tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68458719090666280952012-01-13T17:20:31.113-07:00A story of the reconstruction of a 1964 T20SMGymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-57290155758725756522011-05-18T18:00:00.001-07:002011-05-18T18:00:02.377-07:00

In order to get things moving forward again I sent some parts off to a machinist who specializes in restorations and has experience with old Triumphs, some of them Cubs.  I packed up the head, barrel and old piston and sent them off to Baxter Cycle in Marne, Iowa.  About 5 days after dropping the box off at the post office I got a call from their machinst.  After a brief chat about my options and

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-90692122856763527592011-04-27T13:10:00.001-07:002011-04-27T13:10:00.315-07:00

Well, it's been quite some time since an update was made here.  Since this is my first restoration project I can't compare my progress to past persona experience.  From reading about other people's restorations it seems as though there are two types, in general.  Those who get a bike, collect everythign they need to restore it, then set about doing the work in, more or less, one continuous stream

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-2855250554601485252010-05-31T13:00:00.000-07:002010-05-31T13:54:04.860-07:00

Now it feels like I'm really making progress. With a day off for Memorial Day I decided I'd better make some progress on the Cub so I assembled the fork and mounted it, along with the wheels, to the frame to complete the rolling chassis. I had a few problems but you can see the final results. I'm happy with the way things are looking and can't wait to get more work done. I'm putting

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-18025811359565114912010-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:002010-05-27T09:02:14.252-07:00

FrameAssembly1 Originally uploaded by Gym_xI planned this post to be a shot of the before and after pictures of the shocks since I spent quite a bit of time rehabilitating them, but I got on a roll and started bolting things together last night. Since I'm working by myself and didn't have three or four other hands to help hold things I strapped the head to my shelving with the frame sitting on

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-36821925376807216002010-05-21T11:00:00.000-07:002010-05-21T12:19:46.325-07:00

Just a quick teaser. This is a "before" picture of the old shock. You've already seen before and after of the bushings. The whole enchilada is next. Originally uploaded by Gym_x

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-57376093241389010392010-05-20T21:38:00.001-07:002010-05-20T21:38:02.120-07:00

New and OldOriginally uploaded by Gym_xI got my rear shock bushings fabricated this evening and am very happy with how they turned out. The material I got from McMaster Carr was perfect. It seems to be the right hardness, was the right O.D. and wasn't too bad to cut to size and drill to fit the spacers. Only time will tell how it's going to hold up but for the price of two bushings I can make

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-22794598216638628222010-05-20T15:00:00.000-07:002010-05-20T15:09:24.905-07:00

P5180048 Originally uploaded by Gym_xI'm almost ready to assemble the rolling chassis. I'm putting the finishing touches on the rear shocks and the forks now.  Once those are finished I'll be ready for assembly.  The fork gaiters arrived last week and I'll get those mounted this weekend to complete the front. In the back I'm refinishing the rear shocks and, as you can see from this picture, the

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-52545208249322241372010-03-16T10:54:00.002-07:002010-05-20T15:11:42.680-07:00

I've got several coats of beautiful glossy black paint on the frame, swingarm, sub-frame, side stand, foot rests, and a few other miscellaneous parts. I’ve got the wheels assembled with their old brake shoes – new ones on order. Forks are painted and assembled minus their oil, which I’ll add when I’m closer to having a running engine. Here’s a shot of the rolling chassis. I’m pretty happy with

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-64281702729368869032010-03-06T11:00:00.001-07:002010-03-06T11:53:59.371-07:00

I didn't get anything done last weekend as I had planned. I blame the rain but I could have painted in the garage. I didn't want overspray on everything so I opted out. I was busy with a lot of other stuff so I'm using the rain as my excuse for the week.This weekend I got started early, Thursday actually. I managed to get things setup in the back yard and sprayed the rear sub-frame, sidestand

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-24991609417871082682010-02-26T11:00:00.000-07:002010-02-26T11:13:22.887-07:00

FrameOriginally uploaded by Gym_xI hate to make plans for the weekend but I'm going to anyway in the hope it will motivate me to act. Saturday morning I'm going to setup a temporary paint booth in my back yard and start painting the frame and sub-frame. They're all primed and ready so all I need to do is wipe them down and start spraying. If all goes well, by the end of the weekend I'll have a

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-62332066631195110972009-11-30T11:27:00.004-07:002009-12-17T10:04:40.647-07:00

Well, the weather has been better for working in the garage for quite some time now (at least two months) but I haven't really done any work.I have made a few advances but I'm nowhere close to where I had hoped, even conservatively. I have rebuilt forks, minus gaiters; rebuilt wheels, minus brake shoes; and a frame that's primed but not painted. In order to get the rolling chassis finished I

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-80138752430554374322009-07-18T10:26:00.002-07:002009-07-18T10:36:43.064-07:00

