The "Spaghetti Western" Saga - Building a Triumph Chopper

After snooping around "The Antiquated" for quite some time, I figured I would finally jump in and start a build thread of sorts. The project is a Triumph T100C that was originally turned into a chopper/bobber in Arkansas decades ago.

As some of you may know, I write about hot rods and customs for a living. Through my work at The Rodder's Journal and The Jalopy Journal, I find myself digging through old magazines soaking in every piece of information I can possibly find. The focus is usually cars, but it's amazing how often hot rods of the two-wheeled variety made their way onto those pages, especially in indoor show coverage. The Harleys were popular, but the lighter Triumphs seemed to be a hot choice among hot rodders. That's where the inspiration for this one lies.

The plan here is simple—take a cobbled together bobber and turn it into a mid-to-late-'60s-style street/show bike. I already have a '70s-style Harley that doesn't fit the criteria here, so the goal is to build a traditional Triumph that would look right at home on the rock salt next to rods and customs of yesteryear. And yes, it'll be a little bit weathered and worn, hence the "street" aspect. I love psychedelic paint, extended fork tubes and all that goodness, but you won't find too much of that here. Instead, it'll be a different kind of wild.

One last note: this bike is a learning experience. I live in San Francisco where space is extremely limited, so I figure there's no better way to learn/improve my skills than on a motorcycle. Although it would have been ideal to start with a Pre-Unit, I'm working with what I have. Hopefully you'll like following along as much as I like working on it. I look forward to your input.

Without further adieu, I present to you the "Spaghetti Western" Saga...
I bought it in the fall of 2014 while I was still in college in Missouri, and I thought I had the build completely figured out. This is what it looked like when I got it. See that wiring that resembles out-of-control pasta? That's where the "Spaghetti Western" moniker came from.




Life got in the way and it remained in the Show-Me state while I moved to California. Here's when my good pal @Nick32vic and I mocked it up.

 

After selling some other bikes, I finally shipped it to my place in San Francisco in the spring of 2018. It sat in my garage for a little bit, then I decided there was no better way to start than to take it all apart.


With the bike fully disassembled, I was able to see what I was working with. Argh, that hardtail was not very pleasing to the eye. But it's zero stretch, zero drop and that's exactly how I like it.
I found a 10-inch over Pre-Unit front end on Craigslist and mocked it up, just because. The tank is a genuine "Made in England" Wassell that I got for free with a shed full of vintage motorcycle parts. It has old black paint on it that will clean up nicely.
More often than not, unit bikes with hardtails leave an awkward gap underneath the oil tank. Pre-Units usually look way better because the transmission takes up that space. I'm running a 1951 BSA oil tank and some polished stainless plates to help give that area a denser look. Yard stick was used to show proposed sissy bar height.

These dimensions seem a bit more reasonable. The Z-bars were later replaced by Schwinn Sting Ray-style ape hangers.

Figuring out the Wassell fender...

Fixing the bad, including that gaping hole in the hardtail mount . My buddy Yama operating the grinder with finesse.

 

I scored this killer old metalflake gold seat at the Goodguys Pleasanton swap meet thinking it could be the right amount of funky-weird for this thing. I was wrong. It looks like it'd be just fine on a swing arm bike. It's hanging on my garage wall for now. Below, I'm starting to piece things together.

I'm a big fan of 1960s drag bikes and Schwinn Sting-Rays, so I knew I wanted to have an abbreviated rear fender. Also, I was very pleased with how well the oil tank fits in there.

I got one of my pals in South San Francisco to help me with the welding on the frame.

Then I was able to start dialing in the fender mount.

Fender mounted with the help of stainless clamps, rubber bushings and a drilled aluminum plate that I plan to polish. Holes drilled in aluminum to maximize weight savings.

With the fender on, it was back to my place and back on the ground.

Starting to look like a neat street scooter, eh? Up next, sissy bar construction!

