Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes OIF's Deserve Respect Too

OIF's deserve respect too. Paint and exhausts are wrong for '73. but she is still a beauty deserving respect. Heritage. No "T" in this VIN.

Regards,

Tom

I never liked the OIF bikes as much. Still Triumph and pretty much the same engine but the OIF takes away I think. I have 2 of them both Bonnies one T120v (V= 5 SPD.) and a T120R both are 72s They had push in exhaust starting in 72 and it sucks. The cam plate in the trannys were stamped too not like the machined ones in the older bikes and didn't hold up as well.

OK, you got me. What's an OIF?

That aside, that is a nice looking Bonnie.

Oil In Frame

I've always had mixed feelings about those. The frame won't rust from the inside out, something that happened on some bikes from that era. They were a little lighter than they would have been with a regular oil tank (lighter = free horsepower!) and the weight of the oil was better distributed. I never had one, but I imagine they would run a little cooler, having more surface area to dissipate oil heat.
On the other hand, a bike without an oil tank just didn't look right and each frame joint presents another possible leak.

Now here's a little irony comin' up for you folks.....

Ya know GB, you make some very valid points there, but what I always kind of objected to about the '71 and later OIF Triumphs and Beezers was that they started getting away from the classic Britbike look and yes, started looking a little "Japanese-y".

Not that there was anything wrong with that of course, BUT just the same, they weren't as "classically british" anymore, dude!

(I TOLD ya there was gonna be some irony here, didn't I folks?!)

There's a lot you can do with them.
-Paul

Yep! I always thought so too, Paul. I also thought that seeing as how that OIF's design was kind'a based on the Trackmaster frame that Triumph and BSA started using in the late 60's in the AMA Grand National Series, that you could make one neat little Streettracker out o' these puppies, for one!

I used to love my T140E OIF, you could take the nut off the frame and watch all that oil move about as you rev the engine, never had any problems with the bike besides the clutch trying to adjust the thing "what a pain in the ar$e that was..

Too tall for the gravitationally challenged.

Short people hated them. Then again in that era somebody wrote a song about hating short people.

I chopped one of the 2 I have. 1 is stock the other has a long British girder on it. Never measured it but I know I can sit 2 kerosene heaters between the front tire and front of the engine without them touching anything,I know this because I have 2 stored there.I also put fat bob tanks and an old skirted sportster rear fender on it. It's all mocked up but never took it back apart to make it pretty.

EDIT: I don't chop anything I get complete but this was a pile of parts I gathered over the years. I was bored so I decided to see what I could put together. I have an 8' long hardtail I made too and the front end is extremely short. I welded up the frame the front half is a pre-unit that was damaged so I cut it and welded in the rear cast part and made plates for the front to mount a untit construction engine from a 67 Bonnie in it. Welded up the hardtail for it too,has mini apes on it 6" wide flat rear fender and the seat is just below my knee. That one isn't quite finished either,it was the same as the OIF I made it out of a pile of stuff I had laying around.like the OIF I could ride it now but I never took it back apart to make it pretty.

Randy Newman, Ron!

('cuz ya know...."Short People got no body..Short People got no body, to love....."

(and BTW, as you probably know, Mr. Newman was making fun of intolerant people in that song...which is often mis-read about it)

...OR...I guess a beaut of a Bobber TOO, I suppose, Al!!!

From the looks of it Dwight that bobber is in your neighborhood (up in the hills). Sure is purty.

Yeah! It does, Ed! It looks like it's situated on the north side of the Hollywood Hills and overlooking the San Fernando Valley there at Universal City!

(good catch, bro!)