Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Triumph Bonneville Bobber Launch Party....!





Welcome to my 50th post!  When I started four years ago, I had no idea how long or how much I would end up writing.  I just knew that I had thoughts, ideas and dreams that I wanted to take to paper (the virtual kind) for the sake of prosperity.  A lot has changed since then;  I have moved, found a good job and gotten married.  The bikes have changed as well,  moving from some Japanese bikes to an all British stable (and one German car).  I am very happy with things and have high hopes for the future!  Throughout 2017 I will have some long overdue updates;  Even though there may be long gaps between posts sometimes, there are always things going on in the background.

It seems appropriate that the topic of a 50th post should be about a party.  Not just any party, but a Triumph party!

I was invited to the launch of the Triumph Bonneville Bobber event last Friday at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.  This was on the merit of having purchased a new bike from my local dealer a few years ago, however it is still nice to be asked out! 

It was a very well planned event, everyone got a free drink and trays of hors d'ourves were available to guests.  I always love seeing new bikes and for me the street scrambler and T120 Bonneville (in red and silver) were the stars of the show.  Triumph clearly have an ear to the ground and a keen eye on the budding custom scene of the last few years.  My beloved Scrambler was due for an upgrade after a decade, especially with Ducati and Yamaha throwing their hats in that arena.  The bike fits the bill nicely, I won't go into technical detail here but from what I have read the bike is a winner.

I do grow tired of the drab, matte paint schemes. Where is all the glorious two tone paint?  Thankfully on the T120 it is abundant and stunning from every angle.  This to me is the true measure of Triumph's success. Showing us all that can be whilst remembering all that was.  

As for the Bobber that all the fuss was about?  It was nice, but didn't really excite me although the crowd certainly loved it and I suppose that is the most important thing.   I will let the pictures do the talking for me...





An old friend met me at the gate.









There was no expense spared with the 2017 catalog, very high quality  glossy paper was used. 




Who doesn't love Snoopy?  This would look great on a gas tank...

Quite a pleasant paint scheme up close


Triumph has a new Bobber, apparently. 



Easily the most beautiful bike in the room...

The Triumph bus parked behind the main stage

The Bonneville Black.  It certainly delivers what it promises!

And again



Fortunately I didn't need this to escape the venue!





Beautiful from every angle. 
Until Next time!

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Put a Tiger On The Tank!


Happy New year!

I thought I would post a quick update and product review;   I have spent the last couple months working on the Matchless G9,  mostly gathering parts and getting a tonne of stuff powder coated.

Powder coating has become my preferred method of cleaning up old parts,  especially the black stuff. (I will get some snaps of all the lovely and shining bits in a future post) Now that the shop I use does sandblasting as well, it saves me a lot of time.  It is affordable, durable and looks very sharp.  This works very well when the surface of the item is in good shape,  but what do you when there are dents or damage?




Here are the Matchless tanks, (oil and gas) both with some damage/pitting.  I was certain that I would have use a stud welder to pull the dents and hope for the best.  I really didn't want to get these items painted or bondo and paint them myself.  The side cover and tool box are good and solid but badly pitted from years of neglect.  A decent set would have been around the $400.00 mark so I needed an easy solution!







Fortunately for me,  the powder coat shop had just the thing for me;  Tiger Epo Strong epoxy.  The fellow I deal with had purchased some to do a gas tank, had some left over and sold it to me at a discount.  This is similar to bondo, mixing the epoxy and hardener in a 2:1 ratio.  Unlike Bondo, you have time to work and shape it as it takes 24 hours to cure at room temperature.  Application is done in 5mm layers and then you can sand and shape as you would any other variety of filler.  Once satisfied, the item cures in the oven at 400F and can then be coated.





Here is what the product looks like, mine came complete with instructions in German!


The epoxy goes on quite smoothly and fills in dents easily.



So far so good,  I am slowly working with the stuff and am happy with the results;  The final test will of course be the final coating.   I hope to have that done in the next month or so.