A beautiful 1967 Bonneville 650 put together by local legend and American Motorcycle Association Hall of Famer, Jack Wilson of Big D Cycles in Dallas Texas. A great story that included the original build sheet that Jack wrote up and a letter of prov… — A beautiful 1967 Bonneville 650 put together by local legend and American Motorcycle Association Hall of Famer, Jack Wilson of Big D Cycles in Dallas Texas. A great story that included the original build sheet that Jack wrote up and a letter of provenance from Keith Martin, long time Big D associate and current owner/operator who worked with Jack and saw this bike being built. The bike was built for a dentist who had it displayed in his office for 19 years according to the story I was told by my buddy Clinton, who sold it to me a number of years ago. I had seen it on display in Clinton’s living room for a good decade before he decided to sell it. He bought it from another mutual friend, David, who owned it several years and rode it about three thousand miles.

The Jack Wilson 1967 triumph t120r bonneville revival.

December 14, 2018

A custom frame, but otherwise stock 650. Since purchase, it has been sitting in my shop and ridden sparingly for short trips until poor tuning put it away for the last couple years. It is ridiculous that someone who works on bikes daily does not hav… — A custom frame, but otherwise stock 650. Since purchase, it has been sitting in my shop and ridden sparingly for short trips until poor tuning put it away for the last couple years. It is ridiculous that someone who works on bikes daily does not have a reliable full-size bike to ride, so I am slowly getting around to servicing a couple for myself, with this being the first one. The only changes I have made were to add a Wassell electronic ignition, and switch the original Amal Monoblock carbs out for a set of new Amal 930’s along with new petcocks and tubing. The monoblock carb barrels were severely pitted (seen in a previous post,) and were allowing too much air to leak around the slide.Triumph changed from Monoblock carbs to Concentrics in late 1967, so they are not out of place on this bike. The bike is super easy to start and runs great with the new gear!

Because of a lean fuel mix from the poorly sealing carbs, there was a lot of heat that blued the header pies. Fortunately, I never took it very far once it started running so hot. The oversize main jets had been compensating somewhat, but it got to … — Because of a lean fuel mix from the poorly sealing carbs, there was a lot of heat that blued the header pies. Fortunately, I never took it very far once it started running so hot. The oversize main jets had been compensating somewhat, but it got to the point it was running hot and no amount of tuning seemed to make a difference, prompting the carb and ignition changes.

The tank is gold and eggplant, done by Jack Wilson. It was a Triumph color and was said to be his favorite.

Jack Wilson was known as “Mr Bonneville” for building the land speed record Triumph in 1956 that resulted in the name change to the “Bonneville” in 1959. A link to his history: http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=293

There is nothing else to change about this sweetheart.

Getting the Wassell ignition unit timed and strobed. The flywheel has no marking and the crank lacks the notch at 38 degrees through the rear TDC locking hole, so the primary cover has to be removed and a degree wheel used. There are now marks scrib… — Getting the Wassell ignition unit timed and strobed. The flywheel has no marking and the crank lacks the notch at 38 degrees through the rear TDC locking hole, so the primary cover has to be removed and a degree wheel used. There are now marks scribed on the flywheel to make this easier in the future.

The “Hater” minibike in parade lighting for the Christmas parade season. There are a number of “Parade of Lights” events around here that the World Famous Wheelie-ing Elvi do requiring the floats be lit up. These are battery-powered LED fiber-optic … — The “Hater” minibike in parade lighting for the Christmas parade season. There are a number of “Parade of Lights” events around here that the World Famous Wheelie-ing Elvi do requiring the floats be lit up. These are battery-powered LED fiber-optic strands.

Have a merry Christmas, everyone!

With the front fairing done, the fender got hammered out. This was after being pounded and annealed a dozen times, with smoothing on the Jet Tools English wheel each time.

1974 Commando alloy front fender, another Z50 leaving the shop.

December 9, 2018

Along the way in the process, it slowly emerges with each round of pounding and smoothing.

Made from a single piece of .050 aluminum sheet like the fairing, a lot of shrinking and stretching was done to get it here. The pounding was done on a shot bag with wood and plastic hammers,, with planishing over pieces of bowling pins and steel ma… — Made from a single piece of .050 aluminum sheet like the fairing, a lot of shrinking and stretching was done to get it here. The pounding was done on a shot bag with wood and plastic hammers,, with planishing over pieces of bowling pins and steel mandrels.

Still need to work out the mounts for the left side of the fender.

Where it all starts with a thin flat aluminum sheet.

Thank you Jet Tools! The three-way shear/roller/brake tool along with the shrinker and English wheel made this possible. The entire process took about one full day.. Because of the deep domes of the fairing, the quick-release handle was heated and b… — Thank you Jet Tools! The three-way shear/roller/brake tool along with the shrinker and English wheel made this possible. The entire process took about one full day.. Because of the deep domes of the fairing, the quick-release handle was heated and bent in to get it a little more out of the way..

The Jet tools shrinker was another tool instrumental in getting the fender, seat and fairing done. Because of the deep jaws, it can reach further across the piece you are working.

Some of the low-tech homebrew tools used in the aluminum pounding. Bowling pins are pretty easy to find and their hard oak composition makes them great tor pounding.

This is yet another 1971 Z50A getting a 88cc bore kit and race head. This was a survivor that I repainted the tank along with some engine and other restoration work. It is getting the same package of mods as Blaine’s Z50 and will be going to his bud… — This is yet another 1971 Z50A getting a 88cc bore kit and race head. This was a survivor that I repainted the tank along with some engine and other restoration work. It is getting the same package of mods as Blaine’s Z50 and will be going to his buddy Kevin. They will have a pair of near-identical twins.

Here is the finished product with a fresh seat cover added to the engine work.

I love these little ones. Candy colors and chrome always gets me.

Here the Honda Trail Bikes bore kit is partially installed along with a new timing chain, high volume oil pump, new seals, and hardware, including the case screws.

Non motorcycle stuff: This is a German silver script made for a Morales guitar. The guitars were a knock-off of the Mosrite Ventures guitar named after a popular wrestler in 1960’s Japan. I was asked to make the lower script to replace the missing t… — Non motorcycle stuff: This is a German silver script made for a Morales guitar. The guitars were a knock-off of the Mosrite Ventures guitar named after a popular wrestler in 1960’s Japan. I was asked to make the lower script to replace the missing two letters.

Just rolling out the 1974 Norton Commando with the fairing mounted for the first time.

1974 Commando front fairing build, small parts for the Bornfree Show Freebird.

November 30, 2018

There may have to be some adjustments of the gauges, as they are a bit high for the fairing, and the windshield looks better a little lower.

Now that the alloy seat pan and front fairing completed, is going to be the front fender made of the same alloy. The new Lucas wire harness has been fitted to the front portion of the frame to test the fit and learn how the wires are routed.

With fabrication almost done, planning the finishes gets a little more serious. The owner of the bike wants a bumblebee scheme: yellow, black, and red accents.

The front end is looking a little tighter!

The wire form for the fairing was made from 3/16” rod and 16 gauge sheet.

The wire form was painted and then the aluminum skin was wrapped along the edges to complete the basic shape.

Still have to work on the muffler and exhaust pipe mounts.

Another brass hardware piece for the 1957 Triumph “Freebird” being built for The Bornfree Show #11. A bracket to secure it will need to be made.

Picked because of it’s wear, a tiny bit of cadmium plating can be seen here and there.