1957 Triumph Thunderbird Classic / Vintage on 2040-motos

Triumph Thunderbird tech info

Type:Classic / Vintage Stock Number:57 Phone:8775710135

Moto blog

Filling a void with an RD350LC

Last winter I managed to fill a void in my life when I stumbled on a very reasonably priced Yamaha RD350LC.  It was a tad scruffy, had the wrong exhausts but most importantly it was blue and white with all numbers matching.  I had the usual euphoria when the deal was done but I underestimated how much pleasure this particular purchase would continue to deliver another eight months down the line. The difference with this old bike is, instead of just taking it for the occasional ride I was talked into doing a full nut and bolt restoration.  Having never taking a bike apart completely before, initially it was quite daunting but I soon found the RD is easy to work on so it turned into a truly satisfying experience.  I’ve had some help from LC enthusiasts with the rebuild, however, the stripping, sourcing and organising was a total labour of love.  And call me sad but it has made me bond with this bike like no other which only adds to the feel good factor.  The bike cost £1800 and I’ve spent around £1000 but I reckon my mint Elsie is now worth a fair bit more.   I fancy rejuvenating a Fizzy  next time but there’s lots of other cheap 70’s and 80’s winter projects  out there so why not have a go yourself?

Second Annual Cirkus of Speed By Öhlins Suspension

  This year’s Cirkus of Speed by Öhlins Suspension features “police rodeo” star Ben Wolfe of Lock & Lean, performing precision motorcycle riding. Located in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the second annual event is a combination of race machines, crazy customs, hot rods, exotic motorcycles and cars, V-Twins and race bikes, street and off-road machines. Scheduled to take place Saturday, September 28, other feature exhibitions include NHRA Top Dragster of Matt Cooke, the first production models from American-made Motus motorcycles, Triumph, an actual custom Honda Grom, custom Cycle World cover bike, Öhlins Harley demo rides, live music, food, racecar shake-rig demonstrations, motorcycle suspension seminars, and more, all taking place in the heart of the Appalachians’ best highways.

Watch: 2011 Speed Triple Dyno run

With the full factory fitted arrow system and map fitted it was time to give the Speed a run on a Dyno to see where the power is at. Over two runs the best results were as follows; Power at the crank : 130bhp & 75 ft.lbs torque Power at the gearbox : 124bhp & 72 ft.lbs torque Power at the wheel : 119bhp & 69 ft.lbs torque The bike has covered 4200 miles and is due its first proper service at 6000 so you would expect to see a reduction in power. Triumph claim on a brand new bike the Speed Triple at best puts out 135bhp and 82 ft.lbs torque at the crank with the cans fitted, effectively mine has lost 5bhp and 7ft.lbs of torque.