Finishing details on the 1957 Triumph Freebird bike.

Even though the Freebird was supposed to be done for the Bornfree show back in June, there were small details that still needed to be worked out the last few months to finish the build. Some of the stuff that was done like lowering the gas tank and extending the header pipes to make them fit more securely is not so obvious, but there are a number of new small parts that have been made for the bike. Parts like the air filter, license plate bracket, and the brass transmission filler cap have already shown up in previous posts, but there were just a few more parts needed to get the bike street legal. I was trying to build a more utilitarian bike despite all the chrome and decorative elements it ended up with. Parts like the large seat, tank package rack, rear rack, and panniers are elements not usually found on a modern show-bike but are actually useful for daily riding. When this bike was being prepped for The Goldenbolt motorcycle show earlier in the year, one of the judging criteria was “rideability,” with a road test through Los Angeles downtown. To me, rideability means the bike is capable not just on the performance end, but comfortable as well, with places to carry tools and accessories (in the end, the rideability was based only on the ability to complete a 25 mile course, and the winner was a long front fork chopper with no front brake, hardly my idea of a superiorly rideable set-up.) But all gritching aside, I am happy with the way things turned out, and the bike is comfortable and easy to start, stop, and ride.

The right pannier was finished off with a brass bracket and leather strap to secure the contents. Just absolute necessities.

A rear reflector is necessary to be street legal in Texas, so this glass one was placed into a custom fitting that screws onto the end of the brake rod.

A brass license plate light that attaches to the adjacent frame tube (another requirement for street legality.)

An LED inside makes for a bright and hopefully long lasting light.

The wiring for the license plate light is enclosed in brass tubing

The rear brake linkage was revised, adding a couple inches to the rear arm of the brake pedal, shortening the brake rod a couple inches, and rotating the brake arm on the rear hub so that it is more straight up and down. The revision was to allow more adjustability to the pedal height and improve the leverage on the rear brake arm.

Counter weights to balance the wheels were made from brass and double as a spoke nipple tool.

When the rear brake rod was shortened, the spliced area was stripped of chrome and would have needed to be rechromed, but since there needed to be a stop for the tension spring, a brass stopper that covers the spliced portion was made. A small brass pin passes through the stopper to keep it in place.

At the land of the Pines Norton Owners of North Texas annual meet, the Freebird took the Best of Show award along with first in its class.

The 1993 Harley-Davidson FXR project is in the finishing stage, with parts headed to paint and powder coat.

Hours spent on final welding and sanding to get the parts ready for powder.

A lot of welding and squaring up could only be done after the bike was apart, like the final fitting of the fork stops and forward controls.

Prepping Z50R's for show and racing at the Land of the Pines Norton Rallye.

A first year 1979 Z50R spruced up for the annual Land of the Pines Norton Owners Rallye. It came to the shop for some paint, an engine rebuild, new bars and shocks. In a super busy year, I have passed on most all of the other shows, big and small, but always try to make this one where there are a number of friends that usually attend. A friends bike here that was promised for this event, and delivered early with what was supposed to be a rattle-can job, but ended up with PPG color matched acrylic. Though the original Tahitian Red was a shade different from this Blaze Red, the fenders were already Blaze, so I went with it. The tank is an aftermarket HondaTB piece that came on the bike. Taller BBR bars and some heavier duty HondaTB shocks make it more adult friendly.

A 1984 Z50R with the yellow number plates came in for new tires and tubes, a heavy duty clutch, and an 88cc bore kit with a race head. Also belonging to a friend, I was edged out of first place in the minibike race at the rallye by this bike. Not the worst thing to be beat by the engine you just built.

Though I didn’t touch the wheels, pretty much everything else got the treatment, with a lot of correct zinc plated hardware replacing the mix of screws the bike came with. Someone patched this bike together, with a crankshaft from a later bike, and stator and flywheel from an earlier bike. The stator has a lighting coil that can support 6V lights.

The bike broken down for paint. I had the acrylic enamel on hand for another tank painted a while back.

The Blaze Red would be considered orange by most standards, but either way, the color-match is spot on between the 1984 in the foreground and the 1979.

The 1979 clutch basket was the worst I have ever seen, with the center oil slinger filled with a crunchy grunge and signs of burning. Usually I can salvage something from one of these units, but this one was useless. The signs of hammer whacks on the clutch basket tell some of the story, but not all. I was told the bike was started and taken around a track till it started making a screeching noise and was discovered to be completely dry in the crankcase! That does not however explain this level of destruction, with quite a long time necessary to get this level of damage. Oddly enough, the bike started easily and shifted fine, and I was asked to just go over it and make sure everything was okay. The plan was to do a new piston and rings with a cylinder hone, and change out the clutch plates, but when I saw this, I suspected the damage was done before the oil-free ride.