 

So a tall sissy bar has always been part of the plan on this one and, after conducting some research, I figured I'd make a stainless one out of flat stock. It's traditional and I know it would be a fun challenge. First stop, Alan Steel & Supply in Redwood City. Some of the nicest people I've ever encountered. I highly recommend it.
Oh, and Lindsey discovered that their cat, Leila, is sweet too.

From there to the drawing board (floor) to make a 1:1 template.

Mocking up with a Cal black plate and cat taillight.

 

Sissy bar progress. Bar was bent with some torches, clamps and persuasion.





Passes the balance test and the 7-Eleven Slurpee test. Mike looks on.

And how it currently sits...


I'm not 100% satisfied with the bends right above the fender, so I'm going to throw it back on the jig and rework them. Once they're straightened, the whole thing will get reenforced with some cross-braces. I mostly work on this bike at night, so I've yet to roll it outside in the daylight. Hopefully soon!

 

After a quick trip back to Michigan for the holidays, I'm back at it again. So what's up? I bent the new fender mount, straightened the sissy bar and dropped in the motor for one final mock-up before paint. I also made templates for the passenger peg plates that will be beneath the oil tank. I am going to make those out of stainless.
You'll also notice the hanging lantern. Big ol' cowl lamps work on T-buckets of the era, so I figured this would be the perfect place to get a little weird while maintaining the bike's '60s theme. There will be a cross-brace—complete with rubber stopper—installed to limit its travel. Additionally, the glass will get some translucent amber and red paintwork (stay tuned for that).

 

Here's a shot from the rear. Ignore the cardboard. I have a fun weekend of final fabrication ahead of me! Is it Friday yet?! Here are two photos of creating the fender mount.


That's all for now.

 

So I'm sitting here eating my peanut butter sandwich for lunch and I figured now would be the perfect time to update the thread.

Last fall, I talked with my friend David di Falco— @six5monster —about helping with some of the fabrication work on this bike. (Sharp-eyed readers may remember his yellow Model A roadster from my "Fly in Amber" feature here on the Jalopy Journal). He said yes, and next thing I knew I was at his shop ready to build.

It was a rainy Saturday in Petaluma, California, but that didn't slow us down one bit. First we focused on getting the gas tank mounted. Believe it or not, I got the tank for free on Craigslist last year. It was dusty and dirty, but after further inspection I discovered it was an original Hap Jones—stamped "Made in England"—that has never been mounted and has never had any gas in it. That's why it doesn't have any mounts. It still wears its factory paint.

Anyways, before David switched over to the automotive realm, he made his living building high-end bicycles. He suggested we fabricate tank brackets and braze them instead of welding. So that's exactly what we did. First, we drilled and brazed the bungs in place.
We built the front tabs out of flat stock and drilled them to help with the brazing...

And I cut the rear one out of a thinner metal and we hammered into shape.


Just like that, it was mounted. We also made a battery tray which sits on the bottom side of the frame in front of the rear fender. It was a productive and eye-opening Saturday at di Falco Fabrications!

 

Last Saturday I visited David's shop once again. Unlike the week before, it was sunny and the air was warm. Seeing that we had already mounted the gas tank, we switched gears to take on the sissy bar.
Using a series of clamps, we got things roughly in place. Hey, how'd that gold paint get on the fender?

 

@El Hueso ... yes! I figure it'll be a different touch that will also help with visibility out on the road. Let the build continue...
It was nothing short of a blast working alongside David. Prior to this project, I didn't have much professional shop experience, so this gave me an opportunity to learn. Here's David working on the sissy bar and the mock-up with the lantern taillight.
Below, we see how it all came together. The black, gold, button-tuft reminded me of Jim Head's '40 Ford panel. Remember that one? Maybe I'm just a little weird.


Article here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=26076

Here's the sissy bar in my living room, pre-polish.

 

I like when bikes look dense—especially small ones. One of the areas I felt needed attention was beneath the oil tank. Rather than leaving a gaping hole, I figured the best thing to do was to make some metal plates. The plan was to stash the battery and electrics behind them. They would also double as passenger footpeg mounts and a place for the ignition. Initially, I wanted to use stainless and polish it, but that wasn't in the cards with my home shop setup and abbreviated timeframe. So I bought a Jigsaw off Craigslist, got some aluminum and started cutting.
Here's my cardboard mockup.

