Very nice motorcycle! Love the kick start effort!! There is something fun about using your foot to bring it to life!!! So much more satisfying than just pushing a button to start up!!
Got a 72 in the garage.my neighbors Dad bought it for him new. Warren's Cycle Mableton Ga. Practically the same shade of blue/originally Gold.I drove to Birmingham one day to get a match on that gold color. 42.00 for half pint/before all this more crooked stuff happened.Roseres paint. 200 mile rt.for some shade of gold.Not a match .
That sounds frustrating Steve. I will be sending this bike away to a specialist at some point to get it fully up and running at its best. I'm not a huge fan of these I have to admit
Very nostalgic bike for me. My dad bought one the same age as this but when it was new in 72, he called it Moaning Minnie because it was horribly unreliable from the factory, so he spent a few years replacing bits after pushing it home repeatedly! Some of my earliest memories was of sitting with him outside his flat while he was repairing something else, or sitting on the tank while he rode around the wasteground across the road. That bike is almost certainly one of the reasons why I only have a bike licence and never driven a car!
Oh wow that's really interesting Mr Black. The original carbs were normally the issue back then, these Japanese mikunis are very reliable over all so it will be interesting to see how this bike manages by modern standards.
They say the triumphs from 66 to 69 where the good times for the best ,the sludge trap in the crankshaft ,they where overhauled so you can be lucky ,if the engines are stripped then rebuilt without removing the sludge trap properly and all the oil gallery's cleaned properly you can be sitting on a time bomb ,the oils that got put through some of these bikes was nuts , ill bet on it that chip shop oil was used in a few triumphs.,has the engine been stripped ,if it was stripped in USA id be wanting to find out if they done the job properly ,the forum I popped in to had a couple of owners who had rebuild motors after someone else had supposedly rebuilt it but didn't know about the oil gallery's and fixing the sludge trap ,these bikes similar to my old xs need to be driven regularly and keep on top off the servicing
It’s like watching the chuckle brothers these lot, and as for the guy who kicked it over getting it to fire he needs instruction on how to kick over the bike properly!
🤣🤣 that's the easy bit getting it running, now comes the frustration of balancing/tuning those carbs. Great to hear it though & Charlie you'll have to re acquaint John on how to kick it over lol.
With any kick-start bike ,push down on it slowly till u hit the sweet spot it tightens up you might have to take the kick-start right down a couple off times to find it ,people say it top dead centre you're looking for but I disagree my xs had a strange spot on it I cld get it started frst time every time,its just pure love to you're bike n bike giving u love bck ,best way to describe it ,lol .
Those carbs need balancing properly again. First do the cables so the slide lift at the same time, use say a long 5mm drill bit under the slides in both carbs sticking out the back of carbs as much as possible, then open throttle slowly and you can tell which one is opening first by the movement on the end of the drill bit, obviously the longer he drill bit the more accurate you can get it. Then unwind the idle screws so they are not touching the slides, lift the slides and put a drill smaller drill bit in and turn the idle screws in until they touch the slides, you can tell again when the screw hits the slide as the drill bit will become loose. When both are set the same start bike and adjust each idle screw the same amount in which ever direction you need to. They can be fiddly as hell but it’s the best way I have found. If they have vacuum ports on the inlet you can use vacuum gauges to set the idles and balance the idle screws but it didn’t look like it had them.
Thats great advice. I'm now wondering if I should make vacuum ports on the intakes to use my carb tune on it. We have already done the other set up you suggested which will be in the next vid although the carb tune will help I think. Really appreciate the advice. Thanks
There is a specific method that makes starting when cold a breeze. Starting when hot is always a crap shoot, but in any event, a dozen kicks at the most if everything is working right. - Z
I still haven't got it running right. First set of carbs were mikuni, second were second hand amals which were professionally cleaned and rebuilt and the 3rd set were wassels brand new from the box. I just can't tune up these kinds of carbs. It's before my time.
Nooooooooo Its the petrol that lowers the nox levels. You want to run as rich as you can with the bike still pulling throughout the range, then you do the test, then you set it back to normal.
@@motorcyclerescuer I like rich. My ZX9R does too!! Throttle down.... Bang b bang pop bang. Fantastic fun through the Saltash tunnels between Plymouth /Saltash.
