1972 Triumph T100R Cleaning

[saig55]

I know I said I wasn’t going to clean this bike. I was going to go kinda as is, barn find dirty.
Well I couldn’t take it anymore… with the dirt, dust, rust and just general funk all over I started cleaning. Steel wool and about a weeks worth of elbow grease and I’m starting to get there…
After the steel wool I waxed the chrome parts to help prevent anymore rust. Still plenty to do but I’m pretty happy with it…
While cleaning the rear tire I noticed the tire mounted backwards. The arrow is pointed towards the rear of the machine. Is this a huge problem?

 

[Rocky]

Great find
I'm anal enough about such things so a backwards tire would bug me and I would change it. But there's no telling how much it has been run that way in apparently a safe way. Is it a huge problem? Probably not, but the tire was designed to run the other way and the construction might be compromised.
Since it's a barn find I would check the ages of the tires. They probably need replacing anyway. Look for the manufacturing date on the sidewalls.

 

[saig55]

Here’s the crazy thing… the tires are brand new, from 1982. Duro something…. I do plan to change them out eventually…

 

[Greyfell]

That means the tires are nearly 40 years old. Would you keep 40 year old tires on your truck or car? They may look like can go further, but beyond 7-10 years you're taking a risk.


Now that I can see the bike in the sunlight, I think you have a "Cinderella" or "Sleeping Beauty", just waiting to be treated special.

 

[Rocky]

Here’s the crazy thing… the tires are brand new, from 1982. Duro something…. I do plan to change them out eventually…

I agree with Greyfell. Those tires are far too old to be trusted. You would be wise to get rid of them ASAP.
Duro is an Asian brand low-cost good-enough tire. Some of my friends use them and are very happy with them for the moderate speeds we ride.
I prefer to spend more money and buy Dunlop's usually made in France.

 

[sikatri]

A tire ages regardless of it being used or not. Those are only good as novelty display items on your garage wall. Play it safe, buy new tires as soon as possible.

 

[saig55]

Ok, I’m not saying I’m going to use these tires. I’m just saying it’s odd that someone put new tires on this bike and never rode it again.
I’ve already priced out some Dunlop K70 tires and will be getting those when I’m finished working on it. I’ve got some oil leaks I need to address first. Left side rocker boxes are leaking so I’m going to try re-torquing the bolts/screws.

 

[grandpaul]

You've heard the saying "oldie but goodie".

These were the original tires on this '61 T-Bird I had. I kept in under 30MPH...

Front tire had a slow leak, would only hold up for a couple of hours...

 

[Greyfell]

I’ve already priced out some Dunlop K70 tires and will be getting those when I’m finished working on it.

Good, you are on the right road.

 

[sikatri]

You've heard the saying "oldie but goodie".

These were the original tires on this '61 T-Bird I had. I kept in under 30MPH...
View attachment 51023

Front tire had a slow leak, would only hold up for a couple of hours...

All well and good if it stays at low speeds. I’d be tempted to build a second set of rims with new tires to keep the originals on their rims.

 

[grandpaul]

Should be easy enough to find another set of wheels with patina...