Man's Sportster

I've been hunting high and low for the perfect Sportster for Panhead Nate (he thinks they are chicks bikes). I think I've finally found it.

Ran When Parked

1939 Triumph Tiger 80 350 cc Single - It's no T100 Twin but still pretty cool.

1933 Plymouth

Having been around this car since I was like 7 years old, I sometimes forget just how cool it is.

It occurred to me the other day that every vintage vehicle Flathead Rob owns is in fact a flathead. For the record it doesn't rule out him one day owning a Knucklehead.

Mystery Parade

I recently stumbled across some photos of what appear to me to be the Seattle Cossacks in a Memorial Day Parade. In the one photo of the PD bikes (last photo) it appears they are riding Panheads so it must be 50's. A sign in one of the store windows says "“Memorial Day May 30th.” I think the only year in that decade for which Memorial Day fell on the 30th was 1955 so that's my best guess. Any other theories?

Jimmy in Frosty Young's VFW Uniform

I got a little help from Hurry-Up Nate. He confirmed the police bikes are probably pre-58 Panheads as they have rigid style crash bars. Both the Cossacks bikes and the uniforms appear to come from the period in which the team was sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). I don't know the exact dates of the VFW Cossack years (a little help, anyone?) but Frosty Young was member #49 which I think may have made him a member active in the mid-fifties.

Girder Bike

I spotted this bike on Chopper Dave's blog. Pretty cool.

Pouring Babbit Bearings

I'm only posting content from this Old Motor post because I may want to find it again one day and I probably won't remember the source then. I'm pretty relived my 1951 T100 had already been converted to shells when I got it.

Portland Motorcycle Film Festival

This looks like fun.

Pocket Shop

Thanks to Vorhese I think I've finally found a means for English Stephen to have a well equipped space constrained motorcycle workshop. Model shop.

Robbins Pistons

Dealer Doings

Ever notice some of the comments people threw around 60 years ago are now totally inappropriate by today's standards?

El Paso's finest.

Motorcycle Dyno

Prior to seeing this drawing it never really occurred to me that the origin of ft-lbs was so literally a measurement involving feet (as in 12"). You learn something new every day.

Speedbird Update

As you may have previously noticed, my pal English Stephen is incredibly (obsessively perhaps) detail oriented. He has been working on a custom dimensioned rigid rear frame section for quite a while now. He requires both non-standard length and angles to obtain the desired stance he is going for. He is also insistent the frame section look as much as the original factory piece as possible. Custom angles mean he cannot just "reuse" the stock dropout castings.

He spent considerable time creating molds to cast the one-off piece. He then spent significant time and money having the castings poured. After a fairly long wait he received the castings and ultimately decided the quality would not meet his standards. He opted to start over from scratch.

He started by designing the new casting in Solidworks, itself not a trivial feat. He then took that design and printed it on a 3D printer. What a stunning part.

Stephen made some subtle changes to the part and asked me if the new design was loyal enough to the stock casting. I assured him it was. The following is the "printed" part. Simply stunning. Next comes the finished product in steel.

So, what would Edwin Turner himself think about all this newfangled technology from a purely craftsmanship perspective? I think this paragraph from Clew, Jeff (2012-01-19). Edward Turner – The man behind the motorcycles might help to form an opinion:

One of the younger staff who had interviewed for employment with the new Triumph company was Jack Wickes, aged 21. His job began as print boy, which involved delivering blueprints to all the different departments. Jack later transitioned into a new role turning Edward’s sketches into general schemes and sometimes into full colour illustrations. He also submitted his own ideas for approval which, if completed in the office and accepted, could be seen on future production models. His design of the now familiar Triumph headlamp nacelle is just one example. A very good working relationship developed between the pair; Jack had a high regard for his boss who, although not a qualified engineer, was a very shrewd person. Edward would often refer affectionately to Jack as “my pencil”, an understatement if ever there was one!

In my opinion Edward would have been just fine with applying the technology.