Just a quick update this time and no pictures, sorry.It's been 105+ for about two weeks now, which has made it far to hot in the garage to do any meaningful work on the cubbie. I did manage to spend enough time this morning out there to finish truing the wheels. I need to get the brakes relined and assembled and shod the rims with rubber to get to 100%. I hope to order the brake lining

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-72954583991632366582009-06-22T22:00:00.003-07:002009-06-23T07:16:25.572-07:00

It's been said, "you can never have too many tools", and for the most part I agree. It is possible to have too many to fit your tool box or available workspace, however. I'm not in that position but I was in the position of needing to true two Triumph Tiger Cub wheels so I decided to remedy that situation.With only one trip to the building supply store for the necessary raw materials I pieced

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-24049646709719017952009-06-15T22:00:00.002-07:002009-06-15T22:07:11.599-07:00

My new front rim arrived today after a month of waiting. Not as bad as I had feared when the supplier told me it was back ordered and coming from his supplier. They told me it might be up to six weeks. Since they are in the UK, I feared it would take even longer, so I was quite pleased with a four week turnaround.As you can see from the pictures below it's quite lovely. Straight and covered

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-92066847516611427032009-05-26T21:48:00.001-07:002009-05-26T22:05:53.668-07:00

Well, in order to finish off the rolling chassis I had to order a new front rim. I tried to straighten the old one but wasn't making any real progress - no progress at all. It was warped and twisted and not cooperating so it had to go. I've got a new shiny chrome one on back-order. It should be here in another 4 to 6 weeks. In the mean time I'm starting to take inventory of the parts I'm

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-72767215585256303172009-04-26T20:00:00.001-07:002009-04-27T09:27:38.056-07:00

Triumph Cub WheelOriginally uploaded by Gym_xOne Triumph Tiger Cub wheel mostly restored. I've still to get the brakes installed but I've painted the hub, polished the rims, cleaned up the spokes and nipples, and relaced the wheel. It still needs to be trued up, and for that I must build a truing stand for the bench, but I'm very pleased. There is still one missing spoke because I couldn't

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-68402642121282638642009-04-23T20:00:00.001-07:002009-04-24T09:07:17.489-07:00

One done, two actually, many many... many left to go.The hubs are done and ready to be made back into round rolling wheels. I'm a bit excited about having something ready for reassembly. I've finally decided to rebuild the old wheels with the old spokes minus two. The way the spoke holes in the hubs are I can add the missing spokes when I find them without having to do much disassembly. So that's

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-38969639098827666972009-04-20T17:00:00.001-07:002009-04-20T17:00:00.251-07:00

What have I been doing? Well... nothing on the cub. To be honest I have done a couple of small things but nothing 'blog-worthy'. I primed the frame. Now everything that I've prepped has at least one coat of primer and some are ready for the color coats.I've been busy with other things lately and haven't spent any time in the garage. I'm planning to fix that this weekend by getting the hubs

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-52135905167481769352009-03-14T18:00:00.000-07:002009-03-14T18:39:09.730-07:00

I've been getting all my parts primed and primed again before starting to put the final colors on. They say the prep work is the most important step so I'm taking my time and being very careful and methodical. What I've discovered is pictures of gray parts are very, very boring. It feels like I'm not making much progress but I know I need to get all the parts refurbished before I can start

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-85243495394563785112009-03-02T22:00:00.001-07:002009-03-02T22:18:39.510-07:00

I got my parts back from the media blaster today and they look great! I'm very pleased with the results and can't wait to get these parts primed and painted. Here are some before and after shots for your enjoyment. No these haven't been primed yet, that's the color they came from the blaster.Blasting revealed a couple of small holes in the bottom of the tank that I'm going to have to deal with

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-27006170927389028022009-02-26T10:00:00.000-07:002009-02-26T12:11:12.053-07:00

I spent a lot of time this weekend sanding, washing, drying then priming a batch of parts. Prior to this stage I had stripped the paint from them by a combination of methods: chemical stripper, wire wheel on the grinder, steel wool and/or sand paper.After getting the old paint, grime and rust from the parts I wet-sanded them with 150 then 220 grit paper. After sanding, I washed them all

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-87563175623329485432009-02-22T16:00:00.000-07:002009-02-22T16:26:55.096-07:00

Real progress this weekend! I got the parts I need to have stripped to the media blaster on Saturday. A few days and a few bucks should have them all ready for priming. The fork tubes were chromed but the plating was pitted and peeling in more places than not. They're going to be stripped and I'm going to paint them. Prime for now until I decide on the final paint scheme. Dupli-Color has

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-35058213245604886002009-02-19T19:42:00.003-07:002009-02-19T20:02:11.510-07:00

Well, with a new dedication to the Cub and a growing frustration with all things Husaberg I started looking for a supplier for the two or three spokes I need to get my wheels put back together. No luck so far.There are several suppliers of spokes who can make me new ones, which won't match the old ones. And there are suppliers of sets of old spokes, which will match but I don't need 80 spokes (

