dfresh2104
Member
Hi everyone,
Yesterday I bought a 1978 Triumph Bonneville 750 (15k miles) from my neighbor. The motorcycle has been sitting in her garage since 1996 and is obviously in need of some clean up. She (the owner/original owner) said that the last time her and her partner tried running it (in 1996) everything was running smoothly, both mechanically as well as the electrical and switches and stuff, she even threw in the original tank (she has the Euro version on because it has more volume), all of the original manuals with documented services, and a bunch of other parts she had accumulated over the years that they rode.
I live in San Diego, CA, and I like to tinker on vehicles but I have never undertaken a restoration, I don't believe this bike needs a full restoration, just some basic mechanical updates (replacing gaskets, brakes, tires, etc), nothing major. Of course I won't know this until I dive into it and take a look to see if there is anything else going on.
I was hoping to get some advice from you other Triumph owners/enthusiasts to see if a basic clean up of this bike would be something that a novice bike mechanic could handle or if it's a better idea to find a local mechanic who specializes on Triumphs and/or vintage motorcycles. I would also like to get some recommendations on local mechanics in the San Diego area, even if I do the mechanic work myself it would be great to have this in my back pocket.
Thanks in advance for any responses.
Doug
Yesterday I bought a 1978 Triumph Bonneville 750 (15k miles) from my neighbor. The motorcycle has been sitting in her garage since 1996 and is obviously in need of some clean up. She (the owner/original owner) said that the last time her and her partner tried running it (in 1996) everything was running smoothly, both mechanically as well as the electrical and switches and stuff, she even threw in the original tank (she has the Euro version on because it has more volume), all of the original manuals with documented services, and a bunch of other parts she had accumulated over the years that they rode.
I live in San Diego, CA, and I like to tinker on vehicles but I have never undertaken a restoration, I don't believe this bike needs a full restoration, just some basic mechanical updates (replacing gaskets, brakes, tires, etc), nothing major. Of course I won't know this until I dive into it and take a look to see if there is anything else going on.
I was hoping to get some advice from you other Triumph owners/enthusiasts to see if a basic clean up of this bike would be something that a novice bike mechanic could handle or if it's a better idea to find a local mechanic who specializes on Triumphs and/or vintage motorcycles. I would also like to get some recommendations on local mechanics in the San Diego area, even if I do the mechanic work myself it would be great to have this in my back pocket.
Thanks in advance for any responses.
Doug
