Veteran Triumph Motorcycle 1914 Triumph Motorcycle

This web page is all about a veteran motorcycle - a 1914 Triumph motorcycle, a 4hp 550cc motorcycle. It does not have a clutch or any gears and has no electric or kick starter as it was made in 1914. The 1914 Triumph Motorcycle was probably the most relaible bike available in its day.

My 1914 Triumph motorcycle is started by either pedalling it along to starting speeds or running alongside it and jumping aboard. The gear ratio is not adjustable whilst you are moving but you can adjust it when stopped - though it is not a two second job. The engine has a V shaped section pulley on the lefthand side of the crankshaft and a toothed belt runs in this to a larger pulley attached to rear wheel. You can adjust the gap between the two sides of the front pulley so that the belt rides higher or lower in the V of the pulley. This changes the ratio depending upon whether you want hill climbing ability or top speed on the flat.

The front brake was probably fine in 1914 when no other vehicles could stop any quicker than you, but in 2011 it must be considered almost comical in operation. It is a old fashioned (as you would expect) stirrup type brake. On each side of the wheel rim is a small rubber brake block and these are pulled upwards against the wheel rim. The rear brake has a simple brake shoe that rubs against the rim of the rear drive belt pulley. It is better than the front brake.

Veteran motorcycles are motorcycles built prior to 1915, so this 1914 Triumph is one of the last of the veteran motorcycles.

Now you may consider such elderly bikes to be barely able to cover more than a few miles, consider the following feats recorded one hundred years ago in 1911:

• Mr Harry Long took the world distance record doing 40,037 mile in just 44 weeks! And he started in January!
• JR Haswell covered 124 miles in 2 hours in November 1911 – averaging over 60! Let me say that again AVERAGING OVER 60mph !
• J Guzwell doing an average of 467 miles a day for six days – 2,801 miles in total in just 6 days.
• In 1911 the Auto Cycle Union stopped all further attempts on the endurance riding from the furthest northern point of Britain (John o’Groats) to the most southern (Lands End). They did so after Ivan B Hart-Davies set the final official ACU record in 1911 on a 1911 Triumph, covering the 886 miles in 29 hours and 12 minutes and averaging just over 30mph. At the time the national speed limit was 20 mph, so he exceeded the national speed limit by 50%+ for the whole trip. Now you may scoff at 30mph as you think of blasting down a modern motorway, but in 1911 the roads were small, rutted and unsurfaced and you were effectively riding offroad in modern terms. Many of the towns would have roads covered in cobbles which when covered in the droppings from the millions of horses (that were still the primary means of transport for most people) made the cobbles very slippery. Now think again of averaging 30mph over 886 miles over dirt tracks in 29 hours! Factor in the huge number of horses and other hazards you would need to slow for and the numerous punctures from the huge volume of nails scattered by the millions of horses.
• Clearly we are all wimps and the modern 1,000 mile in a day Iron Butt Endurance riders are mere small children compared to Mr Guzwell and Mr Hart-Davies.

I bought it on November 21st 2011 and it is the first old bike that I have owned and the first veteran triumph or veteran motorcycle that I have owned. I normally travel about on a Ducati 888SP so it is quite a contrast.

My Grandfather was a Pioneer motorcyclist who starting riding at the start of the last century. He successfully courted my grandmother via a 110 mile roundtrip to see her every Sunday, no easy journey on the bikes and unsurfaced roads of over 100 years ago. He progressed to a 1908 Moto Reve and then a 1911 Triumph. He was quite taken with the Triumph and continued riding it until he was 70. I avidly read and reread his 1911 edition of “Hints and Tips for Motor Cyclist”, full of everything that a pioneer motor cyclist needed to know. It was a fascinating era when every bike ride was an adventure.

My Grandfather Thomas owned a 1911 Triumph until 1945 so I am continuing a family tradition. My Grandfathers bike still exists and you can see a web page about it here or click on the picture of him on his Triumph below. My veteran Triumph is a couple of years newer, but almost the same as veteran Triumphs only changed very slightly each year.

I have visited the Pioneer Run for almost 30 years and would often see one of my grandfather’s bikes on the run but they were never for sale. I had always wanted a veteran and realised if I held out for a “family” bike then it may never happen. When a friend told me of a 1914 Triumph coming up for sale within an hour I was talking to the owner and a few days later went down in Dorset to see it.

On November 21st the owner very kindly delivered it to me and we headed out to some quiet lanes for my first ride. It is a 1914 4hp model, a 550cc side valve single with a pulley on the crankshaft that directly drives the rear wheel via a belt. It has no clutch, gears and almost no brakes and is started by pedalling or pushing. The handlebars have levers to adjust air, throttle, ignition timing, engine decompressor and front brake. It is about as primitive or pure a motorcycle as you can get. Triumph dominated the era with bikes like it as it was the start of useable reliable motorcycles.

To master this bike I will need to put some miles on it so that riding it becomes second nature as I have not owned anything like it before. In its era riders would do quite serious mileage on them – hundreds of miles in a day – so they are capable of being used. As the centenary of the end of the veteran era looms, I intend to try and use it as our predecessors did a century ago. Whether this is naivety, folly or the start of a great adventure only time will tell.

See below for how I get on with it!

21st November 2011

The previous owner (Peter) very kindly delivered it to me and then took the time to give me a few instructions on how to ride it and a few pointers on maintenance and generally how not to kill yourself on it.

In its heyday it could lap the TT Mountain circuit at over 50 mph on dirt roads and one holds the last officially sanctioned ACU Land End/John O ’Groats record – 29 hours to do c890 miles over the dirt roads of the era. After this record when the UK speed limit was still just 20mph and the Triumph averaged 30+, no more record attempts were sanctioned due to the “dangerous and extreme high speed”. So with all that said it should be capable of getting me places.

