Triumph bike question....

[Guest]

Is it possible to have a RHD vs LHD British bike? Someone once told me that there is a difference. How could that be?

On a different note, visited with my helpful mechanic today at the local Chevrolet/Toyota dealership; he lets me sneak in and use his Sun machine on occasion. Noticed a neat little V6 crate motor sitting on the shop floor and asked him which Toyota it was for (thinking what a cute little engine that would be inside a Triumph - all aluminum yet).
He told me it was for a Chevy Malibu, made in China! Yeeesh!



Bill

 

[jsneddon]

clutch, brake and shifter are on the opposite side of Triumph bikes if I remember correctly.

 

[Musicman]

Jim,

You remember correctly.

 

[Guest]

Isn't one of the things that killed the British bike market the fact that they failed to convert over to electric start when the Jap bikes pretty much all had them. I do remember kick-starting my high school buddy's Bonneville back in the sixties. My other buddy's 305 Honda was so much easier to get going.
I guess I am getting off-topic with all this bike talk...


Bill

 

[Rusticus]

The late Norton Commandos (MKIII w/e-start) shift/R Brake changed sides. Did the last Triumphs do the same?

 

[Rusticus]

[ QUOTE ]
I do remember kick-starting my high school buddy's Bonneville back in the sixties. My other buddy's 305 Honda was so much easier to get going.
Bill

[/ QUOTE ]

To be fair, the Bonnie had at least twice, maybe 3 times the HP...

My Nort was always 3rd kick stone cold/first kick warm.

 

[Paul Johnson]

It was, I believe, 1974, when all bikes sold in the US had to have the shifter on the left side, and rear brake on the right. It's the reason I won't ride old bikes, because if in a tight spot, you cannot afford to get your feet mixed up. Clutch lever though was on the left of all of them.

 

[AngliaGT]

That's correct - I have a '78 Bonneville,& the shifter is on the left.

- Doug

 

[Bugeye58]

Bill, have you checked out our new "British Motorbike" forum?
Jeff

 

[martx-5]

Was there ever an association between "Triumph" motorcycles and "Triumph" cars?? Other then both being British of course. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

 

[Rusticus]

[ QUOTE ]
Was there ever an association between "Triumph" motorcycles and "Triumph" cars?? Other then both being British of course. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, same company until sometime in the 1920s. If you look at the commission plate on an EARLY triumph car, the TRIUMPH script is very similar to a bike.

There we go, back on topic.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Bicycles, too! Triumph founder Siegfried Bettmann began with bicycles, then motorized them, and then began building cars in 1923. It was actually sometime in the 1930s that the bicycle (still owned by Raleigh) and motorcycle branches were sold off during attempts to keep the company afloat back then.

I've never had a Triumph motorcycle, but I've two 60s vintage Triumph bicycles to go with all my Triumph cars. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[simpzimmer]

My '71 Bonneville's shifter is on the right.It sounds kind of funny but if I'm riding another bike, I tend to reach to the wrong side. I've gotten so use to the "opposite" that now I'm stuck in that mode. I also prefer changing gears with my right foot believe it or not.

 

[bobh]

Paul,
Yes it was sometime in the mid '70s. I had a '72 Sportster. it had the shifter on the "wrong side" Harley came up with a funky linkage to move it to the other side when the new rule took effect.
As far as left handed versus right handed motorcycles. That's kind of like a left handed spoon isn't it? In general, right hand drive cars still have the gear shift in the center, the clutch on the left of the pedal box and the gas on the right, the steering wheel is different. The handlebars on motorcycles have always been in the middle.

 

[vettedog72]

My first TR6 was mist green (matilic) '67 I think. I did not notice the shifter was on the "wrong" side. Seems like a friends 60's Sporster had the shifter on the same side as my TR6.

 

[AltaKnight]

Kinda funny how used to things you get, when I first got to living in Canada from the UK in the early 70's I used to crack my left hand on the door handle for quite a few weeks trying to change gear, and when I got an automatic it was even worse as I would try to floor the brake pedal to depress the clutch.
Now THAT used to really wake up the guy following me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif