Real Classic April 2017

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MORINI 350 SPORT  MÉTISSE REBUILD  BSA SHOOTING STAR  MZ! ISSUE 156  APRIL 2017  £3.60

Running, Riding & Rebuilding RealClassic Motorcycles

TRIUMPH'S WEDDING SPECIAL

ALL THE BEST BITS, TOO

I THIN WHAT LIES WIT

36

ROYAL WEDDING TRIUMPH .........................6

BEEZER SPECIAL .........................................54

Meriden must have felt they had a winner when they rolled out their limited edition Royal Wedding Bonneville to public acclaim in 1981. 35 years later, Stuart Urquhart agrees. In fact, he reckons this Bonnie might be the best of the bunch…

This unique machine fits together so well that you could be forgiven for believing it was built at Small Heath. In fact its components come from three different decades, and it inspired Odgie to the heights of delight on the subject of riding girder / rigid motorcycles…

MORINI 350 SPORT.....................................28

MZ CLASSICS...............................................62

The cult of the wee vee has long been strong in Europe, but Morini 350s are seldom seen in Canada. So when Steven Troupe was given the opportunity to transform a museum piece back into a roadgoing motorcycle, how could he possibly refuse?

After exploring MZ’s origins behind the Iron Curtain and back in time to DKW, Nigel Shuttleworth now tackles a distinctly sticky subject. Why would you buy and ride a commie stinkwheel today?

REALCLASSIC 156; PUBLISHED IN APRIL 2017

NORTHAMPTON’S MOTORCYCLES ............70

THE CONTENTS PAGE .................................... 4

A fine array of excellent motorcycles. Sure you’ll agree!

Craig Whittaker set out to buy a BSA Golden Flash. Instead he ended up with an A7 Shooting Star. This, then, explains how not to buy a Golden Flash…

Richard Jones continues his tour of the motorcycling midlands, celebrating those British bikes built in Northamptonshire.

This time he recalls a marque you may recognise, Cedos, although you may not have appreciated its origins…

BMW /7 BOXERS..........................................44

BSA B21 BUILD............................................90

BMW’s anachronistic air cooled flat-twins have become the new black. Some people are restoring them, other people are turning them into café racers. What all those people should actually be doing, argues Martin Gelder, is just getting on and riding them…

John Lay started with a stack of spares from several motorcycles. Over several years he painstakingly created a single 1938-era 250 Beesa which looks like it’s never been apart in its life. Last month’s first test ride revealed that while it pulled well enough the brakes still needed further attention…

Already the calendar is clogging. Got your MoT yet? Insurance? Sunblock? Flippers?

BSA SHOOTING STAR..................................36

RC REGULARS

WE’VE GOT MAIL! ........................................ 16

More pages than usual, so we’ve got a bumper bundle this time EVENTS ........................................................ 80

READERS’FREE ADS .................................... 84

Interesting selection, as usual. Fake ads from Indonesia removed…

PUB TALK ................................................... 102

PUB wimps out of a wet weekend in Wales, and has to work on the weather weary brakes of the winter hack. In disgrace she is demoted to the pedal cycle world…

RICKMAN MÉTISSE .....................................96

If the challenge of renovating a 50 year old classic motorcycle isn’t enough, you could always take on a basketcase of disassembled bits. To make life even more interesting, Ian Copcutt’s project started life as a special, fitted with an entirely different engine…

SUBSCRIBE

TALES FROM THE SHED ............................. 108

Rites of Spring indeed. Nothing to do with Stravinsky…

TURNTO

You won’t find RealClassic on the shelves in UK newsagents. If you want to enjoy regular RC reading then take out a subscription and join us in the RealClassic Club.That way, each issue costs just £2.50. Bargain!

