First Timer- 1973 Tiger 650 Project

[mmccarthy7220]

Well I finally found a triumph. Its a 73 Tiger 650 that hasn't been run in 20yrs. The lady said it ran and rode well but she injured her back and parked it. Been sitting ever since. He husband drained the gas and that's it.
So I have plans to clean it up, somehow get the inside of the tank clean and rust free. Clean the carb, change the oil, and charge the battery. and see what happens. I'll check out all the wiring but not really sure what to look for.
Im new to all this so I'll keep you posted with discoveries and problems. Now I know where to go to get info so thanks in advance.

 

[Greyfell]

Sounds like a good project bike. At least the fuel was drained out before storage.

 

[Josheezpapa]

Sounds fun !

 

[Rocky]

If draining the gas included the carb then you're ahead of the game on cleaning it up.
If that battery has been in there for 20 years, toss it and get a new one.
Remove the spark plugs and squirt a little oil in each cylinder and turn the engine over many times to get some lube on the rings and cylinder walls.
After you change the oil, and with the plugs out, spin the engine over many times to get some oil into the system.
Good luck.

 

[mmccarthy7220]

If draining the gas included the carb then you're ahead of the game on cleaning it up.
If that battery has been in there for 20 years, toss it and get a new one.
Remove the spark plugs and squirt a little oil in each cylinder and turn the engine over many times to get some lube on the rings and cylinder walls.
After you change the oil, and with the plugs out, spin the engine over many times to get some oil into the system.
Good luck.

Thanks, i’ll do that!

 

[Rudie]

After you change the oil, and with the plugs out, spin the engine over many times to get some oil into the system.

Ime, follow most of the advice in Waking The Sleeping Beast. The author was a long time Triumph (twins and triples) owner, dealer, racer and engine builder. While it was primarily written for triple owners, Triumph triple engines are very similar internally to twins so much of the advice applies. In particular, note:-

The [Triple] engines are lubricated (internally) by two methods. Oil that is pumped under pressure and oil that is flung around. This is often called 'splash'. Both forms of lubrication will take a little while to build up so anything that the reader can do to decrease this time will be of advantage. Some simple steps have major effects.

I do NOT recommend, or use, the seeming simple procedure of kicking the engine over time after time, or pushing the bike along a road until oil is seem returning to the oil tank. This practice has the effect of allowing some parts to rub past each other without lubrication for a considerable period of time. The 'splash' lubrication hasn't started at all. So, unsatisfactory. To allow the 'splash' system to give any oil to the engine internal so supplied there needs to be a quantity of oil already inside the engine and this will be have to but placed there by the reader

... because your bike has stood unused for twenty years, it is highly unlikely more than a trace of the original 'splashed' oil remains on camshafts, bushes, followers, etc.

When following the Waking The Sleeping Beast recommendations to add engine oil to the "tank" (frame on your bike) and primary chaincase, I recommend smaller quantities than WTSB because:-

. your bike's frame holds one (larger Imperial) pint less than the separate oil tank on a triple, put 2-2.5 US pints in your bike's frame;

. your bike's crankcase has a smaller volume than a triple's, put 1-1.5 US pints in your bike's primary chaincase.

Another reason for putting some oil in the crankcase (through the primary chaincase) is the crankcase is where the oil is scavenged from back to the frame to be recirculated. First start after an engine's been unused for twenty years, ensure you can see oil being returned to the frame; if you have put some oil in the crankcase, that shortens the heart stopping period between the engine starting and oil seen returning to the frame ...

Above quantities used, once your bike's engine has run for a period, the frame oil level will appear low; nevertheless, I recommend against topping it up to the dipstick FULL mark until after the first test run, unless you like trying to clean overflow from inaccessible places behind and under the frame tube ... damhikt.

 

[Rocky]

Good stuff Rudie, I learned from that

 

[mmccarthy7220]

Yes thank you very much for that. I will definitely follow those recommendations. Any thoughts on the correct product to line the gas tank with once I clean all the scale off? Also do you recommend a modern full synthetic oil? And I was thinking of getting the new anti-gravity lithium ion batteries to save weight and space. Any thoughts against those? Thanks gents.

 

[Rudie]

correct product to line the gas tank with once I clean all the scale off?

I would never "line" a tank. There are various derusting products that will remove corrosion. Once done:-

. If you cannot use the tank for a long period because the bike needs other work, seal all the openings except one, squirt in some corrosion blocker like ACF50, seal that last opening.

. If you can use the tank, use it. Just do not leave fuel containing ethanol in it for more than very short periods. If ever you are not sure how long you might not use the bike, fail safe is to drain the fuel into a sealed container.

modern full synthetic oil?

I would not in an engine that has not run for twenty years, because gaskets and other seals will have dried out. Imho, you might be better starting with a cheap 20w50, finding and fixing all leaks; hopefully, that will only take a few hundred miles, then change the cheap oil either for more expensive dead dino juice or full synthetic.

The more expensive the oil, the more you should think hard about fitting at least one proper micropore oil filter - the standard gauze strainers are useless. Three types will fit your bike:-

. "Charlie's filter" fits in place of the strainer in the bottom of the frame tube; e.g. look at Motao for one of these?

. Car-type screw-on canister, that mounts on the large frame tube.

. MAP do a filter that uses the element fitted to all Triumph and BSA triple engines. There is also a more expensive version by a UK seller; the upside of more expensive is it is easier to mount.

. The "Charlie's" filters the oil going into the engine, the other two filter oil coming out of the engine before it goes into the frame. The latter two have an advantage if you blow up the engine ...

lithium ion batteries to save weight and space.