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-10883180172099729482009-02-16T20:30:00.001-07:002009-02-16T20:48:34.541-07:00

It's been a while since my last post and I've not made great progress. I've been sanding and refinishing a few miscelaneous parts but don't have a defined plan of action. I'm a bit hung up about deciding what to do next and exactly how to proceed. I would like to get a rolling chassis finished first then concentrate on the engine work. In order to have a rolling frame I need something for it to

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-19460570614240627202009-01-22T20:00:00.000-07:002009-01-25T16:20:44.361-07:00

The title is much more interesting than the actual subject.I've been continuing to test the results of using a vibratory tumbler to remove rust and help refinish some parts. As a result I've learned a couple of things that I thought I'd pass along to anyone who stumbles across this post. First, despite the tumbler being noisy and annoying you should not put it on the patio, beside your grill,

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-11687398662159375542009-01-15T22:00:00.003-07:002009-01-16T11:33:37.385-07:00

Refinishing parts is going to absorb a LOT of my time in the near future. It's already starting to and I've barely scratched the literal surface of things. I'm trying to reduce the amount of labor as much as possible so I've been using some chemical stripper and a new toy to remove some of the old paint and rust from the smaller parts. The larger ones I plan to have mediablasted as soon as I find

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-14082460835812586572009-01-05T22:09:00.006-07:002009-01-05T22:36:15.640-07:00

I must have been bored during my holiday break because I decided the wheels on the Cubbie were in need of more than a clean-up. I've removed all the spokes from the rear, liberating the hub so it can be thoroughly cleaned and repainted. I can also get the remaining rust off of the rim and polish it more easily without the spokes in the way.Before I disassembled the front I measured the offsets

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-39922971418362150352008-12-28T19:43:00.003-07:002008-12-28T20:00:11.532-07:00

Merry Christmas. I had hoped to have more time to work on the bike during my days off over the Christmas holiday but things didn't seem to work that way. Not that they weren't good days, just not productive in terms of the restoration.I spent a couple of days finishing up my shopping. I always seem to leave a few things to the last minute. I guess that ensures I spend a little time at the

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-32562253450982631462008-12-15T20:44:00.004-07:002008-12-15T21:14:38.335-07:00

Don't let the title of this entry fool you. This was a good day. My clutch removal tool arrived today and worked beautifully. It took about two turns of the center bolt, which presses down on the main shaft, pulling the clutch center off, and POP it was free. With the clutch center removed it was a piece of cake to get the cases split so I could remove the crank. A couple taps with a soft

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-54214441297272602932008-12-11T12:00:00.002-07:002008-12-11T13:17:36.777-07:00

Below is a picture of the valve removal tool I had to make because I couldn't find one locally and didn't want to wait for something ordered to show up. The collets were quite stuck in the collar. I soaked them overnight in some penetrating oil and gave them a couple of whacks with my hammer to loosen things up. Once that was done the springs compressed and the valve released quite easily.I'm

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-52802653227830330372008-12-06T18:00:00.012-07:002008-12-07T19:52:43.920-07:00

Since I'm waiting for my clutch puller to arrive in order to finish the engine dismantling I decided to focus on the wheels today. They looked pretty bad and I was not expecting much but I had nothing to lose in trying. I grabbed some gloves and steel wool and headed the back yard.This is what I started with. There was a lot of discoloration, pitting, and rust.It's hard to believe what was

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-80559525192697078372008-12-04T22:00:00.005-07:002008-12-05T14:11:44.456-07:00

It took a lot of penetrating oil and a LOT of time but I managed to remove the head last night. One of the studs had some rust and was not releasing. After a day or two of squirting rust-eater into the hole I could get the head to wiggle a bit. A LOT of wiggling, pulling, tapping and patience and the rust FINALLY let go and the head was free. I'm almost done dismantling everything and can start

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-32999286293372586332008-12-02T12:50:00.008-07:002008-12-02T13:21:02.262-07:00

It's been a while since the last post. I was busy eating Turkey and spending Thanksgiving with my family so there wasn't much time for working on the bike. I have managed to spend a few hours on and off over the past few days dismantling more. I ran into a couple of snags along the way and have resolved one of them so far. Getting the timing unit off the end of the shaft so I could open up the

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-40682817600538120942008-11-21T08:42:00.003-07:002008-11-21T08:45:35.220-07:00

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.

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-13739432701592755192008-11-20T20:10:00.006-07:002008-11-20T20:27:05.972-07:00

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

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-12646667274871652172008-11-17T20:21:00.007-07:002008-11-20T20:23:55.907-07:00

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

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-41224109270328803582008-11-16T22:00:00.002-07:002008-11-17T13:53:15.796-07:00

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

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-5417264079136955282008-11-16T14:00:00.009-07:002008-11-17T20:38:52.339-07:00

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.

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6845871909066628095.post-1987979607231604292008-11-15T14:00:00.006-07:002008-11-17T13:53:46.420-07:00

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

GymXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292073557747285045noreply@blogger.com