I've been the proud owner of a lovely, clean 140v for precisely one day. I'm here to learn so looking forward to any and all maintenance videos as I descend into the rabbit hole.
Nice! Congratulations on your acquisition! I am currently rebuilding the front end, so there will be a video about that coming soon. There should also be a comprehensive maintenance video, which will hopefully come along before Spring. Looking forward to reading your comments! All the best.
My 78 T140V (UK model) is also in hibernation now. Up until recently, it used to come out during the winter if we got a dry day with no salt (few and far between in the UK), but last year I bought a cheap 1980 Suzuki GS550L, so now I use that when the weather is not good enough for the Triumph. If you want to upgrade the brakes, the first thing I would recommend is replacing the front master cylinder barrel with a 13mm bore, stainless steel version. It screws straight in as a direct replacement, with all the same fittings, and gives you effectively 50% more leverage than the standard setup, without any changes to the disc or caliper. I've always found the rear to be perfectly good enough to lock the wheel, so have left that as standard. I changed the silencers on mine, too, nearly 30 years ago, to the widely available Norton style pea-shooters. They give a very pleasing bark when you give it some welly, but can be very civilised around town at small throttle openings and are happy at the standard carb settings. My colour scheme (the original) is aquamarine and silver. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but I'm used to it by now and the bike would look strange any other way now. I've done lots of small improvements over the years to make it run better (most of them unseen), but have always kept the stock appearance, because I like it.
That is fantastic Rick, thank you for sharing! I have just laid my hands on a pair of Dunstall drilled brake discs. I will be fitting these and see how they fare. I am especially looking for weight savings wherever possible, and apparently these discs are half the weight of the original ones. Wait and see... Speak soon I hope!
Original Le Mans style walk to the bike for the last ride of the season nice start. The bike sounds great with the new exhaust as you say very manly 👍 nice to see the ruins along the ride. Definitely go with some "over winter work shop wonders" maintenance video.
Thanks, man! It needs quite a bit of work to bring it up to scratch, looking forward to spinning spanners on it this Winter. I just hope I'll find the time to do so!
I own the same model, resurrected it about fifteen years ago from a warehouse it had been sitting in many years prior, and have been tinkering on it ever since. I have to agree, It's a delightful thing to ride, and probably one of the most comfortable of all the bikes I've owned in sixty five years of riding. I've kept it bone stock, with the exception of electronic ignition, better clutch plates, that don't stick together, and improved lighting. Thinking though about a vented front disc.
Nice one Paul! Thank you for sharing your story! Which ignition system did you go for? I am quite happy about the original points so far, while weighing out all options anyway. So far I have had no clutch issues, and I have a set of Dunstall drilled discs to fit to the old girl this Winter! That and progressive fork springs. Highly looking forward to the outcome of both these improvements. Stay tuned! 🙂
@@gmcevoy Boyer bransden ignition was one of the first upgrades I made. Sticking clutch plates is not an uncommon issue, and yours may be better aftermarket items, as are mine. It requires one, before starting, to free them by holding the lever in and cranking. Once warmed up, the problem goes away. Are the Dunstall discs from old stock, and still available? I'll stayed tuned for sure.
@@paulpannell6694 Hi again Paul. Now that you mention it, I did see an invoice containing clutch plates a couple of years ago... Service history I got with this one is astounding. A binder came with it, stacked with invoices since the original bill of sale. The Dunstall discs I got are still in the box, I haven't looked at them yet. They are more likely continuation items I would think, but I did like the fact that they apparently weigh half as much as the original part. Wait and see... I was also looking into twin disc conversion for the front, but the Green Stuff pads that are in the caliper do a great job at slowing down... the bike is not that fast after all. Still haven't dared do the ton! It is not made for such speeds, but i do feel there is room for improvement. I managed to source a great period book about tuning them and modifying for racing. I don't think I will ever go that far because it rides beautifully as it is, but it is definitely a good read.
Good luck with it Geoffrey, you clearly love it! I just bought one too, a red one, 1978, been in storage for years but in fine fettle, haven't had to do that much to it. Turned out mine had Lucas RITA ignition as standard. I am now watching as many vids as I can on here haha, useful hints and tips. Keep the triumph vids coming and thanks for posting. Need to fit new tyres on mine, the ones on there are very old and I wouldn't trust them.
