1975 Triumph Bonneville rebuild

[glewis101]

My dad had one of these 'til he died in 1979 - unfortunately my mum sold the bike as she had no use for it :(

If anyone has a 70's Triumph Bonneville 750 (was like a metallic burgundy/ cream colour - I think!!) check ya V5, if it has Alan Lewis on it then it was me dads...be nice to know that its still chugging away!

[droid740]

exactly like mine on a cold day... absolute misery! But worth it

[MrKarpfish]

Good work, love triumphs.

[PeterDad60]

First you must hold the clutch lever in and then stroke the kickstarter. This "free's" the clutch. This does not count as a kick, because you are pushing down on kickstarter to free the clutch and not trying to start the machine. Also this get's the pistons to T.D.C.

On the real first kick my 1976 Triumph T140V 750 Bonneville alway's start's. She's 20 ft from me as I type. Thanks for the video I will rebuild the top end of my Bonne soon. I purchased the parts 25 years ago for when I need them.

[Beverbajs]

kick start always nice ;)

[losteden]

iiii very good noise

[UgenetheFlagman]

:) looked like fun .

nice rebuild . Hey! how come you only got two dislikes and i got 21 LOL .

probably my accent? . anyways thanks for sharing , nice bike . i hope your still riding it And you are right the barrels are tricky to get on over the rings . 

[ThePhil321]

not bein funny but could you not have found a more productive hobby?

In my midlife crises im gunna take up golf

[garvinzoom]

Amazing! Bet your leg was tired. Very nice video.

[thirteendreams]

Golden rule with british bikes... if it doesn't start 2nd kick then something ain't right :)

in this case i'd point the finger at the coils,

[hfa555]

My Bonny hated the kicker,, I would always try to bump start it in 2nd gear. It preferred starting that way, the kicker would work if it stalled in traffic cos it was heated up, but from a cold start, with the choke on it still would only fire first time if I bumped it.

Great video mate,, thanks for making it.

Hal

[lifesAnOcean]

I rebuilt my 78 bonnie, once upon a time, and I recall having to kick it over as much as you before it roared to life. What a sound!

[monkeynumbernine]

@lifesAnOcean -thanks for the warning..hahaha..i have not ridden my 77 bonnie in 16 years..the time has come to see what it will take to ride it...it always started on the second kick...now? we shall see

[nickolaspaulmusic]

Absolutely fantastic! Thanks so musch for posting this. I'm kinda in the market for buying a motorcycle and I really think the Triumph Bonneville is the right choice.

[ukusagent]

@nickolaspaulmusic Bonnevilles are nice but they can be very time consuming maintainace wise as something allways needs tightning or checking , If you can afford on get the last model 850 Norton Commando

[MrFelim]

RE: MSSGE UKASAGANT This is hot tip to remove the SLUDGE TRAP TUBE- THIS IS VITAL IN REBUiLD !. Remove crank plug AND ALSO the flywheel bolt that pegs the tube, drill out sludge, 1/2" drill bit will fit? Use a coarse thread 12 mm tap to bite into the sludge trap. Then wind a nut ( washer also) down the tap from the wrong end using the crank as shoulder and extract the tube- voila!.

Use solvent tank pump and recirculate gas or varsol through the crank. compressed air to clear final debris.

[MrFelim]

Same here, I made some ring compressors many years ago from a couple of strips of 1/16 stainless then curled inside two hose clamps, works like a charm every time. Yep, flooding is the answer for a first time start because of the residual/rebuild oil. I have even squirted a drop of gas direct down the plug hole and that never fails. The T140 is a tricky animal because of those hidden cylinder head bolts with hex heads that can sometimes tighten more when the rocker bolts box bolts are torqued

[ukusagent]

@MrFelim I bet during his rebuild he forgot the crank mounted sluge trap when I did mine i had too use a hand drill too get the build up out lol

[ukusagent]

@dolesponger I totally agree with you,  mine first or second kick even after a rebuild. Just flood those carbs, I used two correct sized jubille clips loosely holding the rings in and loose enough too slide out the way when the barrel slid downthen just undo them Bloody easy ;o)

[noushitaisa]

Well played mate. Never say die.... I hope she starts up a bit better now after a bit of running in.... Bonnevilles are lovely bikes -- just I prefer what it should have evolved into i.e. the Kawasaki W650 -- and that's what I ride (and the kickstart worked from day One). Peace brother..

[smithpan]

GOOD JOB !!!

[witiwoto]

HAHAAAA THE BENNY HILLS SHOW

[pvbroe]

y keep kickin when it's not startin . . . get off n see what the prob is

[atkinfan]

Great work - despite appearances there's plenty of life left in this battered vintage relic- and the bonneville looks like it might see some service too...

Great t-shirt (tea-shirt?!) I remember buying MotorCycle News when it had that logo... happy days....

Great video - great soudtrack...

[Whitehorze]

And that is why they invented Electric starters...LOL...

Good job on getting it back on the road. I know how it feels to rebuild a basket case bike. Remember: Loctite is your friend...

Built, not bought...

[LARC0]

I want an old Bonnie one day!!

[tmboosh]

my dad had one ov those till i came along sorry dad

[bipod11]

@tmboosh HAAHA same :( poor dads ey

[TheDuerden]

I am glad you included the real joy of owning an old brit bike, the physical work out of trying to get the bastige started..

[SirBootsalot]

WOW Fun, Hate to do that every time. lol

[Ghawdxi]

Kicking old bikes over sure can take your breath away!

[chungdha]

I like running starts more on the old bikes.

[owengoslin101]

awesome vid

[citi0rhythm]

nothing like first time starting a rebuild engine

[powersliding]

sounds nice

[ellomirza]

Hahahahahaha

This guy is great!

[yellowbusguy]

Real bikes have kick starters.

[powersliding]

@yellowbusguy so you'll tell us you'll be riding till you die and when you reach 70 please post a video of you kick staring an iron head motor with bad ignition and carbs, cmon, lets move forward, kick start IS COOLER, thats all there is to it

[AviBaby18]

that was very interesting to watch

[XPoChangLinX]

OMG that looked like a pretty good workout! aren't you glad modern bikes have electric start!!... somebody need to invent electric-kick-start... a motor to kick-start the bike for you.... then we can all have vintage bikes without broken leg :D

[NONo443]

I know that feeling that you must have felt when you kicked it over so many times and it finally started. Like sex, but without the guilt.

[90onenight]

@NONo443 Well said sir!

[desmosedicimeccanica]

you know what i stick with my electric start type bike : /

[animeonperseest]

@desmosedicimeccanica if that had an electric starter, it still wouldn't have started and you'd prob have to recharge the battery quite a few times

[acidnaught74]

Great! I was helping him with mi foot against the floor!

[bfmv580]

Wow that was a great video! more of these please!! :-)

[richard1717]

haha quality! so there was life in it

[Comp3630]

Love it .XD

[ginoReyes46]

It reminds me of my dad's bmw r50. It took me 3 hours to start the engine.

[Buttmunch5000]

heh i was just thinking i get annoyed when my cg125 doesnt start first kick

[alan4391]

iam so glad my honda cbf600 dont take that long to start id bin it strate away

[HOTOjake]

great work!

[noushitaisa]

She was a bit grumpy at first, but that's par for the course when they've been in bits. Long may you run...

[animal100000]

That was an ACE vid very interesting nice 1!

[toilit]

great job! nice simple bike! excellent!