The1957 Triumph freebird and 1993 Harley-Davidson FXR updates.

The tank mount was re-made, making it a mechanical mount opposed to a welded one. Removing it made it easier to work the tube around it.

The new tank mount in place.

After some drilling and polishing. It will be chrome plated.

One of the reasons there was a longer than usual gap between this blog post and the previous one was because of the almost identical pictures despite the amount of time working it over (I figured there are only so many pictures of frame polishing that anyone wants to see.) Even though I thought it was near finished, as the rest of the frame got better, it was apparent there was more work necessary to blend in the joints.

More speed holes drilled in the rear frame.

The front motor mounts were drilled out and the chrome stripped off.

Another picture that looks near identical, but another six hours of welding and grinding was done to get the joints smoothed out prior to sending it out for the cover.

Assembling the frame again to make sure the tank fits correctly…looks good!

The 1993 Harley-Davidson FXR project is moving along as well. The rear fender and a second set of handlebars with a little more pull-back are on the bike, and the pipes are getting worked out. The rear pipe was part of a used set purchased online, but unfortunately, the front pipe could not be found by the seller! A second set was purchased and is on the way.

Another deja-vu moment. Round two of stripping and re-painting for the FXR primary case. The first job had some irregularities that were in visible places, so the process was repeated. This time it looks great!

Finishing the 1957 Triumph Freebird frame

Putting together pieces of the 1957 Triumph Thunderbird frame for final metal finishing, Gouges, pitting, welding porosity and bad welds are being ground out and filled to get the frame smooth enough for chrome plating.

The rear frame mount boss needed a little love. Some welding and grinding to make for a tighter fit between the front and back frame.

This frame came with some signs of the rough life it has lived. This kickstand mount had been broken and repaired at some point. Since the repair was so gnarly and another side stand is being used, it needed to come off. Fortunately, the repair was brass brazed and could be melted off without too much trouble. I had been told the fixtures on these old Triumph frames were brass brazed on, but that didn’t seem likely, as the gaps are too tight to allow the brass to flow into them. When the remnants of the fixture were pried off, it appears that silver soldering is how they were originally applied.

That’s better. You can’t even tell where the old side stand mount was.

The rear of the lower triple clamp was modified to include the stops for the front fork. This had been done a while back, but needed some additional welding to fill in the surface. In this picture, the clamp is in the middle of being polished with black compound.

The handlebars and brake pedal got some more attention. The cable exits were finished out on the bars, and a bunch of contouring and shaping was done on the pedal.

Every inch of this frame will be gone over before it is done. Even with all that has been done, there is at least another day of refining needed. Every joint is being evaluated to fill any voids and then the welds ground smooth. Because the welds are being ground off so much, special care is being given to insure the welds are deep below the final surface.

An example of the kind of things getting repaired. Small pits and nicks get ground or drilled out, welded, and then ground and polished out. The foil tape on the neck tube is to protect the serial number stamp.

The difference between the first and last frame pictures in this post is not easy to see, but an entire day of finishing separates them.

The base of this side stand was sand cast and rough with some inclusions that had to be dug out and welded up .Some metal was also added to the wear surface of the bracket. After some welding and bending on the stand to get the bike leaned over a little more, everything was sanded and polished out.

One final thing: a hack on the special tool for removing the bearing retention ring on preunit wheels. Because grinders have been replaced so many times around here, there is a wealth of wrenches and one was tapped to make this tool. A slice was made down the middle to get the right spread. The posts fit in the holes perfectly, with a slight tap needed to set it in.

Prepping the 1957 Triumph Freebird front end

The 1957 Triumph Freebird front fork and wheel are getting worked over in preparation for chrome plating. This top clamp had pitted chrome plating and was stripped and powder coated a few years back. Now that the bike is heading to the Bornfree Show 11, it is going to get chrome plated along with the other front end parts. This picture is after some contouring and buffing, with a little more to go.

The last three days work, stripping, grinding, buffing, making some new parts, and truing up others.

Working on tiny details like grinding off 1.5mm of the top of the fork lower so the threads don’t show down below. These parts were also powder coated and had to be stripped. The welds for the fender stays and some scratches and dings were worked over and polished out.

Finally made the decision to go with a conical hub on the front wheel. One of the limitations with the stopping power on these hubs is the length of the brake actuator arms. Adding another 3/4'“ in length doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is almost 50% longer than the original. A new arm was bent from 1/8” steel and welded on the original shafts.

I was getting ready to weld and re-cut the 70’s conical hub axle ends to match the 1967 front fork, but realized the 1967 axle was a perfect fit and switched it out. There was a slight drag on the wheel in one spot, and the hub was studied for a while to try and figure where it was coming from. Some casting flashing on the rim appeared to be the cause and was cleaned off, but did nothing to solve the problem. Turns out it was the bearing locking ring hole being a little off and rubbing on the brake plate boss that passes through it. It had been rubbing this way for a while by the looks of it and probably made a pulsing high pitched squeal as it heated up. I got this at the Barber swap meet back in 2013 with the idea of using it for this bike, but went back and forth with some other hubs before returning to it. One of the things I like about it is the scoop and how it resembles the exhaust fishtails.

Another job done was the brake panel stay, which was brass brazed on the right fork tube. It was made from two 1/8’ steel plates that were welded on the edges and bent out at the bottom to make the base. Brass brazing was how the other fixtures were affixed on the fork lower by Triumph originally, and was the best choice to minimize distortion on the fork bore.

After making the brake stay bracket, it was mocked up and a line scribed around the base to mark where it was to be mounted.

The outer rim on the left side of the hub was close to the fork leg and was taken down a couple millimeters. Some sanding on the cone was done, and the inner brake lining was trued up.

Details, details. The mount for the sub-frame was finally completed. The ears ad to be trued up, washers made, and the everything buffed out. Still not certain the frame will be chromed or painted. After the contouring work was done on the muffler mounts and gussets, painting it might give the impression it is a Bondo bike.

Waiting for paint to cure up before this can go back on the 1993 Harley-Davidson FXR custom build.