Tuning a 1977 Triumph T140V

In this video I'm trying to share some of what I've learned myself. (It is a revamped version of my previous video that bore the same name.)

[@frankkemble2103]

I own a 73 T140 completely rebuilt and have junked the contact breakers and fitted boyer, also Norton Commando peashooters, Mikuni VM34's and a megacycle half race spec exhaust cam and it is a gem. It has now covered a total of 98000 miles and I have done many trips around n.america on it and it has NEVER seriously let me down. It has standard rear shocks but stiffer front fork springs and straight 30 weight oil and it starts, idles and goes extremely well. I have shocked many people on allegedly faster machines including my buddy on an old GS1100 though he will pull away after about 70. You've obviously got one sweet running T140 there but these bikes beg to be upgraded. I guess it's all about personal choice. Looks/sounds like you hollowed out the stock mufflers somehow? Sounds great.

[@downunder4087]

I love tinkering with my bike too and I think much of that enjoyment comes from thinking of the benefits I'll gain from the work I'm doing. Your mods have obviously ticked the boxes for you and that's what counts most. (You're 100% right about personal choice.) We're all different and I've got to admit I avoid "fast roads" these days. I simply can't stand all the wind noise and wind pressure associated with riding at over 80 kph. (I think my bike sounds better below 3000 rpm too.) As for my mufflers, if they've been modified it would have been the previous owner because I'm not aware of it. The dashcam I use has atrocious sound quality so I record the sound with a Zoom H2n sound recorder and dub the sound track in - which is rather laborious but works.😊

[@bm7760]

This video is a great resource, thank you. I've recently bought a '78 which is great except hot starts are difficult. Could be my technique or lack of it. Thanks again. I miss my Down Under daily but when I return I'll be bringing the Bonnie.

[@downunder4087]

I always remember Upper Hutt being referred to as the British Bike Capital of NZ and although I don't live there, in Welliington city I'm not far away from it. The more of these old bikes there are in the country the better.

[@bm7760]

@@downunder4087 Mid-Canterbury was my base. Nice rides to Akaroa, Hanmer, Wanaka-Arrowtown. Good as it gets. Isle of Man right now which isn't too shabby ;-)

[@stevekennedy8264]

Looks like the coast road wainuiomata? Sorta keep it up

[@downunder4087]

@@stevekennedy8264 Mākara, Paekākāriki, and Karori. But thanks for mentioning the Wainuiomata Coast Road. I haven't been out there for a while so I'll have to reacquaint myself with it. It's certainly got some nice parts to it. 😊

[@Kevin-cy9cv]

Interesting video, thanks. I've got a 1972 T120V, After buying new parts for my old carbs, I realised I had made a mistake, they were too worn and so bought new ones from Amal, I've fitted them with the big 'O' ring and am just at the stage of timing and tuning, although I have the Pazon ignition system. So it was a useful video for me.

[@downunder4087]

I'm glad my video was of use to you Kevin. When I was a teenager I rode a Tiger 110 to and from school and that was always hard to start. My lack of experience at the time (and my completely different mind-set) meant that I never got on top of that issue or many of the other issues that bike had. Yet I used to happily ride it from Auckland to Wellington and it never once broke down to leave me stranded anywhere. (I even had the nipple ping off the end of my clutch cable once and I still got the bike home with a traffic officer halting traffic for me as I jump-started the bike in gear and rode the wrong way up a motorway onramp. Those were the good old days. Few would believe that story to be true today.) But my minds meandering... Fitting new Amal carbies made all the difference with starting and idling on this Silver Jubilee. It was still a hard decision to make though because the bike still performed excellent under the old ones in all but "starting and idling".

[@sidforbrains6552]

I had a suppier recommend the fiber flanges from I think, a 650 for my carb mounts. I use the thin amal orings and it works perfect. The thing i don't like about the large orings is that it seems like it was cause premature warpage of the flangees....these things are so soft....thanks for the tips and the rides

[@downunder4087]

Do you mean inlet manifolds made entirely of fibre? If so, that's the sort of thing I initially began looking for (but couldn't locate). I'm not worried about my flanges warping with my fat O-rings in place. This is because the way I have everything set up now (after shaving metal off my inlet manifolds), when my flange nuts are tightened they seat on the shoulders of my studs before they can apply any excessive crushing forces on my O-rings (and thus before they can apply sufficient force to risk warping any flange.

[@sidforbrains6552]

@@downunder4087 These are just the phenolic block shaped like the gaskets...you apply a gasket, then the block, then the thin oring....my carbs are around 110F after riding....the Bonneville shop in Colorado list's a #70-2968 with a -30-.062 added to the end, indicating bore then thickness....Clssic Brit Spares in California shows the same # and lists sizes for 28, 30 and 32 mm bores but theres are thicker and may be a problem with the stud length. Happy motoring.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks for clarifying and for the part numbers. That looks to be a good fix too. 😊

[@BIBIWCICC]

Nice video. If you polish the outside of your carbs they cool less efficiently. The casting roughness increases the surface are 4 times over a flat surface. That’s why polished yank motors always overheated.

