Long term Triumph Chopper project

[El Skitzo]

I finally got to see the completed roller in person on the weekend when we dropped the kickstand off to Tom, and it looks absolutely amazing!

The size, dimensions and lines on this bike have turned out way better than I could have imagined.

And for someone my size (being 6 foot tall), it's a nice big long chassis that you really sit in.

Tom has finished welding on the kickstand today, so we should be taking the bike home this weekend. After which I'll take some better pictures, and show a before/after comparison of the roller compared to before it was chopped.

[Prof]

That last picture shows the exciting part.

[El Skitzo]

With the Ledslead weld-on kickstand now in place, the rolling chassis is complete and has now come home.




This picture shows a before & after of the frame chop, and really highlights why we went to the effort of doing it. As good as it looked before, it looks a lot better with the bottom frame rails parallel to the ground.




Now we've got the bike home I've been able to take some accurate measurements to check for legalities. We're all good, but we sure cut it fine.

Ground clearance: 105mm
Front axle 550 rule: 540mm
Wheelbase: 1830mm (6 feet)
Trail: +55mm

She sure is a long and tall bike now! Ideally would have liked a little more trail, but that's the best we could do with such a long front end and stay within the limiting 550 rule. I was not prepared to build the bike one way just to pass a rego inspection, and then revert it back afterwards. The goal of this bike is to be 100% legal Australia wide as it sits 100% of the time.

[Prof]

Nice feeling when you can finally sit on the final version.

[TriNortchopz]

Wow, that is so good, great job. I really like the way you did it and the way it sits now compared to with the original frame.
Original wheelbase for a 1970 T120 was 1,400mm (55"), so a great stretch to 72"!

[El Skitzo]

Wow, that is so good, great job. I really like the way you did it and the way it sits now compared to with the original frame.

Thanks TriNortchopz, that means a lot.

The rolling chassis, with the dimensions and lines has worked out far beyond my expectations!

The overall length being so big has given me more options for a gas tank than I was expecting, and as luck would have it I scored a West Coast Choppers Villain gas tank off Gumtree for $250. It wasn't what I was originally intending for this bike, but at that price it was worth grabbing just for fun.

As it turns out it's a pretty damn good fit, and really fills the length and the height of the frame quite nicely, so I think we'll pursue modifying and mounting it in the future. Ideally we'll probably narrow it about 2 inches down the middle, drop it down over the backbone at the front a little further, and then look to increase the depth of it, so the base of the tank follows the line of the frame cross tube and covers it.

This is a good stopping point for this project for now, while we focus on our 1949 Ford ute for a while.

[Skip]

Luv' it..that looks super cool !!

[El Skitzo]

Luv' it..that looks super cool !!

Thanks mate, very much appreciate the encouragement!

[El Skitzo]

It's been waaaaay to long since we've made any progress with this bike, but we got a little distracted during 2020 with COVID issues and taking on a 1949 Ford ute project.

But we've come out the blocks flying this year, and the bike has been back at Sideshow Cycles over the last few weeks tackling the big and exciting gas tank project.

The WCC Villain gas tank I found on Gumtree needed a repair for a hole running through the middle of it, plus I wanted the depth of the tank extended (mainly at the front) so the base of the tank would follow the line of the cross tube of the frame and hide it.

So here's the progress so far...

First up Tom had to split the tank apart by cutting out the base and the tunnel. What he found inside was a surprise, a previous tank lining was flaking off the metal and bit of surface rust as you'd expect.






With the top shell of the tank free and clear he was able to fill in the hole where someone had previously recessed a speedo.




The insides were also sandblasted, as we want to save the hidden tank mounts and the fuel bung and re-use them in the new tank base that Tom will fabricate

[El Skitzo]

Now the fun part, the modifications to extend the depth of the tank!

First up Tom makes a carboard template of what the extension will look like. At this stage he's making it a lot deeper than it needs to be, and will trim it back later once it's on the bike and more accurate measurements can be made.






The first side is now welded into place




Now the raw extensions are welded into place on both sides. You can see they are well deeper than need be, and the tank looks ginormous and probably too big for the bike at this stage.




Tom has now started trimming the sides down to where they should be, and even at this early stage you can see it looks to be a much better fit now.

[El Skitzo]

Next up it's putting the tank all back together.

Tom has fabricated a new deeper tunnel, and smaller base (the sides of the tank narrow in more and more the deeper you go). You can see the original hidden tank mounts and fuel bung scavenged from the old tank base.

Then the tunnel/base are cut to accept the mounts, and they have been fully welded into place.






Now the whole lot has been welded back together, and you see the mount recesses in the gas tank line up perfectly so Tom can weld gas tank mounts onto the cross tube.






Standing a bit further back you can see how gas tank looks now and lines up hiding that cross tube as planned.






It's a lot of work for a seemingly small detail of hiding a line on the frame, but I think well worth it.

Tom has completed the job now, welding on the gas tank mounts and installing the fuel bung, but due to WA's sudden COVID lock down this week I have not been able to pick up the bike today as planned, so hopefully next week. Then I'll be able to take some nicer pictures showing the completed job outside and from a distance so you can take it better.

[Prof]

Nice work

[TriNortchopz]

Tom did a great job on that, well done - your vision to hide that frame rail is done! You made it look great!

[El Skitzo]

I picked up the bike from Tom at Sideshow Cycle yesterday and brought it home, and I'm blown away by how well the gas tank has turned out.

The shape is perfect, and how well it fits the frame and covers the cross tube is just amazing.

So far at every step with this bike, things are working out and looking better than I had imagined them, so I'm very happy with how it's coming along.

[Prof]

He's done a nice job. It is a big tank. Will be interested to see how it blends in with the rest of the chopper.