P114

TODAY & SAVE

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Staffordshire County Showground ST18 0BD

WHO’S DONE WHAT REALCLASSIC features your stories, artfully arranged by Rowena Hoseason and Frank Westworth of The Cosmic Bike Co Ltd, along with Mike Baumber, Libby Fincham and the fine folks of Horncastle’s production dept We get too much RC reading to cram into the monthly magazine, so more appears online at www.Real-Classic.co.uk TRADE ADVERTISERS for the magazine or website should call Helen Martin on 01507 529574, email hrmartin@mortons.co.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES should be sent to Frank@RealClassic.net or to PO Box 66, Bude EX23 9ZX. Please include an SAE if you want something returned or a personal reply SUBSCRIPTION INFO is on pg114. Call 01507 529529 to subscribe or renew or buy back issues SUBS QUERIES, late deliveries, or changes of address should be directed to 01507 529529, or email subscriptions@realclassic.net ALL MATERIAL in RealClassic is copyright its authors, so please contact us before reproducing anything. RealClassic is printed by William Gibbons & Sons of Wolverhampton. Our ISSN is 1742-2345.

THIS MONTH we’ve been reading Childhood’s End by Arthur C Clarke (it made a lot more sense than the TV mini series); Punishment by Anne Holt (interesting characters if somewhat slow-burn); CHASE The Hunt For A King (Scottish independence and Arthurian legend), and The Man From Berlin by Luke McCallin (another WW2 investigator: Bernie Gunther has competition!)

MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES we loved Great Wall but thought Kong ponged; were underwhelmed by Logan but adored Shaolin Temple with Andy Lau; discovered the delight that is the Star Wars: Clone Wars series, and finally, finally, reached the bit in the first season of GoT where it actually gets good…

RealClassic is published monthly by MMG Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, LN9 6LZ, UK. USA SUBSCRIPTIONS are $58 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI. 54921. Postmaster: Send USA address changes to RealClassic, Motorsport Publications LLC, 715-572-4595 chris@ classicbikebooks.com

FROM THE FRONT

A

tip of the hat to Stuart Urquhart, whose terrific tale about a Triumph opens this month’s issue. The bike’s a Royal Wedding Bonnie, one of Meriden’s occasional attempts at boosting the appeal of their only slightly archaic twins by latching onto a little patriotic appeal. Or not – those Bonnies sold well overseas, as well as in the UK. And indeed, Stuart’s test victim is an export model. I have some fond memories of those, too.

Many years ago, I was an unwilling participant in a decently destructive traffic accident, one result of which was that I couldn’t walk for quite a while and couldn’t ride for a while longer. And the first bike I rode after the shunt was an export T140 LE Royal Wedding, exactly like the one in this month’s story. I loved it – but understood even then that a bike with so much shine was never going to have an easy life in The Shed. Cleaning and polishing have never been my forte.

The bike’s owner suggested that I might prefer the UK version? I looked around his showroom and failed to see one. He agreed that my eyesight hadn’t entirely failed or become too selective for its own good. He didn’t have one in stock, but he knew where there was one for sale. Good salesmen usually do know things like this. Of course the UK bike duly arrived, and I duly rode it. Silver frame, chrome tank, cast wheels and twin discs, as well as an almost entirely black-coated engine and a noted lack of spurious bling. I bought a TR65 instead.

Caprice is as capricious does, they say.

But I never forgot it. Many, many years later, another trader friend showed me another Bonnie, and at first I thought it was another of the Royal Wedding machines, and displayed my resounding expert knowledge of Triumph twins by sharing it.

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‘Not quite,’ suggested my friend. ‘It’s a Royal.’

And indeed it was. The Royal was a lot less glam than the UK Royal Wedding, but just as functional. I bought it on the spot, having a rare impulsive moment.

It ran really well, that Triumph. I tried really hard to like it. But I didn’t. I just didn’t.

In the end I sold it to another friend who didn’t like it enough to keep it either, so he sold it on again. These are great bikes, these late Triumph twins. They really are. But that doesn’t mean we all have to like riding them. Because we are not all the same, despite what some might tell you…

Ride safely!