Hi Mike! So glad to hear about your bike! I wish mine was red. I have been trying to find a decent body shop who would paint it, but I am having a hard time... There will definitely be more of my Triumph on here in due course, as I intend to produce a series regarding maintenance. There is quite a bit of work to do this Winter, which I will try to squeeze in between a track day car build, maintenance of my Pinzgauer 710K and changing the clutch of my BMW K1200RS. That and having a day job and trying to have some form of social life too... lol. Jam packed to the rafters! Speak soon Mike!
@@gmcevoy It's almost Spring here in the UK. Roads aren't perfect, but definitely not Winter anymore. I have gauntlet-style gloves for the Spring and Autumn, so its warm enough if you do a little exercise first and keep the miles down. 👍
Nice! Tell me more! I am looking into some "go faster" parts, with no specific intention though. It works well as it is and I intend to enjoy it as much as I can.
Roll on next spring when we can go for a ride out again but in the meantime look forward to seeing this old girl up close maybe do a walk around before you start wrenching on it. The exhaust sounds great and i actually quite like the blue tank but of course red would look equally as good. I really enjoy riding my yamaha N-max 40-50mph is fast enough on the roads near me and it's just fun
Agreed. You really don't have to go fast to have fun, and in this day and age where speed is considered excessive and frowned upon, this bike fits the bill quite well. It should be up on the lift soon. Take care!
@@gmcevoy going fast is a thing of the past the police in my country are not concerned with catching the criminals that burgle your house oh no they want to hide behind bushes with a speed gun and give you a hefty fine for traveling 2mph over the limit
gearbox camplate if the clutch is right if u can kick through with no ressistance with the clutch lever pulled in then the problem is in the box not the clutch@@gmcevoy
Hi there. I got them from a specialist motorcycle webshop in France. Here is the link to the ones I have: martin-distribution.fr/echappement/10894-dunstall-replica-silencieux-universel-la-paire-.html
@@gmcevoy I've had a look on their site and it appears that silencers/exhaust parts are not listed for T120/T140. A good selection of brake parts though.
@@p--n Indeed. The exhaust silencers I bought are a universal fitting, and come with adapter sleeves to make them fit. They are good quality items, although not original Dunstall items. I was initially in the market for a set of "John Tickle" silencers, which were fitted on my late father's bike, but these are impossible to find nowadays, sadly. So this comes second best.
Hi, Geoff. Great footage and commentary and the sound of the bike is AMAZING! Is this shot in Belgium? Whereabouts? McEvoy is obviously a Scottish name so was your parentage British or American? Your English is excellent but with a European/American accent and terminology i.e. "Fall" which is American rather than "Autumn" which is the British term for the season. Calling someone's house a "hovel" is not very nice or polite but very funny...🤣Having a crossover video with "Songs From the Saddle" is a really good idea. I follow his videos and his diatribe on the psychology of having a kickstart is very well put over and entertaining. "OldBiker" videos are also worth following for his work on his T140. Based in Stevenage north of London. I'm in Bedford and am rejuvenating a 1980 T140v that had stood in a field for a couple of decades. I'm hoping for it to be on the road in early Spring....fingers crossed.
Hi Chris! Thank you for your comment. Shot in Belgium indeed, 30 kms south of Brussels, more or less. My late father was indeed Scottish, and moved here soon after the War when he was a boy. I am a little lost in translation myself ever since Dad passed away, as I struggle to find English speakers here, and sometimes have to think hard about what I want to say now. I am looking forward to hearing some news about your restoration project! Have fun, and speak soon I hope. Kind regards, Geoff.
My T140E looks beautiful .. handles the bends like a dream .. but those push fit exhausts … unbelievably crap cheap engineering .. BMW and Honda must have laughed their socks off .. sick of having to get the spanners out .. I am selling!
I can understand your frustration. Push fit exhausts was a thing up until maybe the 1920's, in automotive applications at least. I've had issues with mine too, up until I took it apart, push-fit both pipes (gently helped with a light dead-blow hammer), pushed them inwards towards each other then secured the clamps on the balance pipe. That sorted it out once and for all.
its a feeling ,any old school triumph rider knows that feeling.
I've been the proud owner of a lovely, clean 140v for precisely one day. I'm here to learn so looking forward to any and all maintenance videos as I descend into the rabbit hole.
Nice! Congratulations on your acquisition! I am currently rebuilding the front end, so there will be a video about that coming soon. There should also be a comprehensive maintenance video, which will hopefully come along before Spring. Looking forward to reading your comments! All the best.
Blue with the White flash and gold pinstripe....best colour scheme...for me anyway!