As its a sporting model! it obviously dispenses with the need for gears or a clutch or lights or working brakes or well almost everything ... and the engine directly drives the rear wheel so you have to run and jump on to start it – all quite exciting!

My new steed arrived in a van and after a cup of tea and a chat with the nice old chap who owned it, we headed up to some quiet roads for my “training” session.

It started immediately by pulling it up onto its stand which lifts the rear wheel clear of the ground and then pedalling it to turn over the engine. It was then was allowed to chuff away for a minute to warm up and then with the multitude of levers set for an ideal low tick over the decompressor was pulled in and the motor chuffed to a stop. Peter then showed me how easy it started by pushing the pedal down a half turn and it chuffed into life on its stand.

It was then time for me to set off on my maiden voyage and with some trepidation I pushed it onto the road (gentle downhill wisely selected) and prepared for the unknown of riding a near hundred year old bike! I decided to start it by pedalling it away rather than a run and a jump as if it starts and you don’t mount it in time it will set off without you. Pedalling it was decidedly odd as the pedals are not in the same position as you are familiar with on a normal pedal bike. In addition the handlebar ends almost brush your knees and the whole thing feels quite odd and unstable when pedalling. After a few very wobbly attempts and with the aid of the steepening hill we reached starting speeds and released the decompressor to give the motor full compression and we immediately had powered motion and we chuffed away with me adjusting a variety of levers to see what happens.

The two levers on the right handlebar are a little mysterious to me at the moment and you cannot just move one to accelerate, but both need moving and adjusting backwards and forwards to generate acceleration and keep the engine balanced as too much of one will seem to choke it up. I can see that these little levers will take a little time to master and no doubt the effect will vary by air temperature and certainly by incline. I also had a fiddle with the adjustable ignition timing but as I was also juggling all of the other levers I am not sure I could notice any effect so will need much more experimentation to master it.

The handling was much better than expected and perfectly pleasant at the moderate speeds I was travelling at. The brakes are rather interesting to say the least. The front brake (stirrup type block) has a lovely smooth action and you can sense it doing something, but can’t really feel it slowing the bike down. Most of the time I did not bother with the brakes and just balanced speed to the corners and hazards. With the owner following he reported that I was doing 45 at peak and it seemed unstressed but a little fluffy at times when I probably had levers in the wrong place. No doubt my complete amateur approach to balancing all the levers didn’t help matters and I am sure with further experience will make things smoother.

I rode it for about 10 miles and enjoyed every minute. I probably spent too much time tinkering with all the levers, but they seem to need constant attention on the undulating roads I travelled over. Perhaps I am fiddling with them too much. It is much smoother than I expected and the power is applied in an elastic kind of way through the belt drive soaking up any shocks.

I now realise that it is going to take quite a few miles to get the hang of riding it, but riding it is really lovely as it gently chuffs along. Even the levers have an appeal as you have to feed it the perfect blend of air and petrol to get it to give you its best.

After the owner had departed I fired it up in the garden and let it run for a minute at a lovely slow tickover and then stopped it and sat with a mug of tea and just admired it. No doubt my grandfather did the same over 90 years ago when he took delivery of his Triumph. After my tea I decided to start it again for further appreciation of it in action, but it would not cooperate and despite a number of pedalling sessions it refused to chuff into life and indeed then some oily petrol ran out of it – so I assume I had flooded it. With light fading I stopped for the evening and put it away in the garage with its new friends. Weather permitting tomorrow I shall have another go.

Before I rode it I called up my insurance company to add it to my policy. An amusing conversation ensued including - No it hasn't got an alarm fitted - it barely has electricity!

22nd November 2011

I have been chatting with a couple of friends that have veteran Triumphs and I suspect that I was moving the levers around too much yesterday. Whilst they do apparently need adjusting in motion, it is not required constantly so I was over adjusting things. I should be able to find an ideal postion for both levers and then almost leave them alone until a hill, corner or junction looms up.

The weather was not up to much today so I took my time to look it over. Peter has done a lovely job of restoring it.

25th November

A couple of friends Geoff and Chris came over to see it today. They have owned veteran Triumphs for decades and are a huge font of help and knowledge. Their verdict was that the engine was excellent and as a good as one can get. This bodes well for me riding it. They also showed me how the carb comes apart and a multitude of other useful hints and tips.

27th November 2011

Every day since I bought it I have been practicing starting. I thought it better to master this at home rather than stranded miles from my garage. Each successful start boosted my confidence in this 97 year old bike. I start it from cold and at different engine temperatures to get the hang of it. It does start very easily once you know how.

Well today was the day for a proper test ride and whilst I have some fairly rapid modern ish bikes lurking in the garage, I felt quite nervous knowing that I was going out on it.

I was going to do it this morning but last night was invited to a shoot and this took up my morning. All through the shoot I just hoped the weather would stay fine for when I got home. I mentioned this more than once to my shooting companion who humoured my strange new mode of transport and my enthusiastic descriptions of what it’s like.

So it was after 2pm before I put it on its stand and fired it up. I had checked it all over and topped up the petrol and put my selection of tools into a tool box as I assumed it would stop somewhere and misbehave. I was expecting to break down and just wondered how far from home I would be! I had even worn walking boots rather than bike boots to make the push home easier. I had a final cigarette before I set off, feeling a little like someone about to go “over the top”.

Well I am just back from my ride and not an “involuntary stop” as they would put it a century ago.

It is quite a thing to ride. The mental energy needed to look at every possible road hazard and then decide upon the best approach, I would say is many times more taxing than riding a quick Ducati at several times the speed of the Triumph. In addition to the mental energy used it also takes a physical toll from exertion from starting it - if a junction didn’t favour me just rolling through it.

I can’t get the hang of pedalling it away, with the tiny pedal cranks as it’s like trying to ride a kid’s bike, but a few scoots with flailing legs and it chuffs away.

