After seeing Mervyn's beautiful Triton yesterday I felt inspired to start this thread, as I'm sure there are a few members who owned them and possibly, like Mervyn still do. (Birdie?) I painstakingly built this one from scratch in 1971-'72, whilst I was a very poor apprentice earning about £10/week. I recall being permanently hungry around this time as I spent every penny I had on building the bike,and relied on the kindness of some of the Women in my place of work to feed this skinny 19year old their excess sandwiches. I can still vividly remember the very first time it started, firing into life with a bump start as soon as my bum hit the seat and I dropped the clutch, I was staggered at the power and remember thinking that I wouldn't ever need anything other than second gear as the amount of power seemed overwhelming. It had a 650cc engine that I had fitted 11:1's to, along with Thruxton cams and followers, and 10mm central plugs. It was a bit lumpy at the lower end but when the thing came on cam I could barely hold onto the clip ons. In those days I had never even heard of Knee down; which was probably for the best, as I recall frequently falling off the beast at low speeds, mainly going round greasy roundabouts. One of the biggest regrets I have is that I sold it in 1975 for £250 to fund an overland trip to India...... sigh!
Wish I could show you a picture, I remember it well though, green fiberglass tank and seat 650 bony engine. So many memories from my teens but alas no camera. Steve I remember it having a duff regulator and when out at night I could only ride at very low revs otherwise it blew the light bulbs, a very tight budget meant it stayed like that.
I remember it having a duff regulator and when out at night I could only ride at very low revs otherwise it blew the light bulbs, a very tight budget meant it stayed like that.[/QUOTE] Lights, bloody luxury Steve, I had a daytime M.O.T and would time my night riding adventures relative to how full the moon was!
Very nice bike John-sounds like you were a bit of a lad with your Triton.I agree with you on speed,they always feel as if they are going faster than they are. I'd better get the other Triton out the garage and send a photo in.
m My 1971 Triton as I bought it.Hopefully a lot of changes to be done to it this year if I have enough energy.I have collected all the parts in readiness. I can give existing and proposed specs to anyone interested.
I wish you two would pack it up, keep looking on e-bay for a cafe racer project and get very frustrated knowing the Triton is way out of my range. Sulking now Steve.
For some reason over the last couple of years the cost of Tritons has been steadily rising.A lot to do with nostalgia and the fact they are more fun than money in the bank. The price of bits and pieces has also gone through the roof,especially Magnetos and Smiths Chronometric speedos and rev counters. Even basket cases are fetching silly money,and in the long run not good for enthusiasts who are going to be put off. I hope this year to get one of my Tritons on the road again and give it a run. Although I have the bikes I do not have good health and I know what I would sooner have.
As promised John some more info on the 'modern Triton'. Standard wideline frame with roadholder forks,Ace handlebars,Doherty levers,Converta instrument binnacles with Smiths grey faced speedo and rev counter.Conical hubs as described by Steve. Engine is a balanced 650 Thunderbird engine with the Amal concentrics.Ignition is by Boyer Bransden.Exhaust is a 2 into 1. Not to sure which route to go down on the styling of the new one,but the following items are for changing. New Clip ons probably with small risers-for my comfort Replacement speed and rev counters with black faced Smiths Chronos New alloy top yoke Ventilated rear hub Manx lookalike Ceriani front brake I might go with the black petrol tank/oil tank with polished ally mudguards.I will look at my stash of Triton pictures to see what turns me on.As the bike is not a period piece and all Tritons are different I will try and turn into something nice and will probably do different mock ups.I will have to do it slowly-it wont be a quick build. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.