My 78 T140V (UK model) is also in hibernation now. Up until recently, it used to come out during the winter if we got a dry day with no salt (few and far between in the UK), but last year I bought a cheap 1980 Suzuki GS550L, so now I use that when the weather is not good enough for the Triumph.
If you want to upgrade the brakes, the first thing I would recommend is replacing the front master cylinder barrel with a 13mm bore, stainless steel version. It screws straight in as a direct replacement, with all the same fittings, and gives you effectively 50% more leverage than the standard setup, without any changes to the disc or caliper. I've always found the rear to be perfectly good enough to lock the wheel, so have left that as standard.
I changed the silencers on mine, too, nearly 30 years ago, to the widely available Norton style pea-shooters. They give a very pleasing bark when you give it some welly, but can be very civilised around town at small throttle openings and are happy at the standard carb settings.
My colour scheme (the original) is aquamarine and silver. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but I'm used to it by now and the bike would look strange any other way now.
I've done lots of small improvements over the years to make it run better (most of them unseen), but have always kept the stock appearance, because I like it.
That is fantastic Rick, thank you for sharing! I have just laid my hands on a pair of Dunstall drilled brake discs. I will be fitting these and see how they fare. I am especially looking for weight savings wherever possible, and apparently these discs are half the weight of the original ones. Wait and see... Speak soon I hope!
Original Le Mans style walk to the bike for the last ride of the season nice start.
The bike sounds great with the new exhaust as you say very manly 👍 nice to see the ruins along the ride. Definitely go with some "over winter work shop wonders" maintenance video.
Thanks, man! It needs quite a bit of work to bring it up to scratch, looking forward to spinning spanners on it this Winter. I just hope I'll find the time to do so!
I own the same model, resurrected it about fifteen years ago from a warehouse it had been sitting in many years prior, and have been tinkering on it ever since.
I have to agree, It's a delightful thing to ride, and probably one of the most comfortable of all the bikes I've owned in sixty five years of riding.
I've kept it bone stock, with the exception of electronic ignition, better clutch plates, that don't stick together, and improved lighting. Thinking though about a vented front disc.
Nice one Paul! Thank you for sharing your story! Which ignition system did you go for? I am quite happy about the original points so far, while weighing out all options anyway. So far I have had no clutch issues, and I have a set of Dunstall drilled discs to fit to the old girl this Winter! That and progressive fork springs. Highly looking forward to the outcome of both these improvements. Stay tuned! 🙂
@@gmcevoy Boyer bransden ignition was one of the first upgrades I made.
Sticking clutch plates is not an uncommon issue, and yours may be better aftermarket items, as are mine. It requires one, before starting, to free them by holding the lever in and cranking. Once warmed up, the problem goes away.
Are the Dunstall discs from old stock, and still available? I'll stayed tuned for sure.
@@paulpannell6694 Hi again Paul. Now that you mention it, I did see an invoice containing clutch plates a couple of years ago... Service history I got with this one is astounding. A binder came with it, stacked with invoices since the original bill of sale. The Dunstall discs I got are still in the box, I haven't looked at them yet. They are more likely continuation items I would think, but I did like the fact that they apparently weigh half as much as the original part. Wait and see... I was also looking into twin disc conversion for the front, but the Green Stuff pads that are in the caliper do a great job at slowing down... the bike is not that fast after all. Still haven't dared do the ton! It is not made for such speeds, but i do feel there is room for improvement. I managed to source a great period book about tuning them and modifying for racing. I don't think I will ever go that far because it rides beautifully as it is, but it is definitely a good read.
Good luck with it Geoffrey, you clearly love it! I just bought one too, a red one, 1978, been in storage for years but in fine fettle, haven't had to do that much to it. Turned out mine had Lucas RITA ignition as standard. I am now watching as many vids as I can on here haha, useful hints and tips. Keep the triumph vids coming and thanks for posting. Need to fit new tyres on mine, the ones on there are very old and I wouldn't trust them.
Hi Mike! So glad to hear about your bike! I wish mine was red. I have been trying to find a decent body shop who would paint it, but I am having a hard time... There will definitely be more of my Triumph on here in due course, as I intend to produce a series regarding maintenance. There is quite a bit of work to do this Winter, which I will try to squeeze in between a track day car build, maintenance of my Pinzgauer 710K and changing the clutch of my BMW K1200RS. That and having a day job and trying to have some form of social life too... lol. Jam packed to the rafters! Speak soon Mike!
Sounds lovely. The only true Bonneville sound is a 360 crank sound. ( Said by this old codger)
6:55 Yes it was definitely Cherokee Red, probably to appeal to the American market. Like those new pipes BTW - they sound the business!
