Simple solutions:Don't skimp with poor quality masking materials!
along with the coolant pipeentries,but it ’s
amazing what youcan findon theinternet.
Rubber bungs inarange of diametersare
supplied for scientific work andarecheap
so abag of sizes werebought forafew
quid, and did the job of plugging the
holes, helped with duct tape.
With the engine removed, the remainder
of the chassis was fairly easy to handle.
For painting, the suspension linkages were
removed along with the light alloy
swingarm and the front wheel and fork
assembly.Lying on the floor of the garage,
the components looked like parts of a
dinosaur’sskeleton. The frame, new CRK
sub-frame and swingarm went off to the
Cokers who would grit blast and respray
them whileIarrangedaslot for the engine
to be soda blasted. AgainIneededahand
to heft the engine into the back of the
Mondeo and James Butler (he of JB
Motorcycles fame) was luckily passing by.
I’d been wondering what to do about the
exhaust system, which on the 1200Tourer
is finished in black paint and after 20Itook the engine straight to the Coker’s
along with the assembled Sealey engine
stand. ThenIrealised the engine bolts
above the gearbox are not, inexplicably,in
line, so had to return home to re-drill the
stand’supper mount, only to find they
weren’t required. Three people were
needed to get the engine supported, only
to find that if everything isn’t bolted up
tight, it can slip and twist the brackets.
Another lesson learnt. But eventually it
worked, and Steve Coker appreciated
being able to rotate the engine and get his
spray gun into all the nooks and crannies.
In the meantime, more boxes of goodies
had arrived from CRK, including the
replica Akrapovic silencers. Also, the new
spoked wheels with alloy 17in rims were
ordered. Because ofaslight difference in
fit of the rubber drive shocks, the sprocket
carrier needed machining, so it was
mailed off to Ian at CRK for the work to be
carried out.
Things are getting exciting! Even the
midnight wake-ups are fun.years looked fairly serviceable, if dull.
Would it polish up?
Ashly at the soda blasters wasn’t so sure
that the pipes were stainless steel, but I
asked for them blasted anyway along with
the engine, which was transferred to a
pallet for the treatment.
Twodays later,Icollected the engine
and the exhaust pipes. As expected, the
engine’scastings were pristine. Ashley
commented that the work had been tough,
because the grey powdercoating was
particularly hard to remove, taking three
hours, which is why the bill came to
£100. For another £50 the pipes were
clean, but showed no evidence of being
stainless.Acall to theTriumph factory
people revealed that the exhaust was
indeed stainless, so it was dropped off at
the local platers for polishing. At the same
time the rear engine mounts, two plates
that connect the rear engine bolts,
swingarm spindle and centre stand
mounts were left for smartening up with
gold zinc plating.4/Rear view of the
gearbox showing the
engine plates.
5/Dinosaur remains: the
chassis dismantled.
6/Back from the soda
blasters and masked for
spraying.
7/Masking is time-
consuming, but worth the
trouble.
8/Grit blasting has
cleaned up the frame
components ready for
spraying.
9/Are these pipes
stainless steel?
10/Hoarding boxes: the
downside of restoration.
11/Tastylooking
silencers just slip on,
when there’sapipe!4 5 6789 10 1162 / classic motorcyclemechanics
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