Offroad Fork Upgrade and Test Ride - 1957 Triumph Desert Sled

NEW VIDEOS POSTED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING!
#triumph #vintage #motorcycle

[@pauldeane9849]

Love the C spanner ! We always oiled felt seals before fitting. Nice photo bomb.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thanks, a machinist customer made it and gave it to me and my old shop. It’s quite handy!

[@johnmunns5964]

Nice, same set up as my sled but I opted for rubber seals which don't work as well as felt and still leak. I use light gear oil 75/80 in this and my race Triton. Gear oil ratings different to normal oil ratings so is equivalent to about 40 which you used to be able to get from Belray. These old forks were made to run in old oils. Try it in your gearbox as well, magic, a bit harder to keep in there but again the box was designed for straight 50 oil.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Great info! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 👍

[@weemsmotorco]

Always great seeing what you have going on in the shop!!!!

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thanks Jared! Back at ya!

[@jontg429]

Really enjoying your videos! Putting together a 69' Tiger 650 so I understand how easy it is to love Triumph's!

[@wheelhousegarage]

They’re so cool!! Thanks for watching!

[@TheStevemcqueen68]

The bike is looking good with the upgrade Bill, I like the test ground by the house, lots of space, so enjoy watching your Films , Thanks Kiwi

[@jac6568]

Really love that triumph of yours, sounds great too.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thanks!

[@giovanniman]

Oh cool Maschine 😂 i love that and a cool Guinness ❤ 👍

[@vorhese]

Dang giving away our trade secrets ;) Reading the fork experts on here telling your setup is wrong is hilarious.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Haha. So funny!

[@derosabike]

Thought that you were building up to jump that perimeter fence - Mushman😊

[@wheelhousegarage]

Haha! I should have!

[@technomickdocumentalist2495]

Nice upload again mate, 👍💯

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@dogpaw775]

i remember that exact edition of Cycle World from when I was a kjd, any ideas where to get a copy?

[@wheelhousegarage]

eBay is usually your best bet👍👍

[@robertodebeers2551]

Looks and sounds like a motorcycle should.

[@wheelhousegarage]

thanks! I think so too!

[@agrajag868]

Hi, perhaps a tool for holding pipes or tubes, like a pipe strap, or oil filter remover, save you putting them in a vice, just a thought. Great video's

[@wheelhousegarage]

Would love to get come nice aluminum suspension jaws for the vice! I think Motion Pro makes some.

[@lesjones7617]

Sweet!

[@jacob14163]

Did you build the front guard?

[@xt225]

What's happened to the special 500 sled?

[@wheelhousegarage]

Took the T100C out for it's maiden voyage in the last video👍

[@JessBottom-m5i]

Huh, didn't know the '57 had internal fork springs. My '69 Bonny has external fork springs (maybe it also has internal fork springs). Did the '57's have larger diameter stanchions? If so, Bud E. knew all the "trick" setups.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Hmm you know I’m not sure of the size difference between the two 🤔

[@vorhese]

Triumph didn't move to external springs until '64

[@bananabrooks3836]

I hope there was some assembly oil used.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Not filmed but yes I did 👍

[@Deano_77]

Merry Xmas . Have a beer on me.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thank you so much! What a kind gift. I really appreciate it!! Have a wonderful Christmas 🙏

[@Deano_77]

Thanks 👍

[@jiyushugi1085]

Just wait, next year all the manufacturers will be announcing new bikes named 'Sleds' or 'Desert Sled'.

[@jameshisself9324]

Ducati already has one for the Scrambler line. I love my Ducatis but I hate their marketing department.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Ya Ducati beat most to that one, which I think is a bit of a shame - I feel like that model doesn’t do the name justice.

[@zennbubba]

Does the sled shift on the Right????

[@wheelhousegarage]

It sure does!

[@zennbubba]

Was it born that ways??? I had an AMF Sportster that shifted on the right I had to re wire my brain when I rode it. Was racing Japanese dirt bikes at the time they were all lefties. @@wheelhousegarage

[@jameshisself9324]

80w??? Specs I find say around 10w is stock, which means you are way over valved on compression damping no matter what. Square edge bumps on the front will feel harsh, it will feel more controlled otherwise though. Pot holes could literally break your fork with that much viscosity. If you have drilled out the compression holes WAY larger than it might be OK, but without that you are not setup correctly at all.

[@johnmunns5964]

That's fine, a gear oil rating is different to engine oil. I run light gear oil 75/80 which is about 40 on the engine oil scale, works perfectly. You can't buy the good old heavyweight fork oils anymore.

[@jameshisself9324]

@@johnmunns5964 I have a long list of technical factors about this that I didn't get in to and I won't now to try to convince you. Instead I'll wish you happy riding brother.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Feels pretty darn good off-road. 😁

[@jimtitt3571]

80w gear oil has an SAE Automotive viscosity of around 28, before 1970 Triumph used SAE 30 engine oil but gear oil has better resistance to frothing.

[@jameshisself9324]

@@wheelhousegarage Cool! I bet it can be better, especially around the areas I mentioned. 😉 I'm having to make some assumptions about this antique fork being similar to a standard damper rod fork and I know they are sometimes different. Is this a known thing for that specific fork model? That still doesn't mean it is optimal though, way too many old guy myths about suspension from back in those days. There is a ton of modern science that can make those old forks work like much newer designs though, I'd love to discuss some time.

[@GiancarloBenzina]

Looks no good when on the table and squeezing them, but ok on the ride. Those springs are too long and give not enough remaining suspension as they‘re pre-compressed and anyway tightly wound. See that short mushy travel you have on your bike. After so much work, yes they‘re better in so many ways (bushings, corrosion, stronger), but good? Well…

[@wheelhousegarage]

It’s all relative I suppose 😁 Definitely an improvement from before and good enough for this rider to enjoy. Thanks for watching!

[@jiyushugi1085]

The word you're looking for is 'preload'. On many new bikes it's adjustable, but with the old iron you install longer or stiffer springs.

[@JessBottom-m5i]

​An easy check is to compress the forks and see if the total fork travel has been reduced.

[@StanleyKubick1]

the loud music detracts from the video. otherwise this channel is mint