[@downunder4087]

I agree with you in principle. But the pot metal our carbies are made of is never very rough in the first place. So here I'd think polishing would harm heat dissipation by less than 5%. (Certainly not a four fold decrease anyway!) Furthermore, I think we've also got to bear in mind that Triumph always painted the cylinder barrels despite the fact they must have known that paint would harm heat dissipation. So if Triumph was prepared to disregard the insulating effect of paint and go ahead and paint the barrels for aesthetic purposes - then I feel I'm fully justified in doing similar by polishing my carburettor bodies.

[@kefdog1]

Best Bonnie Video that should absolutely be viewed before all others. THanks DU

[@downunder4087]

High praise indeed! Thank you. (I have a Haynes Manual with poor quality photos and with a section on 1975 to 1983 models at the rear. Almost anything would be better than it is to follow.)

[@jordomayor5224]

What a brilliant bike and the sound is just so unique. Bloody fantastic as my beloved Dad would always say when he heard or saw something he treasured. He was from Manchester and so we four boys although not speaking the dialect at least could hear how his fellow Mancunians would talk. By the way we have relatives in Adelaide! So for now cheerio and keep up the good work on that grand British bike.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks for your kind words. I really appreciate them. 😊

[@henrilandelle4535]

For once, a useful video. Thanks

[@daveshegedin2576]

Paekakariki hill road ? Looks like a lot of fun on that sorted Jubilee. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes. Dave. Taranaki.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks Dave We are lucky in Wellington to have such fine roads available to us. I bet you have some good ones up there too. By the way, my boots are indeed made in New Zealand by the King Leo footwear Company. Well spotted. (I just looked at the bottom of their soles.)

[@deepwoods_dave7368]

Great video. I’ll use this knowledge on my 64 BSA Lightning Rocket.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks

[@chamberizer]

I normally adjust my ignition points by myself - thus static time instead of using Timing/Strobe light. With engine locked in firing position & ignition cam in full advanced position adjust points so they just open. An ohm meter might work, but I think there is something called a buzz box? I.use alligator clips small flash light battery & instrument light. Another good O'ring material for hot areas is Viton. This is especially true for O'ring used on front exhaust tappets that are oil feed. I switched to an AGM Battery a few years ago & it made a good improvement. In.the old days & it can still probably be done on your bike: The bolt is removed from the center of ignition cam, a threaded rod is threaded into the bolt hole. A round circular Disc is attached to the other end of the rod. The Disc has graduations on it's perimeter. A pointer is attached to the timing cover using one of the mounting screws. Put a dial indicator in a spark plug hole & determine Top Dead Center of pistons. Adjust Disc to.be inline with pointer when engine is at TDC. Adjust/Set points to fire at specified degrees before TDC using graduations labeled on Disc. I had heard of this method, but when.i.was on vacation in 1978 in North Carolina & I needed a tune up. The old timer that tuned my bike up used this method. Just for historical purposes I thought you might find interesting I have a 1973 Tiger 750.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks for contributing. Of all the timing methods I've used I find the strobe light to be the most accurate and easiest. Taking a video of such a thing in operation is problematic though (and the same can be said for showing kick-over plug-sparks). Because videos are a series of still shots strung together, some of the light pulses get missed by the camera. (Luckily our eyes are much more sophisticated.) I can recall mounting a modified plastic 360 degree protractor on the points cam of some bike I owned many moons ago during a points-setting exercise. On the subject of oil leaks, I feel lucky in that the only one I notice at the moment comes from the joint between my crankcase halves. I think this one is unavoidable when you're riding your bike regularly. It leaks only about 1 or 2 drips per day (and perhaps a little more while ridden) but back when these machines were made a few drips like this would have bothered no-one. (Most garages had dirt floors if you were lucky enough to have a garage at all.) So I don't need to worry about my rocker spindle O-rings just yet. BTW. Viton is simply DuPonts brand name for the same material used in my fat green O-rings.

[@chamberizer]

@@downunder4087 Mine does not leak much oil either, but I park it on a piece of plywood to absorb any oil that drips. Sometimes I have to tighten a hose clamp. My rocker box spindles have never leaked. My crankcase has never been split - it is still a Virgin & if it leaks it is minimal. Maybe you just need to drain the crankcase once in a while if it is wet sumping & leaking oil at the joint? I reuse the copper washer on the crankcase drain plug, but anneal it by getting it red hot & quenching it in water. On the oil in frame tank I use a nylon washer on drain plug. The only major leak I had was years ago - the front push rod tube & I fixed it by using the Viton o'ring on the tappet block that is press into flange of cylinder barrels. My bike is a 1973 Tiger (single carburetor) & has over 63,000 miles.