@@kawasakiaddiction6296 most 90's to mid 2000's Kawasaki's love rich running but tbh most are fuelled for top end especially a zxr900 lol ( had a 96 gt750,zxr400 92 & a 2002 ). Saltash with a big v twin Harley & scaffold poles for pipes is good too 🤣🤣
Hi guy's, should I put a octane booster in my 1971 triumph t120, I'm getting alot of different opinions I will obviously be using E5 petrol I'm in the 🇬🇧
No Nidge I wouldn't bother mate. The high octane e5 will be fine for your bike mate. As with all vehicles though if you leave then sitting around they will get gummed up. So fire it up every couple of weeks for a few mins
paypal.me/motorcyclerescuer?locale.x=en_GB This is the link, if you click sending to family and friends then that saves me a few pound. If you write your full name and address in PayPal aswell as the size you want I will get one posted asap. Thanks
Most original Amal Mk1s which are the correct Carbs are now worn out. A new set of Amal mk 1 Premiers will sort you out. Good luck with Wassell's. Whatever if T120 or T140 is set up right ignition timing valves etc it should start 1-3 kicks no choke@@motorcyclerescuer
In the end I converted it to a tr6 head and now run it of single carb. It's much easier to manage like this. I do have the original head still for sale of the bike as its currently listed. Thanks
Very nice motorcycle! Love the kick start effort!! There is something fun about using your foot to bring it to life!!! So much more satisfying than just pushing a button to start up!!
If its a good engine and carbs, if not its a right pain lol. But this one fire's up beautifully
Not at red lights or in front of on lookers when she won't start
Got a 72 in the garage.my neighbors Dad bought it for him new.
Warren's Cycle Mableton Ga.
Practically the same shade of blue/originally Gold.I drove to Birmingham one day to get a match on that gold color.
42.00 for half pint/before all this more crooked stuff happened.Roseres paint.
200 mile rt.for some shade of gold.Not a match .
That sounds frustrating Steve. I will be sending this bike away to a specialist at some point to get it fully up and running at its best. I'm not a huge fan of these I have to admit
@@stevepope5484 Yeah, that's why Triumph went out of business. They started hard because of the high compression ratio.
What a 'Triumph' ! 😉
Its stunning
Very nostalgic bike for me. My dad bought one the same age as this but when it was new in 72, he called it Moaning Minnie because it was horribly unreliable from the factory, so he spent a few years replacing bits after pushing it home repeatedly! Some of my earliest memories was of sitting with him outside his flat while he was repairing something else, or sitting on the tank while he rode around the wasteground across the road. That bike is almost certainly one of the reasons why I only have a bike licence and never driven a car!
Oh wow that's really interesting Mr Black.
The original carbs were normally the issue back then, these Japanese mikunis are very reliable over all so it will be interesting to see how this bike manages by modern standards.
They say the triumphs from 66 to 69 where the good times for the best ,the sludge trap in the crankshaft ,they where overhauled so you can be lucky ,if the engines are stripped then rebuilt without removing the sludge trap properly and all the oil gallery's cleaned properly you can be sitting on a time bomb ,the oils that got put through some of these bikes was nuts , ill bet on it that chip shop oil was used in a few triumphs.,has the engine been stripped ,if it was stripped in USA id be wanting to find out if they done the job properly ,the forum I popped in to had a couple of owners who had rebuild motors after someone else had supposedly rebuilt it but didn't know about the oil gallery's and fixing the sludge trap ,these bikes similar to my old xs need to be driven regularly and keep on top off the servicing
@@Crosshatch1212 yes its a fully rebuilt engine.
Excellent. That's why we do it. Achievement and satisfaction. Lovely old girl
Big time
It’s like watching the chuckle brothers these lot, and as for the guy who kicked it over getting it to fire he needs instruction on how to kick over the bike properly!
Your absolutely right. I'm sure your much better at it.
Loving the vidz
Thanks Matt.
Good job as always and that sounds mint 👌👌
Thanks Elliott
🤣🤣 that's the easy bit getting it running, now comes the frustration of balancing/tuning those carbs.
Great to hear it though & Charlie you'll have to re acquaint John on how to kick it over lol.
Hes an old pro at this stuff.