I set off just intending to do a small loop home, but ended up on the outskirts of Petersfield and with the town approaching took an easy left to avoid any traffic getting in my way. I can see that turning left will be my favourite option at any junction on this bike. I continued onwards on empty B roads, gaining confidence and feeling very chuffed soon arrived at South Harting. Naturally I turned left and back towards home with all running very sweetly and getting a better feel for how to use the engine controls.

In the flat easy sections of the roads I gave the brakes a good try out to see what they are capable off. The front has a sweet action but it doesn’t progress beyond this to any actual retardation. The rear brake does have enough to power to be able to sense that you are slowing, though probably about the same as the engine braking from pulling in the decompressor.

The near empty country lanes seemed well suited to it as we chuffed along at probably around 30-40mph.

The “big” right turn onto the A272 provided my first stop and I had to push it across the road into a pull-in on the other side, as pedal starting it across a busy junction is not yet a skill I have! Within seconds a chap on a Trike had stopped to see if I was OK. I popped it onto its stand and it kick started off the pedals and surprised both myself and the Trike owner that it started so easily. I did the start on the stand as I wanted to ensure that the levers were in a good tick over position. I had tried to do this as I approached the junction but as it was by FIRST right turn much was whirring around in my head.

I had thought of trying to go left and do another loop but a few cars were driving with lights on as the light was fading and as I don’t have lights I decided to go right and head for home.

Stopping the motor and folding the stand away I then got back on it and scooted along up to starting speed and we then off for home and another looming right turn into my road a few miles ahead!

Very satisfyingly the 30mph sign flashed its “you are going too fast warning”  as I passed. So it’s capable of getting me a speeding ticket. I wonder when the last veteran motorcycle was involved in a court appearance for speeding – probably pre WW1. The UK National limit was 20mph when this bike was built.

As I slowed for the right turn into my road with right arm outstretched and with a lucky break in the oncoming cars I entered my road a little more quickly than I had expected. On a modern bike it would have no speed at all but on this it seemed suddenly quick and I had to lean it over the furthest so far to make the turn and instinctively stuck my right foot out (many years of offroading kicking in this useful reflex action). A second or so later I was just back in calm control wondering how far you can lean it over and can you get the foot pegs down when I remembered it was time to open the throttle to prepare for the slight hill up to my house. In a car you don’t notice the hill, on foot homeward bound from the pub you do and I had no idea if it would make the hill from such a slow start. It romped up it and I had to close off well before my house. With more expert lever control no doubt it will go even better.

It chuffed onto the drive and I had arrived home. When I set off an hour before I had half expected to return by foot, but it had not let me down and I had a real sense of both relief and achievement.

Tara had also not been overly confident that she would not get a rescue call and had put off starting on a bottle wine in case she was called out. I think she was as surprised as I was to arrive home and a bottle was soon started.

Naturally I first needed a traditional cup of tea to hold as I stood in the garden and admired it. Tara asked me how far I had been and I explained the route but had no exact idea how many miles it was as the bike has neither speedo nor milometer. A quick visit back to the 21st century and Google maps informs me that my maiden flight was 20.5 miles.

Back to the bike and a quick post flight check and all seems well, nothing has fallen off or even come loose. I now remember that I had not checked the tyre pressures and a gauge reveals just 15psi in each. Not good as they need 30-40psi as they can apparently easily come off the rims with low pressure. My fault for not checking and encouraging that they stayed on the rims.

It is a real credit to the previous owner that a complete novice can ride it 20 miles without any issues. They were designed to be ridden by novices a century ago and they came from the factory with charmingly helpful booklets aimed at the new rider with advice on how to ride them and look after them.

An hour after I arrived home I could still sense the fizz of adrenalin in me from the ride, marvellous as I doubt if we had topped 45mph!

As it will be much easier to start by pedalling, I need to sort out some longer pedals and I may need to take a link out of the belt as it is much looser after the ride and if you turn the engine over without the decompressor then it slips a bit around the front pulley – but is OK with the decompressor pulled in.

The next morning I discovered a few aches in new places from the ungainly straddled flailing of legs used to start it and probably from the riding position. The foot pegs are quite far forward which stops you putting too much weight on them and means more of your weight sits on the saddle than a more modern bike. A new original type saddle is definitely on the list to get and also I will next try riding it with my weight on the pedalling pedals to see what that is like.

The two pictures below were taken on return from the ride.

29th November 2011

I thought I should get a few spares to take out on my rides and as usual Geoff and Chris were a font of all knowledge on the subject and pointed me in the right direction.

Spark Plugs. I expected that finding the correct plug for a near hundred year old machine might be a little fraught, but one phone call and I had all I needed. They even knew which type of plug you need for whether the engine is running hot or cold! The Green Spark Plug Company is UK based and has a web site - http://www.gsparkplug.com/ I also bought some spare HT lead and the little clips that hold the HT lead to the plug, I now know that they are called KLG spring clips. A spare HT spade end connector and a couple of spare spark plug gaskets and that should be all I need to keep me running - spark wise anyway. All of these bits were £18 and arrived the next day. They advise that if your bike runs coolish use a Champion D16 and if it runs hot use a Champion D14.

Oil. The bikes runs either SAE 30 or 40 as I had none in the garage a quick look on the web revealed that Morris do this and seem well respected in the Veteran and Vintage circles. I am used to eye watering prices for the oil my Ducati's consume so it was refreshing to buy 5 litres of both type for just £16.50 each. The oil arrived the next day and came from http://www.stationaryengineparts.com

I was out and about in the car and popped into a few local cycle shops to see if I could get a couple of solderless nipples as if a nipple pulled out of any cable it could stop me my tracks. Both the shops I tried were shiny mountain bike shops and the kids behind the counter had no idea what a solderless nipple is - the look one gave me implied that he thought a solderless nipple was some kind of kinky sex toy... I need to find an old fashioned bike shop or have a search of the web.

Raining all day so no chance for a ride.

30th November 2011

I thought I should also carry a spare tube and Geoff once again pointed me to a good source. Vintage tyres have an excellent web site - http://www.vintagetyres.com/ and a quick call to check what I needed resulted in a new 26 inch tube for just £13.20 delivered

Another wet day so no chance of a spin.

3rd December 2011

The bike came with a spare pair of pedals and sprocket so I decided to swap them over as the pedal crank is about 50% longer than the ones fitted and will make it easier to pedal - I think. The replacement pedals had slightly smaller holes and the cotter pins that hold them to the crank would not fit. So I set off to my nearest old fashioned bicycle shop to see if I could get some to fit. The chap behind the counter tried a few and they didnt fit and then asked me what they were for and was a little surprised with my answer, but his search of his shop continued until he found two that fitted. He also had some solderless nipples and two cotter pins with nuts and washers and three solderless nipples - £6. I was a bit late getting back as I called into see a friend who had just bought an eight wheel drive amphibious truck - as you do! and had to have a look at it. Over a mug of tea we decided that we need to take it swimming, so anyone with a lake near Godalming/Haslemere - please get in touch!

A little tweaking with a file was called on to get the whole thing to fit on the pedal crank and then the chain was reconnected and all was done. As I have now dramatically increased the mechanical leverage at the pedals - I consider this my first performance upgrade. The pedals and sprocket are not quite the same as the original Triumph, but similar enough for now until some real ones can be found. I then decided to check the final drive ratio and remember a hint from an old magazine followed their advice. I made a small mark at the top of the front pulley with a marker pen (chalk was suggested in the 1911 article!) and another on the rear pulley at the point it crossed a frame tube (so I had a datum point). I then turned over the engine and counted each rotation of the front pulley until the rear one had done a full circle. Thus the ratio of the front pulley to the rear one is 5.5 to 1.

As I was finishing up and comtemplating a ride a couple of friends turned up on bikes to see the Triumph and so it was wheeled out and I talked them through the starting procedure and it easily chuffed into life and then settled to a sweet slow tickover. A few more demonstration restarts and some coffee and biscuits and much discussion over all of its features then ensued. Chris pointed out that the latest Ducati uses the engine as a stressed member as does the Triumph, so nothing new in the biking world. They both had a sit on it but declined a go! With the final start (just kicking the pedal down) showed the belt still slipping on the front pulley. I have read in old articles about the issues of removing a belt and shortening it but it needed to come off and loose a link. Pull the belt to the edge of the rear pulley and then drive it around the pulley by turning the pedals and in one rotation it was off. The metal "T" headed pins that hold the links together are turned 90 degrees and then can pass through the slot in the belt. It was a little fiddly, but soon came apart and I removed one link.

Below is a picture of the untensioned belt on the front pulley. You can see the multi layer construction of the belt. The "CTU" letters showing on the top of the engine reveals that this engine (or at least the crankcases) were built in August 1914. This was the start of The Great War and a batch of 100 Triumphs left the factory in the middle of August and headed out to France. So mine was either built early or late in August or could have been one that went off to war. No way to know for sure, but at least I know now when its birthday is.

As the belt felt a little oily (which cant help traction) I took the advice of the previous owner and cleaned it. It went into a plastic bucket (yes I should use a 100 year old metal bucket ...) with some washing powder and enough hot water to cover it. It was left to soak for a while and then given a scrub and dried off with an old towel. As Tara was out it then sneaked into "her" airing cupboard to dry out properly. I am generally banned from bike bits in the house due to a number of incidents over the years. I should point out that a dishwasher is an excellent tool for cleaning baked on muck and why shouldn't I use it to clean up some old crankcases.... best to do it when she will be out for the whole day.

So with the drive belt in the airing cupboard, the Triumph came back into the garage as the light was going. At this time of year in the UK, the light starts going about 4pm. I think I will try getting the hang of pedalling it tomorrow along the local field without the belt installed. That way I can get used to the oddly positioned pedals without the motor starting up.

Below, back in the garage and taking top spot in the garage on the bike bench.

4th December 2011

Yesterday morning dawned clear and bright if a little chilly and another ride was in the offing.

I topped up the oil tank (the front part of the fuel tank) with SAE 30 oil and checked the petrol and tyre pressures. Then I took it out onto the road without fitting the belt to try and get the hang of pedalling it. Now you may be wondering why I am going on about the pedalling as a bicycle is easy to pedal. Well this bike has the pedals in a different place and the ends of the handlebars foul your knees so you have to pedal with knees close together in a slightly odd way. A few goes and I was able to ride the bike about just on its pedals. Back to the house and I refitted the belt which took just a minute or two. The belt no longer slips on the pulley so taking out one bit seems to have done the trick.  I then gathered up all my new spares and a few more tools and put them in the leather tool boxes at the back of the bike and all was set for a ride.

The decompressor cable is at the end of its adjustment and I am not sure if it is fully working. I have a slotted cycle adjuster and fit this to the cable and readjust it so that it goes from no tension (when off) to pulling the lever much further round.