Frank Westworth Frank@realclassic.net

THE NEXT ISSUE

RC157WILL BE PUBLISHED ON MAY 2nd, AND SHOULD REACH UK SUBSCRIBERS BY MAY 6th

Meriden must have felt they had a winner when they rolled out their limited edition Royal Wedding Bonneville to public acclaim in 1981. 35 years later, Stuart Urquhart agrees. In fact, he reckons this Bonnie might be the best of the bunch…

Photos by Stuart Urquhart

D

esigned to commemorate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, the Royal Wedding was a popular model on both sides of the Atlantic, arguably more so than the previous Silver Jubilee Bonneville. Times were extremely tough at Triumph during the emerging 80s, and even though a new Conservative government had written off Meriden’s substantial £8.4 million debt there was still an outstanding £2 million tax credit to be settled. It was a feather in Meriden’s cap that their workforce managed to remain optimistic despite a UK recession, limited funds, depleted resources, crippling rates and an out-dated product in the shape of the T140V. Competition from Europe and Japan threatened to overwhelm the UK industry and in order to survive Meriden needed to roll out new models, and fast.

The new decade brought an overseas order for an armada of police motorcycles and a rejuvenated Meriden began to launch new models. First to emerge was the Tiger Trail 750 (TR7), soon to be followed by an ‘economy’ 650 Thunderbird (TR65). Several months later the LE Royal Wedding Bonneville 750 appeared and by 1981 two more 750s joined Triumph’s impressive line-up, the custom T140 TSX and the roadster 8-valve TSS Bonneville.

1982 saw the addition of another three models: the Bonneville Executive Electro 750 with fairing and rear panniers (à la BMW), along with the announcements of a reduced capacity 600cc Thunderbird and an updated, rubber-framed TSS. But just when Triumph appeared to be gaining market confidence an unexpected and catastrophic blow floored the Meriden Co-operative. At a time when Triumph needed volume sales in order to survive, the TSS Bonneville became plagued with postproduction faults and porous cylinder heads.

The ensuing explosion of warranty claims, bad press and accusations of insufficient development hit Triumph sales very hard, and after a brief struggle the Meriden Co-operative ceased trading in the autumn of 1983. It was a sad ending for what many had hoped would be a miraculous tale of survival for Triumph, and GB lost the last great bastion of a once dominant motorcycle industry.

When the royal couple’s marriage ended just 15 years later, owners of Royal Wedding Bonnevilles must have endured as many restless nights as the young Prince William. Perhaps their previously prestige machines would now be perceived as a royal turkey? To my knowledge the effect of the royal break-up has never been fully debated, but the public divorce must have dropped a spanner in the Royal Wedding Bonnie’s desirability – at least for the following decade.

6 I APRIL 2017

TRIUMPH T140LE ROYAL WEDDING

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APRIL 2017 I 7

You might decide that a bike this bright, this shiny, has no business getting muddy in the country.

But you’d be wrong…

Today values have recovered well and are catching up with Meriden’s other 80s classic, the Tiger Trail 750. Both models were made in limited numbers, although Triumph’s adventurous yellow and black trail bike only became ‘limited’ when it was axed due to poor sales. Conversely, the Royal Wedding was always intended as a limited edition model, and of the 250 made, half were allegedly snapped up by the Royal family mad USA. I say ‘allegedly’ because I couldn’t find accurate figures relating to the USA consignment that left Meriden. However it is my understanding that a quantity of American models remained at Meriden to be sold in the UK.

Competition was fierce in the early 80s.

Various Japanese sports machines were flexing their muscles and funding for new models was a real concern for Meriden. Triumph really had just one bike to sell, an old-fashioned air-cooled twin. But they made the most of this opportunity and created two additional versions of the venerable 750. One Royal Wedding was aimed at UK customers and the other targeted the USA. The UK model sported a chrome and black livery with twin front discs and eight-spoke Morris alloy wheels, while the USA version had a chrome and smoked blue colour scheme, single front disc and traditional chrome rims. To confuse matters, an all-black ‘Royal’ Bonneville was also manufactured exclusively for the States, but limited to a production run of 50 machines.

Demand for the ‘Royal’ connection must have been strong, as not only did Triumph produce both US and UK (as seen here) Royal Wedding Bonnevilles, but they went on to offer more twins, simply badged as ‘Royal’. This photo of a UK Royal Wedding was taken outside the Meriden works in 1982

8 I APRIL 2017

The Royal Wedding Bonneville featured hereabouts is an original USA model. Certified as No 47 of 250, it was first registered in Glasgow in 1981 by renowned dealer Victor Devine of Great Western Road. Although it was purchased with a two year extended warranty this extra would have been invalidated, because the original owner appears to have missed the first, second and third service intervals, the fourth being stamped by the dealer.