It appeals to me for sure. I can't wait to take it out again for a ride! Soon, soon. Patience! 🙂
@@gmcevoy It's almost Spring here in the UK. Roads aren't perfect, but definitely not Winter anymore. I have gauntlet-style gloves for the Spring and Autumn, so its warm enough if you do a little exercise first and keep the miles down. 👍
I've got a 73 t140. Love it. Mines not really standard though....😁
Nice! Tell me more! I am looking into some "go faster" parts, with no specific intention though. It works well as it is and I intend to enjoy it as much as I can.
Roll on next spring when we can go for a ride out again but in the meantime look forward to seeing this old girl up close maybe do a walk around before you start wrenching on it. The exhaust sounds great and i actually quite like the blue tank but of course red would look equally as good. I really enjoy riding my yamaha N-max 40-50mph is fast enough on the roads near me and it's just fun
Agreed. You really don't have to go fast to have fun, and in this day and age where speed is considered excessive and frowned upon, this bike fits the bill quite well. It should be up on the lift soon. Take care!
@@gmcevoy going fast is a thing of the past the police in my country are not concerned with catching the criminals that burgle your house oh no they want to hide behind bushes with a speed gun and give you a hefty fine for traveling 2mph over the limit
@@Mr_Dia-Tribe Same here, Darren, same here. :(
Is the v a 78.75 I have the same prob with neutral.....would love to hear from you I nz
Hi Heather. Mine is a '78. I will keep you posted as soon as I find out what is wrong...
gearbox camplate if the clutch is right if u can kick through with no ressistance with the clutch lever pulled in then the problem is in the box not the clutch@@gmcevoy
I thought as much. Thank you for your input@@garethlipyeart6520
Where did you source the 'silencers' from Geoff please?
Hi there. I got them from a specialist motorcycle webshop in France. Here is the link to the ones I have: martin-distribution.fr/echappement/10894-dunstall-replica-silencieux-universel-la-paire-.html
@@gmcevoy Thank you.
@@p--n You are welcome.
@@gmcevoy I've had a look on their site and it appears that silencers/exhaust parts are not listed for T120/T140. A good selection of brake parts though.
@@p--n Indeed. The exhaust silencers I bought are a universal fitting, and come with adapter sleeves to make them fit. They are good quality items, although not original Dunstall items. I was initially in the market for a set of "John Tickle" silencers, which were fitted on my late father's bike, but these are impossible to find nowadays, sadly. So this comes second best.
Still a classy motorcycle
sweet bike crystal clear mirrors but be a good one
Hi, Geoff. Great footage and commentary and the sound of the bike is AMAZING! Is this shot in Belgium? Whereabouts? McEvoy is obviously a Scottish name so was your parentage British or American? Your English is excellent but with a European/American accent and terminology i.e. "Fall" which is American rather than "Autumn" which is the British term for the season. Calling someone's house a "hovel" is not very nice or polite but very funny...🤣Having a crossover video with "Songs From the Saddle" is a really good idea. I follow his videos and his diatribe on the psychology of having a kickstart is very well put over and entertaining. "OldBiker" videos are also worth following for his work on his T140. Based in Stevenage north of London. I'm in Bedford and am rejuvenating a 1980 T140v that had stood in a field for a couple of decades. I'm hoping for it to be on the road in early Spring....fingers crossed.
Hi Chris! Thank you for your comment. Shot in Belgium indeed, 30 kms south of Brussels, more or less. My late father was indeed Scottish, and moved here soon after the War when he was a boy. I am a little lost in translation myself ever since Dad passed away, as I struggle to find English speakers here, and sometimes have to think hard about what I want to say now. I am looking forward to hearing some news about your restoration project! Have fun, and speak soon I hope. Kind regards,
Geoff.
😍
It would've been good to see the exhaust and see what muffler was on , how it fit up .
I might as well do a video about that. Watch this space. 🙂
My T140E looks beautiful .. handles the bends like a dream .. but those push fit exhausts … unbelievably crap cheap engineering .. BMW and Honda must have laughed their socks off .. sick of having to get the spanners out .. I am selling!
I can understand your frustration. Push fit exhausts was a thing up until maybe the 1920's, in automotive applications at least. I've had issues with mine too, up until I took it apart, push-fit both pipes (gently helped with a light dead-blow hammer), pushed them inwards towards each other then secured the clamps on the balance pipe. That sorted it out once and for all.