Smiling for safety.

Cut! I ended up finessing them with various drill bits, Dremel attachments and hole-saws, but these were the right basic shape. (Don't worry, I fixed the curves!)

At that point, I looked to my friend Paul "Smiley" Dana in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley neighborhood to polish the sissy bar. He and I sat on a panel about the San Francisco custom car scene a little while ago, and I was excited to have him help me get my sissy bar looking good. He's been polishing since 1979 and absolutely knocked it out of the park. If you need polishing in the Bay Area, give him a shout here.

 

After the polishing, I was off to the Grand National Roadster Show. Rather than letting the bike project sit idle, I did some wet sanding on the black lacquer fender at the hotel...
Then I polished it when I got home...

 

Since I've had the Triumph for so long (four years), I needed a deadline to actually finish it. The One Motorcycle Show in Portland provided the perfect excuse. I had my Ironhead in the show last year, so I figured it would only be appropriate to follow up with my Triumph build. With a few weeks to go, I picked up the pace and really got moving.
^This is my Ironhead at the One Show last year. You can read my article about the show here.

Cue the montage music...




First time back on its wheels...

Painting the tail lamp...

 

As a graduation present, my parents got me this California black plate and told me "It's for your Triumph." It hung on my wall for years, and I was excited to finally put it back into play. I whipped up this license plate/light mount out of aluminum. The light is from a '60s Triumph Spitfire sports car.

Also, a decal from David di Falco was a must.

 

And so, moments before we left for Portland, I rolled the bike out in the street and got a good look at it. I liked what I saw.
Tucked in safely for our 10 hour drive:

Hey look, the Golden Gate Bridge!

Enjoying the neon at the historic Hi-Low Cafe in Weed, California:

Loading in at the Pickle Factory in Portland:

We made it!


A great shot from the team at BikeBound:

Smiles all around:


It certainly was a weekend for the books.

 

Ever since returning from Portland, I've been so busy with work and travel that I haven't done anything to the bike other than install a mirror. It was running before I took it apart, so I'm confident I can get it going again. Stay tuned!

 

Back at it! Working on wiring this week, then *hopefully* firing it up this weekend. Here are a few photos.

 

We have spark! Waiting on a carb rebuild kit and then we'll get things fired up.

 

@stinson ask and ye shall receive.

So have you ever checked all the boxes and things still don't work? That's what happened here. I had fuel, air and spark...but the bike still wouldn't start, no matter what I did. After scratching my head for a couple of weeks, I reached out to my good friend David di Falco once again to see if he had any advice. He invited me back up to his shop in Petaluma one Saturday and we dug right in.


This Deuce cabriolet has looked pretty much like this since the '60s. The bike? Eh...maybe. Either way, they make a good pair now!
Hot rods, choppers and custom motorized bicycles all happening at di Falco Fabrications.
With the bike in the shop, we checked everything. It fired on starting fluid, but wouldn't stay running. I cleaned the carb for the fourth time, checked the valves, phoned a friend and still no dice. We then went back and re-checked for spark. Nothing. How? The coil is new (and getting power), the ignition components are basically new, as are the wires, plugs and spark plug boots. Could the plugs be suspect? We tried different plugs and got mixed results.

David then removed the spark plug boots and saw what type of spark he could get with the bare wire. Shazam! Hot spark! Realizing we needed those little screw-on caps on the tops of the spark plugs to work with the new (old) boots, we took a lunch break at the local car and bike show that happened to be that weekend.


David and I then picked up new plugs, made new spark plug wires, fitted simple plug boots and...it started right up! So what was the problem? I bought NGK spark plug boots which, unbeknownst to me, were resistor type. Of course, this suppressed the spark and made the bike nearly impossible to start. Lesson learned. First fire-up video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3X7wjJBQ3B/

That evening, I left Petaluma with a running bike.