We have done more fine tuning since this. I'll put up a vid or 2 this week showing test runs
With any kick-start bike ,push down on it slowly till u hit the sweet spot it tightens up you might have to take the kick-start right down a couple off times to find it ,people say it top dead centre you're looking for but I disagree my xs had a strange spot on it I cld get it started frst time every time,its just pure love to you're bike n bike giving u love bck ,best way to describe it ,lol .
Lol agreed
Fantastic guys
Thanks Michael. Hope your well mate.
@@motorcyclerescuer yes I'm all good buddy cheers
Beautiful Bike
Just uploading next vid as we speak mate.
@@motorcyclerescuer Im on catch up at the moment Charlie as i haven't been getting notifications
Those carbs need balancing properly again. First do the cables so the slide lift at the same time, use say a long 5mm drill bit under the slides in both carbs sticking out the back of carbs as much as possible, then open throttle slowly and you can tell which one is opening first by the movement on the end of the drill bit, obviously the longer he drill bit the more accurate you can get it.
Then unwind the idle screws so they are not touching the slides, lift the slides and put a drill smaller drill bit in and turn the idle screws in until they touch the slides, you can tell again when the screw hits the slide as the drill bit will become loose. When both are set the same start bike and adjust each idle screw the same amount in which ever direction you need to. They can be fiddly as hell but it’s the best way I have found. If they have vacuum ports on the inlet you can use vacuum gauges to set the idles and balance the idle screws but it didn’t look like it had them.
Thats great advice. I'm now wondering if I should make vacuum ports on the intakes to use my carb tune on it.
We have already done the other set up you suggested which will be in the next vid although the carb tune will help I think.
Really appreciate the advice.
Thanks
There is a specific method that makes starting when cold a breeze. Starting when hot is always a crap shoot, but in any event, a dozen kicks at the most if everything is working right. - Z
Once converted to a tr6 head with single carb this bike started and ran so much better.
Really enjoyed both videos. Have you got the classic bike bug yet?
No I don't think I do if I'm being honest. I'm still out of my comfort zone.
I may attempt another at some point
If it doesn’t start in 3 kicks, there is something wrong.
I still haven't got it running right.
First set of carbs were mikuni, second were second hand amals which were professionally cleaned and rebuilt and the 3rd set were wassels brand new from the box.
I just can't tune up these kinds of carbs. It's before my time.
what a beauti
It is John
Re the ULEZ surely you want the engine to run lean, more airflow less filter so you don't have unburnt fuel out the back of the exhaust.
Nooooooooo
Its the petrol that lowers the nox levels.
You want to run as rich as you can with the bike still pulling throughout the range, then you do the test, then you set it back to normal.
Lean melts pistons.
I would only richen it for the test then balance it out again. Don't want it to rich either for everyday use
@@motorcyclerescuer I like rich. My ZX9R does too!! Throttle down.... Bang b bang pop bang. Fantastic fun through the Saltash tunnels between Plymouth /Saltash.
@@kawasakiaddiction6296 most 90's to mid 2000's Kawasaki's love rich running but tbh most are fuelled for top end especially a zxr900 lol ( had a 96 gt750,zxr400 92 & a 2002 ).
Saltash with a big v twin Harley & scaffold poles for pipes is good too 🤣🤣
Hi guy's, should I put a octane booster in my 1971 triumph t120, I'm getting alot of different opinions I will obviously be using E5 petrol I'm in the 🇬🇧
No Nidge I wouldn't bother mate. The high octane e5 will be fine for your bike mate.
As with all vehicles though if you leave then sitting around they will get gummed up.
So fire it up every couple of weeks for a few mins
Can I get the link for tshirt mate?
Hi Lee, what size was you looking for so I can confirm I have one before you paying mate?
paypal.me/motorcyclerescuer?locale.x=en_GB
This is the link, if you click sending to family and friends then that saves me a few pound.
If you write your full name and address in PayPal aswell as the size you want I will get one posted asap.
Thanks
think ill stick with amal lol
These are a pain. We're trying wassels next.
Most original Amal Mk1s which are the correct Carbs are now worn out. A new set of Amal mk 1 Premiers will sort you out. Good luck with Wassell's. Whatever if T120 or T140 is set up right ignition timing valves etc it should start 1-3 kicks no choke@@motorcyclerescuer
In the end I converted it to a tr6 head and now run it of single carb. It's much easier to manage like this.
I do have the original head still for sale of the bike as its currently listed.
Thanks