up enough so I can handle the parts without getting grimy. A couple of hours with a wire brush and some solvent will do wonders. Next steps are to get the frame blasted and powder coated so I've started looking for someone local do do those steps for me. My Tiger Cub Bible arrived today so I'm going to spend a bit of time learning and planning the next steps. I also made a list of missing parts today. It's quite long. I may have to divide it into essentials: needed to get the bike operational; and non-essentials: everything else necessary to get it road legal. It doesn't look much like a motorcycle anymore, just a jumble of parts strewn about my garage. I'm going to have to start planning a bit and prioritizing my work in order keep making steady progress.

Here are a few shots of the cleaned up engine and frame. I think the next steps will be opening up those cases to see what work lies ahead on the engine. I'm tired of cleaning things.

Matching Numbers

Tonight I got the engine out of the frame and onto the bench. I brushed off some of the gunk and found the engine number. With that discovery I had to know if the frame number matched. After some looking about I found it and I have matching numbers. Hurray!

Here are a few shots. Still a long way to go but I feel good about the progress I'm making so far. Nothing has been so stuck I needed a torch to remove it. I may need a torch to get the gunk off the cases but we'll see what some degreaser can do first.

Disassembly Starts

Disassembly started right after the wash. First was the tank. I wanted to get it off to find out how much stuff there was inside - because the cap was missing when I got the bike. There were olive pits and a few feathers in the tank, along with a LOT of dirt and rust but not too bad. I'll have to get it cleaned inside and sealed up before any fuel can go back in but that is quite a long time from now.

Next was to hit every nut and bolt with penetrating oil so they could soak while I traced down the wiring and took a bunch of pictures for reference and to have a good record of 'before' pictures.

Removed:

• gas tank
• rear shocks
• rear fender
• oil tank
• oil lines
• chain
• throttle and cable
• carburator

More disassembly Monday night.

Did I mention that I've never done this before and don't know anything about this bike. I ordered the "Triumph Tiger Cub Bible" last night. It "normally ships in 24 hours", so help is on the way, so to speak. It's going to be quite an adventure.

Got Her Home

I brought the bike home today. My friend Tom and I put it into the back of his pickup and hauled it to my place to start the project. I'll let the pictures do the talking.



The only thing done to the bike at this point was transporting it to my garage.













After a quick wash.












Disassembly begins next.

The Purchase

Whenever you read a story that starts "A friend of a friend..." you know the author is in trouble. Well, this time I'm the author and may or may not be in trouble.

A friend of a friend of mine had a motorcycle he no longer wanted. So, today I purchased a 1957 Triumph Tiger Cub (specific model and year still to be validated). My friend's neighbor had it in his back yead. He owned the bike and rode it when it was near-new. I don't think it has been started for a decade... or two. He was inclined to take it apart and sell it as parts but I need a hobby and talked him into selling it to me with the thoughts of rehabilitating it and eventually putting it back on the road.

Pictures as soon as I get it home.