24 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2019
subframe and the swingarm. Stainless-steel spokes from
Buchanan’s Spoke & Rim were used to lace the silver powder
coated hub in the front and the black powder coated hub out
back into new chrome rims. Duro tires went on, front and rear,
and the brake shoes were renewed. All control cables were
made by Retrospeed. The last of Tom’s three requests were
the tall, almost mini-ape-hanger handlebars that his bike had
while he’d ridden it.
A replacement sidestand and tab were sourced from Mitch
Klempf of Klempf’s British Parts (klempfsbritishparts.com).
With the lean angle ascertained, the C-bracket of the tab was
hammered around the perimeter of the lower frame tube
before being welded in place.
From that point forward, the TR6SR came together rather
quickly with fresh Pacific Blue and Alaskan White paint
applied to the gas tank and fenders by Bill Krzyzanek of Kaliber
Collision Repair in Port Washington, Wisconsin. To finish off
the paint work, Allen Beck of Beck Lines in Ozaukee County
pulled the gold pinstripes. An aftermarket seat was sourced,
a new Amal Monobloc carburetor was mounted to the intakemanifold and a replacement EMGO exhaust system was
installed. For reliability, a Tri-Spark solid state ignition system
was added.
Tom stopped into Retrospeed once in a while to see the
progress, but he let Brady take his time with the project.
Through all the years since 1977 when he bought the Triumph,
Tom never owned another motorcycle. He rode it for close to
20 years, and it had been apart for close to 20 years. So, more
than 40 years later, as of this writing in June 2019, Tom has
been reunited with his Triumph.
He says, “Now that it has been restored to showroom condi-
tion, it is a bit surreal. For sure this is the same bike I used to
have, but now with better than original electrics, new tires, new
everything — it’s just amazing and a joyous experience to ride.”
Holding up his end of the bargain, Tom will replace the
remainder of the roof on Brady’s house. And, perhaps recalling
the lads who once pulled up to court his sisters, Tom con-
cludes, “A big British bike this old has a style and a feel that is
one of a kind. I’m so grateful for getting to have that experience
all over again. Life is good.” MC