bpilgrim

Hello, Further to the other 3TA thread, I have a question about shocks. I've had a read of all the other threads, and Falcon shocks are the ones I'm looking at getting, since they're made in England too, but what 'type' should I be looking at? Do I go for the pre-75 shock designed for limited suspension travel, or actual trials shocks? I'm looking at just the steel ones too. I also don't have a clue about what spring rate and length I should get. I assume it goes on rider weight etc, so I weight about 165lbs in trials gear. A quick google tells me a 3TA weighed originally 340lbs, original shocks were 11.9" long and spring rate 135lbs/in. Wild guess here, but imagine the bike will weigh, in trials trim, maybe 300lbs? Falcon's website recommends a 14.15/50/3/8 shock for the Tiger Cub, I'm assuming that's 14.15" long, 50lbs/in and 3/8" attachment? What would you recommend for a this 3TA project? (I imagine many answers will say it depends on the rider's preference, so my preference is on the hard side, since I tend to treat trials bikes like scramblers in between sections, and my Cota 348 bottoms out quite a lot even on small jumps, I do however plan to be a bit more gentle on a 53 year old bike!) Thanks in advance, Ben

Hello Everyone, I've just taken on a 1959 Triumph 3TA barn find, and I hope to turn it into a trials machine. My sort of riding is just having a bit of fun on the white route, so I'm not after much competitiveness, but I am interested in keeping it period, and I'm hoping to do as little (if any) permanent modifications as possible. Here's some pictures of the bike in question: Triumph 3TA My first question is the hubs, before I get the bits to lace the planned 21" WM1 and a 18" WM2, what hubs would be appropriate? From reading around it seems a Tiger Cub front hub is common choice, do these come in 36 or 40 hole (or does it vary, if so, which is better?). With regards to the rear hub, can I get away with using the original, as it already has a very small drum? It is the type where the sprocket and drum are cast as one, but it bolts to the hub itself, so the sprocket could still be changed without difficulty, albeit taking the drum with it. From reading the threads, it appears alignment of the sprocket is an issue with a trials conversion, which is why I'm keen to keep the original hub on the back. Also, I don't suppose anyone knows if a 18"x4" tyre will fit the swingarm on a 3TA. I'm sort of guessing here, but I think it's the same frame as the 5TA, which I'm assuming is quite a bit bigger than a tiger cub series? I'm hoping the chain won't hit the tyre. For the lacing bits, could anyone recommend a good place to source the rims and spokes from? Another question I have is about the oil tank, what are the side affects to having a smaller oil tank, I think it's got a 2 3/4 pint tank on it, would a 2 1/4 pint make any difference? Also, is a 'froth tower' recommended for trials? Other bits which I should mention; -exhaust will be twin high level pipes, inspired by the Triumph Metisse, bit heavier than the siamese system, but it'll look fantastic -forks... I hope to leave original... I'm planning to just heat treat the springs to suit, and have a play with the oil to make them work. -fuel tank, tiger cub, or terrier tank, as the newly made pre-65 trials tanks I found were really expensive. -mudguards, universal alloy ones, would you recommend the 6" D shape rear (for the B40) or the 5" C shape rear (for the Tiger cub)? (will be from trialsbits) -Handlebars - Although I love Renthal bars, the brace looks too modern for this bike, so I'm looking at the Pre-65 bars from Sammy Millers, are they any good? -Seat - I plan to make -Air filter - are pancake filters ok for trials? As mentioned, I'm only riding white route, so they're shouldn't be any deep water. I think that's enough questioning for now! Many thanks, Ben

I had a similar experience with an old Landy, I have a (security) habit of leaving the gearbox in 3 neutrals (when parked on the flat), so as to help prevent some pikey from trying to pinch it and I dropped it off for an MOT and it appears to even be mechanic proof! They called me up for instructions of how to get it moving, it did make me chuckle!

It is also a requirement to have tax, which still isn't a problem for pre-73, I sure they'd come up with something so that you can still transfer, e.g. a special MOT exemption certificate or something along those lines.

There are already classic trucks driving round without MOT's, I guy I know who has an old Bedford, an RL I think, I think it's 3 ton and that doesn't have an MOT, I don't think a bike would do much damage in comparison...

Alex feel free to repost, every chap needs his manual! I believe the service/repair manual covers the 247, including oil quantities for the forks, clutch, gearbox etc.

