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.

Back from the Born Free Show in California.

A lot going on the last week. The Cabracer360 was driven out to the Born Free Show in Silverado California, displayed in the show, and taken home with Steve afterwards. The Meta magazine/Dentonmoto Brotherbike came back to Texas. While the future of the Brotherbike is being decided, some repairs will get done for the next recipient. The Born Free Show was pretty incredible, with so many bikes it was impossible to see them all. Above, Steve Caballero testing the fit...and his race face.

Peter J. Salisbury shooting the Cabracer the day before we set out for the show. 40 bikes rolled out of the shop to shoot these pics. Having the shop cleared out was awesome! A small amount of gas is in the tank, visible through the sight glass.

Loaded and ready for the long haul to Cali.

The Meta Magazine MT250 Brotherbike was on display at the FOX Racing booth.

One of the surprises we saved for last was the engraved points cover. Steve loved it!

Steve checking out the bike on arrival at the Born Free show. He has seen it at three different shows, and each time there were changes made.

The Hot Wheels Steve Caballero 1965 Econoline truck. Steve sent these for the Dentonmoto boys.

Rat Fink, SoCal Speedshop, Moon Racing, and Steve's skull stickers.

The bike headed home with Steve after the show.

We went out for supper with Steve and his buddy Jason, who were settling up a weight-loss wager (Steve won the sushi dinner.)

A lot of my bikes have a hidden inscription. This was on the bottom of the tank.

Some photos of The "7" were taken as well while we had the shop cleared out. As soon as Peter gets them retouched they will be shared.

The Cabracer 360 is Leaving the Shop, Brothebike to return!

The Highwayman race  ignition on the Cabracer works now. The bike is getting some carb tuning and going on test runs in this pic. The bike is headed for the Born Free Custom show in California June 21, and will be left with Steve for good following that.

The ignition system problems on the Cabracer came down to a faulty flywheel. Because of a misaligned stator plate, the flywheel gouged out the flywheel, most likely magnetizing the aluminum portions between the magnets. It was a maddening process to figure out because the system was producing spark, but only sporadic backfiring. In the process, an entire set of new components was purchased and replaced on the engine one at a time and then tested with no luck. The final component substituted was the flywheel, and it was like magic.  The stator plate was drilled out to compensate for the clearance issue, a new flywheel was installed, and she runs well now. 

Kind of getting used to the bike stripped down with the test tank. The tank came from a Suzuki minibike. The Ripper on the seat bump just makes you smile as you walk past...hoping Steve's competitors will get a good look at it on the track.

Wade O. Wilson did some engraving on the points cover. This is what I sketched up, but what he did was much cooler.

Thanks, Wade, looks great!

The maker's badge is on the frame. After some more testing and a thorough cleaning, the Cabracer 360 will be on display during the Father's Day Moto GP watch party at Andy's Bar here in Denton, then it will be time to take it one last time to California. There is plenty of time in left in the racing season, can't wait to see how the Cabracer does!

Some special fittings made for the front fork wheel stand to allow wheel removal. Since there is a belly pan and no frame under the front of the engine, there is no good jack point.