[@downunder4087]

@@chamberizer Your bike sounds a beauty. There's always a few hundred milliliters of oil sitting in our sumps (and they're always awash with oil while our engine's are running) without them "wet sumping". Leaving them idling on the side-stand will cause even more to collect there and if you turn your bike off like that the extra oil will remain there right through until the next time you start it. I moved to using fibre washers in many places on my bike simply because I have a bulk assortment of them and I find they're effective at preventing leakage without requiring excessive torque. 😊

[@Beeza56]

@chamberizer That old Timer wasn’t Javie Oliver in Greensboro NC by any chance was it?

[@chamberizer]

@@Beeza56 His last name was "Ellis" from what I remember. At one time he owned a Triumph & BMW motorcycle dealership in a city. He retired & opened a smaller shop near his home. I don't know exactly where I was in North Carolina, but was traveling from the Smokie Mountains toward the Outer Banks. Mr. Ellis claimed to know Clymer that made repair manuals. He Claimed to know someone important with Triumph, so it may have been Edward Turner? I have a picture of me & Mr. Ellis in front of his shop.

[@tomwhite4584]

That was fun and informative, Carbs info was a great heads up.

[@downunder4087]

thank you

[@Beeza56]

Thanks for following up@chamberizer. Unfortunately it's not the same guy but the garage looks eerily familiar. Was that a Yam 650? It's funny because that's the first bike I bought when I came to the country in '78. All the best and thanks. Ian.

[@pauliebots]

I believe this video says the float heights cannot be changed but they actually can be. It involves heating the bowl a little and punching up or down the brass piece the viton needle sits in. The late, great, Lunmad did a video on this topic.

[@downunder4087]

I stand corrected. Thank you. (We never stop learning.) 😊

[@pauliebots]

Very kind. I wonder if you've ever googled Lunmad on youtube? He has an array of videos that are very informative and entertaining. You should have a peek.

[@garethlipyeart6520]

smiths speedo lol.try some heavy grease on the inner sometimes helps steady the needle,and a bit of kitchen foil on ther other end into the drive box.

[@downunder4087]

Oddly enough, the way those needles behave hasn't bothered me. 🙂

[@NickTubeless]

Great video, I'm about to restore my T140V that's been sitting in various garages of mine for 40 years. Lot's of work ahead, must be patient.

[@downunder4087]

Working on our bikes is just as much fun as riding them. 😀

[@rickconstant6106]

@@downunder4087 As a retired mechanic, I have to disagree. My motivation for working on my bikes has always been to have them ready so I can ride them, which they are most of the time after decades of continuous effort

[@downunder4087]

@@rickconstant6106 Fair enough. 😊

[@susieblossom1337]

I'm guessing you live in Christchurch. The test out climbing from little river up to the hill top tavern. Rode that bit of road so many times on my cb 650 44 years ago. Got myself another bike a V700 looking forward to getting that back on the road. Great vid.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks. - I should take my bike down south (to Te Waipounamu) because there are plenty of fabulous riding routes to be enjoyed down there. It's on my "bucket list". But the hill climb with the big drop-off down to the ocean in my video is North Island and more specifically - The Paekākāriki Hill Road. BTW- Your Motor Guzzi must surely be just as exhilarating to ride. I love those bikes too! 😊

[@robertwyble]

Well done

[@Transit67F2]

I'm going...looks like Paekakariki Hill :)

[@classicraceruk1337]

You can fit an Electronic ignition system. It’s what we used on our Rob North triple racers

[@downunder4087]

I know. But I actually like the old points system, have never had any problems with its performance, and appreciate keeping my bike that little bit closer to how it left the factory. 😊

[@classicraceruk1337]

@@downunder4087 That’s a good point keeping it standard. They just make the spark more reliable. Looks like a great bike to ride…..

[@carlitob3091]

Thanks for posting!!!

[@downunder4087]

thanks

[@alecpym1706]

Nice video

[@downunder4087]

Thanks Alec 😊

[@garymitchell6897]

Nice work but am surprised you didn’t check tappet clearance when cold before doing the carbs.

[@downunder4087]

You're right. I should have at least mentioned this task. (I never checked my tappet clearances because I could still recall doing it back in 1995 when I bought this bike. It's one job I performed regularly on various vehicles back then so I was confident I'd done it well.) 😊

[@garymitchell6897]

@@downunder4087all good, nice to see someone that knows what they are doing.