Hi, I have a 348 with your very exact problem, before I acquired it, the flywheel had snapped off with quite a bit of the crank, and has eaten part of the casing, as well as putting a hole in the front of the casing (which has been fixed with a very hard filler). I have ridden my bike (quite aggressively) for about 20hrs and it has been fine. The primary gear is only half on the end of the crank, and it hasn't broken off yet...(I hope I haven't just jinxed my next trial!) It also seems to run fine without mass of the flywheel, I believe riders used to skim the flywheel anyway to take some mass off it and make the bike rev quicker. I'm not sure about the torque, as I haven't ridden a 348 with the flywheel on, but I'm sure it would make a difference. I have (eventually) managed to get my hands on a complete 348 engine (with an intact crank and flywheel), so I plan to swap the crank as mentioned above. Here's some pics off my bike: (if you skip to picture 29, that's probably the best pic of the crank, and the primary gear only just on it) https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59664&id=1497248461&l=b591644882 I've also got some electronic copies of 348 manuals if you need them. Ben

Time for an update I think, since the bike is almost complete. - The gear problem was indeed the gear selector mechanism, the previous owner had been fiddling and must have put it on incorrectly, I just followed the manual and I now have 6 gears selecting well. -The tank was a 349 tank, it was shorter and wider than the 348 tank. It also had no breather and the filler was in the centre, I've now got a 348 tank with the offset filler and breather, fits nicely. -The wheels I have been told were from a MH349, the rear had the orginal 30 ish year old MT13 tyre on! I now have an original set of 348 wheels. -The carb was indeed a Mikuni, an Amal L2627/402 is now on it. -The front brake torque arm appeared to be galvanised steel strip that is used for securing joists together, I've now got a proper aluminium one. -Got myself a decompressor for the second port, which makes a great sound! -Frame powder coated back to black instead of red. The timing and points gap you mentioned work a treat, the bike has tonnes of power, it pulls like a tractor! I eventually managed to get myself a complete 348 engine which is in great condition, but as I want to keep matching numbers, I'm going to pinch lots of parts from the spare, instead of swapping engines. I haven't got around to doing this yet, but at least I now have the parts ready. The old melted coil still worked, so the new one is just kept as a spare, mainly because it doesn't fit, I'll need to trim down the bracket. Now for the project cost (ouch!), I bought the bike for £280, and the total cost so far (bike + parts) is currently at £1050 This does however include quite a lot of spares, I tend to just buy 348 parts in case I ever need them, somehow I have ended up with with 3 cylinder heads, 3 LH engine cases, and lots of spindles! I'm sure they'll come in handy one day! Main bits left to buy/do: -Strip both engines to make one good one. -Shocks -Handle bars/amal levers -Mudguards/fairing Here's the album of pics (you may notice some mistakes I made in the rebuild, such as the rear engine mount on the swinging arm, I put it on the wrong way, which I only found out when I couldn't get the engine bolts in!) https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59664&id=1497248461&l=b591644882 Thanks again for all your advice, it came in very handy! Ben

Hi Alex, I've measured what I think the exposed length should be and 240mm seems about right. Could you post a pic to facebook of the steel bracket you mention, as mine doesn't have that bracket, the mudguard stay has just been drilled instead. I've just noticed that the ebay listing for the cable states Cota 348 1976-78, although In Motion said mine is 1977, I actually think it's more likely 1979, with the build number being 13'030. If this is the case, what's the font brake difference between the 1976-78 and the 79 model?

It's not on a spline, and I've compared it to a spare 348 brake plate and it seems exactly the same. I now really don't know why the cable seems so long...

Thanks for that, my front brake stay is 195mm, the inner cable is 1060mm, and the outer is 685mm (excluding adjuster), which is odd because it means the length of the exposed cable (the difference) on mine is 375mm and your difference is 400mm, yet mine is already too long... hmmm I wonder whether the brake actuator arm is on a spline, everything else is the same, so maybe that has been adjusted... I'll go and find out.

Right, I've opened up the the carb again to check the 'float needle' (I'm learning!). It looks quite a technical little needle, my one is of a triangular sort, with 3 points that make contact with the jet, and it has a funny little tip. I've cleaned the needle, the jet and also made sure the float moves freely on the brass spindle, and the bike's running well. I'll see how it goes, and if the problem appears again I'll change the float needle as you suggest. Is this type of carb, standard 348 Amal (L2627/402), is it a 600 series Amal? As the parts are split into categories for the 600, 900, Mk2 and Monobloc. I think this is the right sort: http://www.trialsbits.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=34_35&products_id=85 Do float needles only ever come in one size? Thanks, Ben

My manual for my 348 also says 190cc/leg, I too thought this was a bit low, I just put 200ml in, it seems to work ok. I also have another montesa manual that covers several models, and all the fork oil quantities are low, see p101 (it's a big file and may take a while to open): http://bpilgrim.webs.com/montesa_service_repair_1965_75.pdf Ben

Hi, I really don't know much about carbs, so is this the big needle in the centre? Is that the main needle? I was looking at this today, I noticed on the top, there was a little washer type clip, and there were I think 5 slots on the top of the needle, is this for main adjustment?

Hi, yet more questions from me! Just spent