New to this old bike lark

[Tiger Bob]

I'm new to old bikes but not Triumph as I worked there as a prototype buyer for many years. I've had an old bike itch that needed scratching for ages and after selling one of my bikes I've bought a 1959 Tiger 100 - which I absolutely love! I have a couple of questions I'd like opinions on please:

1. Should it piss oil everywhere? I know the saying "if there's no oil under them then there's no oil in them" but after I park it up there's quite a lot of oil on the floor. No pints worth but a reasonably sized little puddle.

2. What should the ammeter read with the lights on? Coming back from Donington the other night the lights seemed OK but since if I put them on the ignition seems to struggle. It's the 6 volt system.

Any comments gratefully received.

Thanks,

Bob.

[rogerwilko]

You now have a 30 year learning curve.

[mark2]

most leak oil , wjth the engine running and a full charged battery the ammeter should zero as the dynamo/alt will balance the load , not running it will show a discharge , if its running with lights on and battery is charged and still shows a discharge you may have a fault ,

[pdcracing]

NO engine SHOULD leak oil, but many old ones DO, whether this is just a case of it being old or poor assembly or there being some damage to joint faces or seals or in some cases, there just being moving parts which are open to atmosphere such as open valve gear or primary drives that you can't do much about, is a point for investigation. They certainly SHOULD NOT piss oil everywhere.

Certainly with modern gasket sealants and technology it should be possible to get most engines pretty oiltight - it's not always easy though and sometimes takes a bit of thought and ingenuity to get there! Basically it's all about good assembly - the first thing is to make sure that mating faces are flat and undamaged. Use a sheet of fine wet and dry paper on a surface plate or sheet of glass to flat them down. You will find that most old engines are put together with greased thin paper gaskets between faces which can be dispensed with and a good liquid gasket sealant such as ThreeBond 1104/1194/1184 used in its place. Always use sparingly on dry faces though and be especially careful if oil passages run through the joint. Watch it though when the original gasket is a thick one because there will probably be a reason for this such as clearance being required for something to work. In this case either assembling with the faces cleaned off with a bit of thinners on a rag and an new, bone dry gasket or a bit of sealant smeared on either side of it will do the job. Where shafts come through cases sometimes there is no seal or anything to prevent oil from escaping apart from them being above the oil level but when running some oil escapes and here you might need some ingenuity to fit an O-ring or lip seal, but on your T100 it should only be a case of making sure all seals and O-rings are in good condition (i.e. new) and present. Sometimes with old motors the engine breathing was a bit inadequate too so it's worth improving the breathing system especially if you intend to use the machine a bit spiritedly! And Don't overfill the oil tank either or it will throw it out of the tank breather!

All in all, to get the best out of an old bike you have to be a bit of an engineer - you can't expect to just get on them and ride like on a modern bike. You WILL have to get the spanners out most times that you get the bike out! It can be very satisfying when you get it right though!
 

[Tiger Bob]

Thanks gents - most helpful. I'm actually looking forward to the learning curve in a slightly masochistic way. It's pretty steep currently. I found it funny how customer service had changed. In the manual Triumph basically tell you not to bother them and go straight to the manufacturers if there are any problems with the electrical system, speedo, suspension etc. Its equally depressing that everything in the Triumph manual then was made in Britain and now it all cones from the far east.

I think I'll pull the engine apart over winter to sort the oil leaks. It's not obvious where the leak is coming from and I'll enjoy the process. I'm not an engineer but have been in the industry for few years. I know a micron from a thou and loads of people who have the ability to machine stuff.

The ammeter is also a problem methinks. It does show a discharge when the lights are on and the battery charged. To be fair there are a couple of suspect areas on the wiring loom.

All in all I love the bike and the community generally. I'm sure I'll need help in future and there seem to be loads of people out there willing to impart their sage like knowledge.

Thanks,

Bob.

[L.A.B.]

I've bought a 1959 Tiger 100

Any comments gratefully received.

A "1959 Tiger 100" ought to be a pre-unit model?
1960 was the first year of the unit T100 (T100A).

http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/triumph-1960/Triumph-1960-03.htm
http://www.tomcc.org/ProfilePage.aspx?id=15

[mark2]

I had the wrong model also , is that a 5TA

[Tiger Bob]

Not sure about the model/year. I'd been told it was 1959 and I think that's what the log book says - I'll check. Is there somewhere I can enter the frame number to find out?

[mark2]

http://www.britishspares.com/41.php
has the bike a dizi fitted

[Tiger Bob]

Yes - it does have a distributor. What does that tell you?

[mark2]

i think you have a 5TA if it is a 500

[L.A.B.]

i think you have a 5TA if it is a 500

I think you will find that all 500 unit twins had distributors before 1963.


http://www.triumph-tiger-90.com/

For 1963 the Tiger 90 and Tiger 100 models now have the ignition timing operated from the exhaust camshaft the Lucas 4CA (47606B) points and condensers being accessible behind a chromed cover on the timing case........

......The 1963 3TA and 5TA continue with the Distributor Ignition of the earlier models, if the distributor is not fitted then the resulting hole is fitted with a blanking screwed cap.

[mark2]

I still think this is a 5TA if its 1959 , if its 1960 maybe a t100a ? the owner should know by now if hes dated the frame , nice colour

[L.A.B.]

I still think this is a 5TA if its 1959 , if its 1960 maybe a t100a ? the owner should know by now if hes dated the frame , nice colour

As the factory started producing their new 'year' models from around August of the preceding year, a 1960 model could still have been registered in 1959. It certainly looks looks like a T100A from Tiger Bob's photo.

I would have expected the model type to be stamped on the engine, yet Bob hasn't mentioned this? Of course the engine or crankcases may have been changed at some point over the last 50 years, so it would be interesting to know if the frame and engine numbers match? 

[mark2]

do you know how many t100a where built in 1959 and registerd for the road ?