A friend Christopher was on his way round on his KTM SuperMoto to say hello, so I hang on until he showed up then started the beast and warmed it up. Chris arrives wearing a tweed jacket to keep in keeping with the era of the bike and reports that tweed is surprising warm on the bike. On with a leather jacket for me and a helmet and off we set down my road. I had to stop at the T junction at the bottom of my road and with the drag of the engine the pedalling was not as easy and I reverted back to scooting along to start it and off we went. A mile or so later and we took a right down a small road and looming ahead is a very narrow 400+ year old stone bridge with a big 4x4 coming towards me, but I slowed the bike down and the car had just cleared it by the time we arrived. A few miles of up and down the small hills that are at the back of the Sussex Downs and I am impressed by how well it pulls up the hills. The throttle/air levers are now slightly loose and slowly close on their own so need a little tinkering with to keep the motor sweet. I shall tighten them up when I get home. We go for mile after mile through little Sussex villages and slow to almost walking speed as we pass some horses. A few more miles and I come to a long open straight and pull over into a lay-by. It’s quite a mental exercise riding it and a smoke is in order. Chris has been following on his KTM and taking a few videos of my progress and I have pulled over to let him have a go. My Zippo lighter is out of fuel and wont fire up, but a few drips from the Triumph and it produces fire. I explain the controls to Chris and how best to ride it and explain that the brakes are more ornamental than functional. He tries to pedal it off, but also has trouble pedalling and balancing and ends up scooting it away. By the time I have got my helmet on and set off on his KTM he is out of sight. A minute later I am behind him and that rear tyre looks tiny and we are bowling along according to the KTMs Speedo at around 35-40mph. The road rolls on for a few miles without a junction and I have warned Chris that it ends at a T junction with a minor road. As he approaches the junction I can see him experience the full wonder of the brakes and he stops just in time with feet on the ground skidding along. A quick push and it is off again and heading for home. On one steepish downhill section as he shuts of a few pops and flashes of flame rush out the end of the exhaust pipe – splendid stuff. A few miles later and we are all back home and I think Chris is quite taken with it.

We then stand around it for a good thirty minutes with warming mugs of coffee, discussing how well it goes and what a great experience riding it is. Neither of us can quite believe the huge mileages that people put on these bikes in there day and the feats of endurance riding by Albert Catt etc. Considering the state of the roads they must have been extremely fit, skilful, brave and very good riders. From my very limited experience on my Triumph I would liken an hour on it to at least 4 hours riding at a high level Enduro event in terms of mental energy used.

It has been clocked at 45mph today which it reaches easily on the flat. It would go quicker but at that rpm (whatever it is) it sounds like any more and it will be slightly strained and so 35ish is a nicer cruising speed. I think the engine revs to about 3,000 rpm and do not want to run it near its maximum if I can help it. As it will seemingly pull up every hill I have taken it to and reaches its maximum (gearing limited) top speed easily, I need to have a think about altering the gearing and need to explore what is a good compromise. At the moment the ratio between the front pulley and the rear is 5.5 to 1. The ideal will be to find the gearing that allows it to clear any hill whilst giving it the highest top speed. I am not planning to break any speed limits, but if I can cruise on the open road at a higher at lower revs then that would be ideal and still have the gearing to be able to start it by low speed pushing – that would be the ideal. Perhaps I will try it first on its current gearing up some of the really steep hills in the area – like the one leading up Bury Hill first.

On checking it over I found that one of the nuts holding the fuel pipe was finger loose, so will need to go over the whole bike again with a spanner.
Another 20 miles on it today and confidence continues to grow its ability to go places and climb hills. I still need to master the pedal starting and I think the next time I go out I shall take it somewhere off the road and try and get some decent practice. I am still surprised by it arriving at junctions and still wanting to drive me forward. I use the decompressor and brakes but try and balance this with staying at engine running speeds, which means that you arrive at a junction at say 5+mph rather than zero mph in a modern vehicle. Maybe if I master the pedalling then stopping will not be such a physiological issue.
Very pleased with it and it has now covered about 50 miles and I am learning more about it with every tinker and each ride. It is lovely chuffing along a deserted country lane on it and since it arrived none of my other bikes have even been started.

Here is a video of this days outing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erhzi1VjR7k

10th December 2011

My objective is to climb Bury Hill. It is the longest steepest hill in the area and if it will get up this then it should be able to climb almost any hill. I have no idea if it will do it. A modern motorist has almost no concerns about the ability of one’s motor to climb a hill, but 100 years ago it was the big issue, with many hill climbs taking place wherever there were motors. With low power and often no gears or clutches a machine could prove its ability by cresting the largest and steepest hills in a region. The results of these hill climbs were much featured in the period magazines and advertising. The trip out today will be just over 30 miles. Next weekend I plan to do 40 and then 50 and so on until I can do 100 miles in a day. With that landmark completed I will aim to ride to the Pioneer Run in March 2012, do the Run and ride home - a roundtrip of around 130 miles!

Today dawned bright and frosty with the lane outside my house well covered in ice. I decided to take the dog for a good walk and let the sun burn off the freeze before setting out. A few hours later and the ice was giving way to the warmth of the sun and with an encouraging blue sky it was time to get the beast out. I check it over and tightened a bolt or two and it easily fired up in the garden and I let it warm up and them put on my riding gear – full leathers today as it was still quite nippy outside.

It started easily again and chuffed down the lane outside my home and I had to stop it at the T junction at the bottom of the lane. It restarted easily and I chuffed down our towns High Street and luckily all of the traffic lights stayed green. Quite a few people stopped walking to stare as I passed by, not everyday you see such a machine in motion – in fact I have only ever seen them running on The Pioneer Run. Maybe I am the only person on the planet riding a 1914 Triumph today.

