Triumph Trailblazer 250 build begins
An early 1970's Triumph 250 Trailblazer is undergoing a revival with a few changes. While never a serious dirt bike, the Blazer has enough going for it to make a nice trail bike or Desert sled. Lightweight and moderately powered, this oil-in-frame model is a bike you can have some fun with. The rigid footpegs have been replaced with folding IMS units, the rear fender is bobbed and rear frame loop tweaked upwards, fork brace added, and a larger Honda XL350 tank has been fitted. The bike was also converted to a battery-less set-up by the previous owner. The Bates style seat is just sitting on the bike for now. Love the stock skid plate and longhorn handlebars.
The color match between Honda and Triumph is uncanny. The fenders and tank are original paint and will remain so. Look at that huge rear sprocket!
While a big fan of the original aluminum tank, the Honda replacement looks perfectly at home and allows a larger capacity.
Still considering whether to simply lengthen the tail pipe or add a muffler. I have a Supertrapp canister that may get the nod.
The original rigid footpegs had been modified to add some grip, but it all got chopped off to build the folding peg mounts.
This is what it looked like when it first came to the shop. The previous owner had modified the bike to accept a Suzuki RM250 front fork and swingarm assembly. The seat height was about 40" without a rider on it. Though unbelievably funky, it had been converted in such a manner that everything could be changed back to original. The rear monoshock assembly used existing mounting points to make it a bolt-on application. Most all of the parts taken off the bike were included in the sale, even the fork stop that had been chopped off and is now welded back onto the bike. Because the RM rear brake panel is on the opposite side from the stock one, the previous owner made a cross-over mechanism to accommodate it. Unfortunately, the original brake pivot mount was destroyed in the process and had to be rebuilt.
The original tank was on the bike when I got it, but had been stripped of paint, and a large dent was in the front from the fork hitting it. Intersetingly, the rear fender, side covers, and seat pan were super light homebrew fiberglass pieces put together by the previous owner.