Li and similar batteries will save weight but not much space, they're stunningly expensive for what they can do on a kickstart only motorcycle. You probably should also consider replacing the standard separate rectifier and Zener diode regulator with a relatively expensive MOSFET combined regulator/rectifier ...

Otoh, you could consider an inexpensive burglar alarm battery like the Yuasa NP7? If you know anyone at a burglar/fire alarm servicing company, you could ask if they would supply you ones removed from systems during servicing, for even less money?

 

[sikatri]

Congrats! Post pics!

 

[grandpaul]

Any thoughts on the correct product to line the gas tank with once I clean all the scale off?

Only ONE thought on lining the tank: DON'T DO IT.

I NEVER use synthetic oil in classic bikes. Just proper modern ZDDP Castrol GO 4-stroke M/C oil. THAT is what it's FOR!

In 171 personal bikes, and over 100 client bikes, in 50 years, I've NEVER had an oil-related failure that was Castrol's fault. Just the one partially "spun" rod bearing (soft seized) due to improper installation of a new sludge tube. NOT the oil's fault.

 

[speedrattle]

i use lithium ion batteries on my stuff. i have a motoblatt on one, but i'll put a lithium on it next time. i use incredibly expensive shorai batteries exclusively:

https://shoraipower.com/en/
the advantage of a lithium battery is that your bike can sit for a year, and then start on the first kick when you get around to it. they can be mounted in any position, they require zero maintenance, and they are very powerful for their very small size.

i cannot comment on trickle charging, because i use the hellishly expensive shorai trickle charger for my shorai batteries, but only put it on occasionally, because the batteries don't need trickle charging.

people tell me that the primitive lucas zener/rectifier systems on old british stuff is incompatible with lithium ion batteries. that may well be true, because my successful stuff has solid state podtronics-style rectifiers/regulators. i am shameless in my promotion of solid state electronics.

if you have upgraded from lucas zener/rectifier to anybody's solid state, the expensive lithium ion batteries become a buy-and-forget decision. i reccommend them without reservation.

if you want to stick with joseph lucas and son, then a lithium ion battery is probably not an appropriate choice. buy a cell phone instead, so you can call someone to come get you when it fails in the dead of night..

 

[BAinLA]

I just acquired a similar bike last year, 1972 Tiger that had sat outdoors since about '85 or so. There will be many opinions, all good, on this site but I would strongly recommend getting a repair manual.
What I did was drain and replace all oils -crankcase, "tank", primary case (left side) and transmission. The gas tank I just rinsed out with a strong solvent and replaced the petcocks since they were shot. You will need to go through the carb. If you've never done this, it is not complicated at all. These carbs are very simple. There is a write-up on here somewhere. Next I had to take the ignition switch apart and clean off the green oxidation from all of the contacts. If I was willing to spend a little $ I could have just bought a new one but in my case, I wasn't sure if it was going to run of have a good transmission. I cleaned off the ignition points with a points file made specifically for this purpose. Tires were still able to hold air but I changed them the moment I realized that I had a good transmission and engine. You should do the same no matter what they look like including new inner tubes and spoke strips. I ended up getting the stock Dunlop K70 tires from Dennis Kirk and they are just fine. I just bought the cheapest battery that would fit at the local auto parts place ($23). Been working fine for 1000+ miles. My clutch was frozen up and the friction materials appeared to be flaking apart also I may have bent some of the plates when my patients ran out, so I ordered a new set ($99) from MAP. Started right up on the second kick. Be prepared to spend a few hundreds on parts to get his bike street-able and somewhat reliable. It seems to me that these old bikes are more of a hobby than a viable means of transportation, but that's just me. Happy wrenching from Calif. -Brian Oh yeah, I went through the brakes too and lubed all the cables. -BA

 

[Rudie]

i use incredibly expensive shorai batteries
i use the hellishly expensive shorai trickle charger for my shorai batteries,
i am shameless in my promotion of solid state electronics.

Original Lucas rectifier on your bike is solid state electronics, it consists of four silicon diodes; Lucas stopped supplying the previous selenium rectifiers in the late 1950's or early 1960's. Any Zener diode is solid state.

Aiui, the only apparent incompatibility between Zener diodes and lithium batteries is:-

. Original Zeners were considered acceptable if they limited the DC below about 15.3V (the decimal varies depending on the manual read). Not all original Zeners allow DC Volts to rise that high; test your bike's, if its VDC limits do not exceed you chosen Li battery maker's ...?

. Modern Zeners have poor quality control - some have been known to allow DC to reach 19V ...

if you want to stick with joseph lucas and son,
buy a cell phone instead, so you can call someone to come get you when it fails in the dead of night..

Fwiw, in nearly fifty years owning old British bikes, nearly all have had Lucas rectifier and Zener diodes throughout that period, none of their batteries or charging components have ever failed in the dead of night. Otoh, the ones I have owned the longest have neither their original Lucas alternators nor their original Lucas harnesses - same as your bike's if they are original - I considered the alternator output and 1970's wire specification inadequate in the 1980's, never mind now.

One reason I use the batteries and charging components I use is the whole works for me. The charger I use is one I bought probably forty years ago to do lead-'n'-liquid-acid batteries, it has the low output necessary to charge small motorcycle batteries without overheating them. I evolved a system decades ago to charge the batteries that is hardly a chore. Given I get ten years out of 'name' batteries ... VRLA (aka "sealed") batteries are 'modern' for me but 'modernising' to Li, even without a charger, would be prohibitively expensive pain for little gain. Being a firm believer in "If it Ain't Broke" ...

Otoh, starting out today with my first old Triumph, Li battery, modern combined regulator/rectifier on the bike, no battery charger off, might be cheaper overall?