Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner Donpen's new Triton

I posted this pic of donpen's cutom Triton build using a new Triumph motor in another thread about some electrics problem he was having, but I thought it deserved a thread on it's own in the Custom forum. If you like cafe racers, you won't find a finer build than this one with one of Triumph's vertical twins. Great job Don! Hope you come by this thread to comment , and answer any questions people might have.

Needs more chrome

Soren

That is sharp. Nice job

"SHARP"?! "SHARP", you say Tinman?!

WHAT?! Are you tryin' for the "Understatement Of The Freakin' Year" Award, or somethin'???!!!

MAAAAN!!! THAT BABY IS GORGEOUS!!! I don't think I've yet seen one of the new Bonnie motors in an old Featherbed frame, that looks as good as THAT one, DUDE!

Cheers,
Dwight
(and Derek....thanks for wakin' me up and bringin' me over to the Custom section...I might'a missed this baby[while on some stupid political rant])

well bugger me ive been pip'd to the post well another few weeks and i would of been there. well aleast i know it what mine will look like. very nice to

Can I borrow it for the next track day?
go on please! pretty please!!
Very nice indeed, mind you I would be little concerned to use that front brake in anger.

That looks... dare I say it...SHARP! Very cool!

Looking closely, you can see finned header clamps - I remember a discussion here at one time about similar clamps being used on our bikes. Why wouldn't they work, was it the double wall pipe?

Gents, Although I ride a 'standard' Bonnie, I registered here so I could pass my kudos to Donpen for the work he's done on his absolutely drop-dead gorgeous Triton. I want one!

Here's a little project I currently have ongoing. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Chris in NC

Chris, That is another fine looking bike. I usually am not that crazy about black bikes but the flat black ones are really growing on me. I have a 69 Trophy that I am redoing and I am leaning towards a cafe style racer. Great Job Ron

Dang Chris, she is BEAUTIFUL!!

Bet she goes good too?

Looks mean. Interesting sprocket cover treatment. Anything to save weight, eh?

Thanks for posting the Pic of my latest project and the compliments received by others. I,ve since done another mod to the bike which keeps it in that era.(pic coming)I havent finished the bike yet, its 99.9% there, and I,ll be away overseas from the 6th but I,m hoping to have it finished before then.
Don

Speaking of the sprocket cover... I remember a while back Adey posted a pic if a random Thrux with painted cam covers and a plexi sprocket cover, then if you look in Torque, you'll see a similar treatment on their "68" bikes. Interesting concept!

I do love that bonnie tho! Badass with the black pipes and tank, no side covers, kinda raw I would definitely cover your sprocket with somethin!!

Derek,
I don't want the clamps, I just vaguely remember a discussion about them- Didn't remember if anybody got them to work or not. Thanks.

Chris,
Gorgeous bike TOO, man! Your baby's pared-down and almost looks like it ready for some flat-trackin'. And as a lot a people around here already know...I LIKE FLAT-TRACKERS!!!

Stewart,
Derek is right. A few years ago I bought a pair of those old long-pronged spikey lookin' header-clamps made of aluminum, that were all the rage back when old Meriden Triumph Choppers and Bobbers where everywhere, at this great old M/C shop in Culver City, CA, called "The Garage Company".

I cut each one of them in half at the opposite side of the opening, and ground down the inside by about a 1/2inch all around the inside. I also ground down prongs quite a bit and rounded then to look like slightly larger versions that Don put on that beauty of a Triton pictured above, and then just bolted them on. They are only being held on by that one bolt each, but I've never had any problem with them either vibrating or loosening.

You have to do a lot of machining, and be very careful while grinding then as the aluminum is rather soft, but I like the look a lot, and I think it adds a bit of old-style flair to the "engine compartment".

Cheers,
Dwight

What's that cable thingie going to the engine case? I thought this was a modern motor, no?

Beautiful bike! I saw from another post that it was a "featherbed frame"?. What are the advantages of it besides it looking good?
later

Chris,
The vintage machined-down clamps that I fit onto the exhaust headers on my BA, sit about 3/8 of an inch from the engine finning and maybe 1 inch forward of the actual header clamps. I had to loosen the oil lines that are on the engine head that go to the oil radiator and the banjo-fittings were turned at a 45 degree upward angle so those vintage clamps could fit. The banjo fittings and oil-lines go right over that old-style clamp with about a 1/16 inch clearance.

Now, I noticed that your headers are probably the same size as what's on Don's Triton beauty(single-walled as compared to the double-walled that on on BAs) so actually if you were interested in putting a pair of those vintage clamps on your bike, those old stock examples should fit fine without needing any machining at all. Don would probably know for sure, though.

If you do a thread search on this site and type in, "crazy idea about footpegs", that thread has a picture of my 1970 Triumph Streettracker sitting in my front yard, which I think you'll find enjoyable. And I agree with you about the Triumph gas tanks sitting on Street or Flat Tracker. You'll see that my '70 has a stock Bonnie tank on her. I've always thought that they look better than the fibreglass Flattracker tanks that many used or now use on this kind of "Special". I've always thought Bonneville(both Meriden AND Hinckley) and old TR6 Triumph tanks were some of the best looking M/C tanks ever designed, so why replace 'em?!

And as you said...."If they were good enough for Gary Nixon", they're certainly good enough for us!

Cheers,
Dwight
(you probably know, Nixon still races in many vintage races around the country....and he's STILL the fastest old coot out there too)

That's a beauty!

I must be getting old and or having trouble letting the past go,
Don

"""What's that cable thingie going to the engine case? I thought this was a modern motor, no?"""


Looks like a drive gear take off for a rev counter? ? ? Have seen similar in the distant past when the rev counters were cable driven from a gear on the crank,
confound that damned electricery!! makes everything too easy
Mike

I think a kicker is going a bit far. That tacho drive is for real, Its driven by a specially machined "drive bolt" which replaces the socket head bolt which retains the Alternator rotor.
Don

VERY COOL!

Now...you said "TACHO"! So I'm assuming that I'll never get to see that beauty in the flesh, 'cuz you're in Ol'Blighty, right?!

Cheers,
Dwight
(you don't have any info in your bio about your whereabouts)

Australia.

Well Don,

You DO have one great lookin' bike there Mate, and I sure wish I could see it in person one day.....BUT.....evidently you guys down-under never got the MEMO:

____________________________________________________________

Attention all former Colonies:

Once you separate from the British Crown, all shortened references to tachometers will NO LONGER include the letter "O", as this can lead to a very confusing situation in regards to a certain Mexican snack food.

The Management
____________________________________________________________

Cheers,
Dwight
(however, we Yanks are still tryin' to figure out how to differentiate between the term "speedo" and a certain ungainly swimwear)

looks good! what pipes are they? are they one piece?

The pipes are actually a set for a Norton Atlas from the UK, but they require an adaptor at the head which I made specifically for this mod,
Don
PS I,ll be in the jungles of the Southern Philippines for the next 2 weeks as of tomorrow so I wont be posting.