This is the oil pump drive shaft. On the right is a correct used one compared to the one in the engine with the teeth on the end of the shaft sheared off. They were broken off by a rust-frozen oil pump impeller.

The 1979 Z5R engine was completely broken down and rebuilt with some low-milage OEM pieces from the same era, and a new piston and rings. Because of the questionable condition of the parts, everything aside from the engine case, transmission, and stator/flywheel was replaced.

The 1979 is a transition year. The very first Z50R, but retaining some gear from the 1972-1978 early soft tails like the wheels and hubs, the rear brake pedal (painted black) and rod, and a similar muffler to the 72-78, leaving off the number plate on the right side that the later 1980-1987 Z50R models had. The muffler guard appears to be from a 1988-1999 model, but it is fine with the owner for now. The original seat would have had no logos on the sides, this one appears to be a repop. The bike took third place in the minibike category at the Land of the Pines rallye,

The Red Baron took second place,

and first place went to the 1971 Super 50 Cafe. This bike had not been run in a while and was brought back to good running shape.

One last thing, this 1969 Z50A left the shop with a new owner. The very first Z50 I ever bought, built, or revived. The bike came to me as just an engine and frame, without wheels, a tank, or seat. The engine was given a stock rebuild years ago and all the missing parts were located. A solid running and fairly complete bike looking to be a rider or taken to the next level by its new owner.

The 1957 Triumph Freebird returns from the Golden Bolt Motorcycle show.

The 1957 Triumph Freebird bike is back from The Golden Bolt Motorcycle show in Los Angeles. Although the bike did not win in this winner-take-all competition, it was well received and placed in the top ten despite missing out on the critical road test (due to a catastrophic oil leak that presented itself as soon as the bike was kicked over at the start of the ride.) A lot of good moments with friends old and new, and a chance to see some great bikes and their builders up close. The weather was awesome, everyone was cool, and the show was more intimate and chilled than most.

During set-up. I can tell it was a good week-end because I didn’t have time to take too many pictures.

The reason I didn’t make the road test portion of the competition was this hole blown out of the oil-feed block. During it’s previous life, this part had been buffed or sanded aggressively prior to being chrome plated and the solder holding the plug in place was gone. There was no indication of a leak in the test-riding I did prior to this event in 100 degree Texas heat, but shortly after kicking the bike over for the ride, a plume of oil was shooting several feet out from the side of the bike.

Here a brass plug was turned and press-fitted into the bore, and then silver-soldered to secure it. The copper tubes are lead-soldered in place and had to be re-done after the plug was put in. It does not leak and will stay in place till the next owner grinds it away.

One of the high lights of the show was getting a vintage style Bell helmet custom striped by Skratch of Skratch’s Garage. Skratch is a displaced Texan who has made a name for himself on the West coast building, painting and striping rad custom Hot Rods. A true old-school artist who has a love for early American hot-rodding, and produces killer modern builds that showcase his understanding and love for the style.

A subtle but huge change from the previous set-up for the Freebird. Since first re-assembling the bike, the tank position did not feel quite right, but with a couple looming deadlines on the horizon, it was left alone. After fixing the oil leak, I decided it was finally time to address it, and lowered the tank an inch in front. Really happy about how it changed the alignment.

The other side shows another addition to the bike since the show, a brass plug for the tranny. Test riding the bike prior to the show, one of the brass valve-cover caps fell off, so a new set was ordered, and aluminum ones substituted for the show. After returning from the show, the new cap was added, but the caps can only be bought in a set of four, leaving three spares. The tranny plug is the same size, so one cap was modified a little appearance-wise for the job.

A vintage license plate and mounting bracket was mounted. Still working on a light for it.

One of the beautiful things about leather is how signs of wear richen it. The Wade O. Wilson engraved checking on the levers is a detail often overlooked, but one of my favorites.

There are angles from the front and back where the levers are concealed by the bars, giving the bars a clean uncluttered look.

Detail under the seat.

Some of the future finishing for this bike will be packing the panniers with supplies, but for now, they look so beautiful the way Penny Goods Leather put them together.

More details on the rear of the bike.

A rare August rain in Texas made for a great day to shoot pictures.

I got a couple drops of motor oil on the seat, but they just add character. Some leather balm purchased at Wilkinson TX, a local leather artist store, has it looking and feeling supple.

Ready to ride!