1968 Triumph 650 refurb

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Not a restoration, just a "casual refurbishment. Have a few bits, (ok alot of bits) that I've decided to bolt on to a clear title 1968 Triumph 650 frame I have. I didn't paint the frame, but did clean and paint "some" of the bits. And did install a later Triumph disc brake front end, with tapered roller bearings and two adapter spacers (top of tree and bottom of tree) from "Klempf's British parts" I filled the oil tank with solvent, and the gas tank with non ethanol gas for several days ... to make sure they didn't leak, and the DON'T! Not sure how far I want to go with this. I just drained the oil tank and cleaned and flushed with water. I don't like the chrome oil tank and considering priming and then painting it black. How far should I go? Comments and opinions invited.
1968 Triumph 650 refurb
1968 Triumph 650 refurb
1968 Triumph 650 refurb
 
How far to go...? That’s the question !

I‘m one of the worst qualified to answer. I’m pathetic when it comes to self control and ‘scope creep’ of projects.

But, I do know scope creep is real. I think the chances are that as you progress, things will creep. What starts out as a ‘throw it together for some fun’ ALWAYS morphs into more than that. And if you don‘t beautify that frame a tad, you’ll regret it later as things start to morph IMHO.

If the paint is sound and there’s minimal rust, all you need is a careful rattle can job to make a huge difference. There are only a few parts of a frame that actually have to be painted really well to look a million bucks.

The benefit to working on Triumphs is that there is no ‘Colorado Triumph Works‘ to tempt us !!

Although MAP do some nice stuff... inc lovely lightweight billet pistons... and JS does lightweight Carrillo rods for Triumphs... and Kibblewhite do nice 1/4 stem valves and beehive springs... and... and... and I’ll shut up...!
 
My advise ( which is worth what you paid for it) is to put the bike together, run it , sort it and when it is trouble free and
you are happy, THEN pull it apart and do the cosmetics.
As usual DAHIK. :-(
 
Well, I removed oil tank, painted it black, and reinstalled it. Bought a front wheel cradle and a scissors jack to make it easier to work on. Slow progress, but progress.

Curious as to why so rare to see pre-OIF Triumph 650s, NOT upgraded to the 73 and later disc brake front end ??? Not hard to do ...
1968 Triumph 650 refurb
 
Three reasons I’d say:

1. It seriously de values the bike and generally speaking pre OIF are worth more.

2. Its actually debatable that it’s and improvement! The shuttle valve pre OIF forks are good and work well. And the pre conical TLS front brake works amazingly well. Conversely, by modern standards, the Triumph disc has a horrid wooden feel. Whilst a good disc has more outright stopping power, it’s easy to see that many would prefer the TLS drum because of this, and a chromed disc with a poor choice of pads fitted will probably also have less outright stopping power than a good TLS drum.

3. There are plenty of disc brake OIF bikes out there, so folk who want one, probability buy one...!
 
Well, then it wouldn't be a pre-OIF any more. Simple.

Three reasons I’d say:

1. It seriously de values the bike and generally speaking pre OIF are worth more.

2. Its actually debatable that it’s and improvement! The shuttle valve pre OIF forks are good and work well. And the pre conical TLS front brake works amazingly well. Conversely, by modern standards, the Triumph disc has a horrid wooden feel. Whilst a good disc has more outright stopping power, it’s easy to see that many would prefer the TLS drum because of this, and a chromed disc with a poor choice of pads fitted will probably also have less outright stopping power than a good TLS drum.

3. There are plenty of disc brake OIF bikes out there, so folk who want one, probability buy one...!

Well, that's why I asked. I appreciate the frank and honest replies.
 
Painted the frame, left side cover and the oil tank. Installed more parts for mock up to see what else I need. Slow progress, but still progress ...
1968 Triumph 650 refurb
 
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