I continue on until the next small town and the roundabout is clear for a right turn and then on south for a mile or so and then a left towards Fittleworth and then south to the A29. We are motoring along in fine style and probably keeping to about 30-35 mph. At the A29 junction I pass a line of cars queuing for the junction and have to kill the motor as the traffic is too busy to cross the road under power. It takes a couple of pushes to restart and then Bury Hill starts to loom in the distance. I have now increased the oil drip feed to setting “3”, I normally use “2” and give it a fresh pump of oil as I approach the hill. All of the period literature advises the rider of 100 years ago to “charge the hill” and so I do with all the taps open and a good strong rate of acceleration as we start up the hill. The Hill climb is almost a mile of constant uphill with slight variations in the incline. It rises from about 10m above sea level to around 150m above sea level in just less than a mile. The throttle is wide open for the first time since I bought the bike and we are barely slowing as we assault the hill. Each second I think the power will start to tail off and we will slow to a stall, but no we keep on climbing and climbing and perhaps only lose 5-10 mph of speed by the time we reach the top. We have done it, we have conquered Bury Hill and I let out a whoop of celebration and as we crest the peak. The engine has sounded sweet and I slow it down to let it cool as we chuff the mile gently downhill to the Whiteways Cafe. I park it proudly outside the cafe with the other bikes as this spot has been a bikers gathering place for decades. I give it a quick check over and nothing is loose or missing and we have just climbed Bury Hill! I make a couple of quick phone calls to like mined enthusiast to boast of our success and then a sausage sandwich and a coffee beckon.

Below is the fine machine parked up amoungst it more modern bretheren.

After 30 minutes of taking in the hill top scene and chatting with motorcyclists its time to return home and brave going down Bury Hill with almost no brakes.
The bike is on its stand and when pedalled the belt slips around the pulley, so its out with the tools and I take a link out of the belt and refit it. It is then that I discover the belt is slipping as the engine is seized solid. A spanner on the pulley/crankshaft nut does nothing and neither does rocking the bike gently back and forth. I am 15 miles from home so a push is not an option. A couple of telephone calls to other veteran Triumph owners to see if they have any suggestions and it becomes obvious I won’t be riding home. I have breakdown insurance and the call is made.

As a place for the Triumph to expire, it could not really have chosen a better spot. A great view, good company and unlimited supplies of tea and sausage sandwiches. An hour or two later and we are home.

We did manage a further 15 miles enroute today and I enjoyed every moment of the trip.

We summitted Bury Hill!

13th December 2011

With the bike on the workbench I put a socket on the pulley/crankshaft nut and gently applied some force. It would move about 5-10 degrees in either direction before a solid clunk stopped play.

If the piston was seized then this could be just slack in the bearings so I take out the central plug in the head and slide in a plastic drinking straw. I find it best to only use materials softer than the engine when trying this and a plastics straw can cause no harm. With the pulley nut moving the crank must be moving slightly and the straw moves to show that the piston is also moving. This indicates that either the main bearings have failed (but still allow a little movement) or more likely that the big end has seized. The Big End is the bearing through the lower part of the conrod where it is attached to the crankshaft. The engine will have to come out of the frame and will need to be completely stripped down.

It takes about 90 minutes to get the engine out as I am carefully checking everything as I go – I have never taken an engine out of one of these before! It is all very simple and I think you could get the engine out in 10 minutes in future. I take numerous photographs to remind me how it will go back together. None of the bolts are tight and it all comes apart very easily. As I take out the engine bolts I support the weight of the engine on a jack and slide big screwdrivers into the bolt holes to support it until all the bolts are out. It then just lowers out of the frame and I pick it up and put the engine on the bench – it is heavier than it looks!

The next step is to completely strip the motor and see what has failed.

14th December 2011

I take up the kind offer of Chris R, a fellow veteran Triumph owner, and take the whole engine down to his workshops. The trip down is enjoyable as I take the TVR and the weight of the Triumph engine in the boot helps its 300+bhp find traction on the wet roads.

Chris’s workshops are THE Aladdin’s cave of veteran Triumphs. Almost the complete Triumph range from pre 1915 is present in his workshop and the shelves are packed with Triumph parts and goodies. My engine could not feel more at home. Naturally a mug of tea is needed before we start.

Four nuts hold the barrel to the crankcase and these undo easily and the barrel easily slides off over the piston with the conrod gently supported as it is slid off. The piston is alloy and in fine condition. The inside of the barrel is good with no obvious wear – so all looks good. We can now see that the big end is indeed seized.

The valve train assembly is removed and turns out to be a very clever and simple design. A small idler gear is driven from the crankshaft and this turns two larger cam wheels. These have the cam profile cut into the inside of the gear and it is a very simple and clever way to turn the rotation of the engine into the up and down motion required to move the valves up and down. I have taken complex Ducati desmodronic engines apart and this is quite beautifully elegant and simple. It all comes apart easily. The intake push rod has a slight burr on the bottom, but a few touches with a file and these are removed and all is removed. Perhaps the pushrod material is a little too soft as it should not burr – perhaps an item to change.

With the pulley already removed the crankcases come apart with a gentle pull and a few taps from a hide hammer and the cases are split. The crankshaft is a substantial and heavy assembly and apart from the seized big end looks in good condition. Plenty of oil inside the cases and no sign of any damage or loose bits of metal. We try gently tapping the conrod with a hide mallett to see if the big end will free but it is solid.

The engine is now completely stripped and Chris produces a selection of sandwich bags for all of the parts to be carefully labelled and stored separately.
The big end assembly is not something that I can take apart as the fly wheels need to be split. This will need specialst equipment to do and a new bearing will be required and then careful reassembly. Engineering shops specialising in veteran Triumph engines are not exactly thick on the ground, but everyone suggests the same people as THE people who are experts in this.

My dismantled engine heads home in the TVR and I put in a call to the Triumph guru’s!

Below is a picture of the mechanism that operates the valves. The central gear is driven from the crankshaft and it turns the two gears on either side. On the other side of each gear is a cutaway that the follower runs around inside and follows the cam profile. The cam followers follow this cam profile and lift the valves which are returned back down by springs. Very simple and elegant.

Below is the otherside of one of these gears and you can see the cam profile cut into the back of the gear.

Below is the combined head and barrell and the valves stay in it when you remove it.

It is a side valve engine and if you unscrew the valve caps you can look down at the valves.

The crankcases are very light and simple.

The crankshaft is large and heavy and keeps its energy spinning at low revs. It weighs about 12.4kg or 27lb!