[@petercapon9878]

Improvements can be made using staggard woodruff keys on the cam timing. You will need a dial gauge and a timing plate and I recommend a aftermarket electronic ignition. These both made a noticeable improvements to a couple of 650cc Bonnie's I had. Also check out Phil Irving's book tuning for speed if you can find a copy, a great book for old school tuning.

[@downunder4087]

Thanks. But I like keeping things original. My first bike was a Tiger 110 and the person who sold it to me boasted how it had a 3/4 race cam and high compression pistons. Those weren't good selling points to me at the time but I naively bought it anyway. I think my experience with that bike set me down the path towards buying vehicles that are as unmolested as possible and keeping them that way as much as I can.

[@petercapon9878]

Tightening the valve timing only requires changing the woodruff keys assuming it's out in the first place. It's worth checking you could gain a whole HP if it's out.

[@downunder4087]

@@petercapon9878 Thanks. Good to know.

[@DaveWhellersVintage]

Hi mate im down in Wellington staying on the road you ride on and thought we could catch up, Dave T140 OIF Classics

[@downunder4087]

I just sent you a message on Fbook.... 😊

[@DaveWhellersVintage]

@@downunder4087 That was a great meet this afternoon Tom, and many thanks for showing me your awesome bike. Certainly one of the best Jubilees ive ever come across. Take care and ride safe mate.

[@rsc68er]

hey mate, are you downunder Australia or south Africa? you have a real gem there mate, love Triumphs. i had a 1970 T120r before and now i have a 2012 T100. i have been looking at purchasing a 1970 TR6 here in Brisbane, they have become bloody expensive now the older ones

[@downunder4087]

Hi Rod. Thanks. I'm in Wellington New Zealand. Yeah. Good luck with finding a good old TR6 at a good price. I'm lucky in that I bought both my bikes around 30 years ago. Although the money I spent felt to be a lot at the time, inflation makes it look as though I spent a pittance now. Right now I'm starting to seriously try and get my 1949/52 Matchless/AJS ready for its first ride during my ownership. (Like so many of us from this part of the world, I spent some of my youth in London - Hence my choice of "Downunder". Before going there I'd never heard of the terms "downunder" or "antipodes".)

[@441rider]

I had the cheesy Jubilee Triumph in silver. It was funny the reaction of some, Hong Kong ex police were biggest fans I met. It rattled apart at speed. I like my Amal carbs just have to get the ones issued for yesr of bike. The 930/14 /24 etc numbers can matter. Pilot jets not bushed in get fuel lower in bowl and avoid gasket covering the threaded hole.

[@downunder4087]

Good points. 😊

[@441rider]

@@downunder4087 No disrespect for the Jubilee just the fact a bike was made for Liz that she never rode.

[@downunder4087]

@@441rider At least she experienced the enjoyment of riding other classic British bikes in her younger days. 😊

[@stephensaunders4668]

I sold mine in frustration at not being able to keep the points backing plate in place as the pillar bolts would work loose and allow the timing to move. The tread looked to be not fine enough for the application.

[@downunder4087]

That's interesting. I think something else must have been going on in there because I've had no such issues. Perhaps it could have been a problem with wear in your exhaust camshaft bushes or in your auto-advance mechanism causing your points-cam to hit your backing plate? 🤔

[@441rider]

@@downunder4087 Usually the points cover screws act as a second nut my 441 gets ripped at 6000rpm and mine never both came loose. He may have had re threaded metric holes or worn ones. A dab of grey permatex silicone will lock backing plate on the spot.

[@bm7760]

P.S. Great roads. Is that NZ?

[@downunder4087]

Yes it is. (Sorry for the delay in replying. I've realised only today that I've been getting comments that have been getting stored away in a location I couldn't easily find.)

[@graemetoobux8953]

sure is

[@madbadger85]

Electronic ignition system and a pair of Japanese carburettors will solve your problems better than messing around with points and Amal carbs, better still a single carb head would be better as the splayed carbs are a pain to setup

[@downunder4087]

I don't have any problems with it now and I see no need for the changes you suggest. However I acknowledge there are many that share your views. 😊

[@SimonRatcliff-ss8mn]

Any reason as to why you go so slowly?

[@downunder4087]

That's fast enough when you're in your 70s as I am. 🙂

[@SimonRatcliff-ss8mn]

@@downunder4087 As long as you're having fun.

[@garethlipyeart6520]

should have got teflon slides mate.10000 miles there b worn out kin things

[@downunder4087]

I haven't heard of those. But I'm sure these new carburettors will well and truly outlast me so I'm not worried about them. Now they're no longer getting too hot I'm sure the slides and bores will be suffering much less wear. 🙂

[@daverees9344]

Still only managed 40mph

[@downunder4087]

I don't enjoy riding over 50 mph. That why the less-travelled routes with lots of corners are what I prefer. 😊

[@skylark17]

tcd top dead centre