I got the invoice from SRM today to say that the work to re-commission the Triumph Tiger 100 bronze head has been finished. It’s all money of course but if they’ve done a decent job I’ll be so happy. It’s twenty five years since I took that head off to get fixed and there’s a lot of water under the bridge since then. I like a bit of continuity.
I spent most of my School lunchtimes at Owen Greenwood’s motorcycle shop in Loughborough in 1987/88. I had my first road bikes from him. First a Simpson 50cc and then an MZ ETZ 125. I have no idea how many times I fell off them but he did call me ‘crasher’ Moss at one point. When he had the Triumph bronze head valves seats built up for me and my Dad, after my first season of racing with the VMCC, I doubt he considered that it would take this long to get the rest of the work done. He’d have called me a ‘messer’ without a doubt, but I know he’d be pleased that I was eventually getting back to it. RIP Owen Greenwood.

I’ve got to get barrels bored but I’m sure I’ve got a reasonable pair of pistons somewhere. It won’t be phenomenal but it should be somewhere in the mix in the 500 class. I don’t think the short stroke Manx Nortons need worry though…

The other main thing the Triumph needs is some attention on the breathing, I’ve looked into non return valves in the past but never got it completely sorted. It always did cover the rear tyre with a fine mist of castrol R. Nothing to the rear of the engine will ever rust on this bike. I’m sure a concerted effort will bring success, although I have seen that from 2016 all road competition bikes (two strokes too?) will have to have a complete catch tank under the engine. I think a scraper on the sidewall of the rear tyre into a dangling bucket might work better. It’s no fun hitting oil though, so I’ll do everything I can to get it under control.