The circular patterns around the edge are lead, which is added to give extra weight and to balance it.

The complete engine will be going up to the Ian THE Triumph engine man. He will be fixing the big end and checking it all over thoroughly and replacing anything that is not 100% and fingers crossed it will be back with me and in the frame at the very end of January 2012. I should then have an engine that is better than new and ready for me to put some miles on it.

I have not ridden any other bikes since the Triumph arrived as I have been out on it at every opportunity, but yesterday I popped to the shops on a Peugeot 100cc Scooter (bought it for my father for his 80th birthday and have hung onto it) and after just riding the Triumph it seemed quite quick and had really powerful brakes! All things are relative after all.

To see all of the parts that make up a veteran Triumph engine, below are pages from a 1911 Triumph parts book.

Friday 13th January 2012

The engine is still away and I am hunting down a pair of flywheels to get it back on the road. My flywheels have had the rivet holes around the big end bored out slightly at some point in the last 97 years and now whilst it will run like this, it is not ideal for the big end assembly. As I intend to use it thoroughly! I am trying to get the engine into as close to perfect condition as possible. My engine is in the very best of hands as Ian Jennings is the most expert of veteran Triumph experts and has been rebuilding them for longer than I have been alive. His workshop is like visiting the Triumph workshop in 1914!

Hopefully next week I will collect some flywheels. The ones I am hopefully buying do not have lead in them so a friend has very kindly volunteered to help put the lead weights back in. With this done we will hopefully be back on the road in February.

Thursday 19th January 2012

I have been considering what spares would be ideal to get and apart from engine parts, I have made a list of bits that if they failed/fell off then I would not be riding until I tracked one down. As tracking down bits is not a quick process I have started my spares collection. As the drive pulley rotates and vibrates and takes load a spare has been acquired and is pictured below.

The outer face of the pulley is adjustable via the fine thread and screws in and out to adjust the position the belt will run in the "V" of the pulley and hence vary the gearing ratio. the smaller diameter coarser thread is for the big locking nut. The smaller nut sits inside the pulley and is bolted to the end of the crankshaft.

25th January 2012

A friend had very kindly taken the spare flywheels I bought last week and cast new lead slugs/weights for them and pressed them into the flywheels. Below are the the (lower) two with freshly added lead and above an original one with a new crankpin and a very secondhand conrod.

Below is how the lead slugs were made. Just pouring moulten lead into the holes in the flywheels does not work so you need to precast them. On the left below if a alloy rod that has been turned down to be the exact fit for the hole in a flywheel. This is then used to make a female mould in dental plaster and moulten lead is poured into this. The resulting lead slug is then tidied up on a lathe and pressed into the flywheel. the ends of the slug are then hammered toensure it expands into the flywheel and grips it. The excess lead is then removed with a rasp/file until flush with edge of flywheel.

All of the above work was done by a friend who has a fantastic workshop that is full of veteran Triumphs and its like visiting a Triumph dealers workshop in 1914!, see below.

February 3rd 2012

I have been asked about how the valve timing is set on a veteran Triumph and thanks to a Chris - a veteran Triumph owning friend I now have the following two pages from a period Triumph book.

I was also asked what a timing case should look like as a fellow owner had oil leaking out of his. The pictures below are from a 1914 Triumph and show the bushes that the cam wheels run in etc.

February 5th 2012

Today I drove into London to collect a Villiers Free Engine Hub. It is a clutch in a rear hub and whilst I am not exactly sure of when it was made yet, it is almost certainly of veteran era. It was discovered in a shed in Australia and very kindly flown to the UK in someones luggage. I am not sure what condition it is in and will need to soak it in penetrating oil for some time before I start to try and dismantle it. I also need to find some further information on how it works, manuals and ideally someone who has a working one in use to have a look at.

So far I have found this cut away drawing in an old motorcycle book which looks like my one.

I have also found this (below) from The MotorCycle February 23rd 1911 which shows completely different internals.

In another old motor book I have found a third design for the internals of a Villiers free engine or hub clutch, see below.

If anyone has any information on one of these hubs or know someone who uses one, then please do get in touch.

February 7th 2012

Today I was curious to see if the wheel assembly would fit in my bike as it could be from anything and apparently not everything will fit in a Triumph rear fork. So I out the bike up on the bench and took out the rear wheel. Normally when you take a rear wheel out it comes out either side of the rear mudguard. On mine it would not and I had to lift the rear of the bike 60cm into the air with one hand whilst pulling the wheel out with the other whilst trying to stop it falling over. All done and the whole Villiers wheel assembly went in easier as no tyre to get in the way. I used cable ties to hold the wheel in the fork ends and it spun around without touching anything. The drive belt seems in the right position and whilst the wheel does not have a chain/freewheel fitted it seems to be in alignment with the front sprocket - so all looks good. The pics below show the wheel roughly fitted from various angles and nothing fouled so maybe it had come from a Triumph or something with a similar setup. Or of course I could be spouting rubbish as I am new to this and no doubt a helpful expert will point out a few things I did not think of?

The picture below highlights the front sprocket, so alignment looks ok.

So if I do manage to get it to work and rebuild it into a new wheel with new drive rim and a secondary braking rim (not a 5 minute job!) then I should be able to have a clutch hub.

Below tucked up next to a 40 year old newer Triumph - a 54 T110.

February 10th 2012

Today I decided to take out the front wheel as I had noticed that the valve was not straight and seemed to indicate that the tyre/tube had moved and when it does this it can pull out the valve and you have an instant puncture - not amusing. The front wheel has its own little stand which hinges down to hold the wheel clear of the ground - which is nice touch. I had to remove the brake blocks to give enough room to get the wheel out and other than that it came out easily. I can see why people talk about keeping the tyre pressures high as having deflated the tyre you can see its is only the pressure of the tube that keeps the tyre in the rim. Tube sorted I checked the wheel bearings and they were notchy and gritty so removed the spindle to check the wheel bearings. They are not captive so I was careful to catch them all from each side and keep them separate in case they were different. I cleaned them off and cleaned out the bearing faces and caps and regreased it all and put it back together. Luckily it was only just above freezing in my garage so the grease was thick and sticky and held all the bearings in place whilst it put it back together and tightened up the bearings. This will bed down and need rechecking/tightening after a few miles - but cleaned out and with new grease it felt smooth and healthy. The dust caps are rudiemntary so it will need to be checked regularly. With the wheel back in I refitted the brake blocks and fitted them roughly and then applied the brake to get them to center on the rim and nipped up the bolts. I fiddled about with them for a while as the way they mount seems to stop them from fitting squarely aligned on the rim. I even took them off and adjusted them slightly with a heavy file/rasp but could not get it to align perfectly. I remember doing this with old bicycle brake to get the most from them, but as it stands the alignment of block to rim is only about 70% ideal. If I want to improve it further I will have to make some bits to improve matters. The rubber material also looks quite hard and when I was in a mountain bike shop a while ago I noticed that you can get brake block (for mountain bikes) in high tech super grippy materials for gripping wet bike rims - so wonder if braking matters would improve with 21st century materials. And yes I know it would not be original but the front brake at the moment is almost useless. 100 years ago they only had to be concerned about outbraking horses! but now if I can improve it and keep it looking original - then I will try. Only other job today was to drain the oil from the oil tank as I am told that I should be running SAE50 and need to empty what is currently in it. A plastic tube and lots of sucking and eventually it started to flow down on its own.

Below is the front brake in all its high tech glory.

A short list of essential things I have learned ...

Oil
A 50 grade oil is considered to be the ideal. When the engines were built at the factory they had 4 full pumps of oil put into the engine and they should always have about the same volume when running. I have read this in various period publications and it has been recorded as a teacup of oil or about two egg cups of oil – so before they started exact measuring of things! So I would suggest to be sure how much oil you have – start it and warm it then drain the oil and see how much you had in it. Then put in 4 pumps of oil and run it and give it oil every 5 miles or so depending upon load/speed. When you get back from your ride drain the oil and see how much is in it. It obviously blows/leaks out as you go but you will be able to see if it is retaining about the teacup of oil needed to keep it healthy. In some old publications including one Triumph one it suggests draining the oil after every ride and refilling. I shall be doing this in future as it will remove any muck that’s trapped in the oil and ensure you set out on each ride with the correct amount at the start. Another publication suggests flushing the motor with paraffin every now and again and then re oiling which seems a good idea. If after your ride you have a teacup of oil in the sump then you are oiling it about right. Less oil left and give it more when riding and vice versa. I think if you put in too much then it will just blow out more and if you have loads in the sump it will be less easy to turn over the engine due to the drag of the oil.

Gearing
If you have a fixed engine (no clutch or gears) then you adjust the gearing by the front pulley. I have been running a 5.5:1 ratio and it would climb anything and run to a maximum of around 45mph. 6:1 shoul get even a tired bike up any hill and 4.5:1 is probably the norm for flatter roads and a higher top speed. If you intend to switch between ratios then have two drive belts at the correct length for each.

Tyres
You need to keep them inflated to over 30psi and maybe over 40psi if you are heavy as otherwise the tyre will creep around the rim, come off the rim or rip the valve out and you will have blow out - which will be quite exciting! Some people suggest 40psi and I run mine around this figure as I am 6ft4 and weigh 16st. Peter from Australia gave me a good suggestion, put an alignment mark on the tyre and rim so you can easily see if the tyre is starting to creep around the rim. Once the valve starts to be angled due to the tyre moving you may be too close to it being ripped out - better to see the tiniest movement and do something about it.

Should you wish to say hello or give a novice veteran rider some advice, my email is:

paulg@go-faster.com

Movies of Veteran Motorcycles

I have managed to find a few old movies from Pioneer Runs from long ago.

In 1955 Gordon Little organised a Pioneer Run to Paris - all 160 miles! if it, you can see a short video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c6nhpXEvFw

I have also managed to find a movie of the 1961 Pioneer run and that is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LkafqpcZ2Q

If you are looking for more information on veteran Triumphs then below are a list of excellent sites:

http://www.veterantriumph.nl

http://users.actrix.co.nz/cornelius/Triumph/

If you have a veteran era hub gear that needs attention then I am reliably informed that this is the man to talk to - http://www.motorcyclehubgears.com

If you are looking for more information on old Triumphs, then a series of excellent booklets are available via the link below:

http://users.actrix.co.nz/cornelius/Triumph/Booklets.htm

http://veterantriumph.co.uk/ - this site are the main manufacturer of early Triumph parts and a font of all knowledge. These are THE Veteran Triumph experts.

http://www.bertpol-vintagemotorcycles.com - this is a Dutch site that also makes parts for Veterans, restores bikes and sometimes has bikes for sale.

And if you feel inspired to buy one, then I have created a page of places where you might find one for sale -

http://www.go-faster.com/VeteranMotorcycleForSale.html

An excellent book about riding an early Triumph has been written by Noel Whittall. I have read it twice so far! You can buy it at Amazon (see below) and no doubt other places.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stupid-Thing-Do-Meander-Scotland/dp/1908037148

The pictures below are the bike just before I bought it.

The picture below shows the front of the tank. The cap on the left is for oil and on the right is the oil feed system.

The picture below shows the oil feed. You have to manually feed oil to the engine. On the left is the top of a plunger and this feeds oil to an adjustable drip feed. You can adjust the drip of oil to the engine based upon speed and load. You just need to remember to pump it every 10 minutes or so!

The picture below shows the rear brake in all its glory.

Below is the left side of the engine and the drive pulley.