This patinated machine now belongs to my friend Bruce, and is just one of his stable of interesting Bonnevilles which includes an original 1959 T120. Bruce is a Triumph man through and through, and would be the first to admit he prefers polishing to fettling. In truth, entrepreneur Bruce’s hands are his livelihood and he owns a thriving beauty salon, renowned for having cosseted the golden locks of the famous and absolutely fabulous. So when he’s not glamming up the dames, Bruce can be found polishing his Triumphs. I wondered why he’s so obsessed with Triumphs.

‘I grew up among rockers,’ he explained, ‘and the Newport Café was the meeting place for our local bike gang. Road races along the Tay were the norm and I appear on a period YouTube film of 1960s teenage rockers racing Triumphs at Newport’s old ferry terminus.

Most of the lads owned Triumph Tigers or Bonnevilles, although one chap had a BSA Golden Flash which was always blowing up its engine – this put me off BSAs for life!

‘My first bike was a Tiger Cub, and at a very impressionable age I soon understood the value of properly servicing a British motorcycle; especially if you didn’t want to be left stranded at the roadside and have your ear severely bent by your pillion girlfriend!’ sniggered Bruce. ‘Our Triumphs were always reliable, even when thrashed, so naturally I stuck with them. I loved their power, and the roar from the Bonneville’s twin exhausts was

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TRIUMPH T140LE ROYAL WEDDING

Although Stuart pretendss no love at all for the high-rise handlebars, they work well, especially if your purpose is cruising ratherr than bruising. And they match the footrest positioning too

just awe-inspiring. The styling, the fashion, the café racer sect and the aura of the Bonneville were too hard to ignore. So much in fact, that if a nice Bonneville turned up for grabs I always found a reason to buy it. Over the years I’ve ended up with a nice little collection.’

Bruce found his Royal Wedding Bonnie in St Andrews, and I understand that the bike was running when he acquired it from its lady owner. However the engine began to backfire and soon afterwards the electric starter packed up. Being a stickler for 100% reliability, Bruce turned it over to local Triumph expert and professional motorcycle mechanic Greg Dawson to overhaul the engine, brakes and suspension and put it through an MoT. When the engine was stripped Greg discovered premature wear of the bottom end and replaced both crankshaft roller bearings.

Fortunately no regrind of the crankshaft was necessary, but the standard big end shells and both sets of conrod nuts and bolts were replaced. The timing side pinion bush was also replaced. The barrel and pistons were found to be perfectly serviceable and were simply de-coked. The cylinder was honed and new rings fitted to the pistons. Similarly, the top end was in good condition and Greg appropriately reground the valves and fitted new valve cups, springs and collets for long life. Greg beadblasted the engine covers and polished all the alloy casings. After checking and inspecting the gearbox internals the outer cases were bead-blasted and polished. The front and rear brake callipers were overhauled and a rusty front calliper was polished and re-chromed.

The brakes were found to be in good working order, but additions such as new front and

The large – and effective – silencers come in for some complaint, but they match the engine well, work well with the Bing carbs, and beauty always was in the beholder’s eye. Chrome chainguard and Marzocchi shocks are correct for this model

The smoked blue paintwork is entirely distinctive without being too over the top

back calliper pistons, seals and new stainless hoses were fitted to help improve everything.

Last jobs consisted of a new starter motor, 12V gel battery, replacement fork seals and a new brake light switch for the forthcoming MoT. So is the Royal Wedding the ultimate incarnation of the 750 Bonneville? Here are the arguments:

THE BAD  BMW style matt-black indicators that look out of place among all the flash

 The fashion accessory ‘ape-hanger’ bars that also look incompatible on this model. A severe criticism perhaps, as the handlebars are described by Triumph as ‘extended’ bars and some riders may like them. My preference would be to swap them for standard bars or ‘low-riders’ more in keeping with the Royal Wedding Bonnie’s classic styling

THE GOOD  The chrome petrol tank with its smoked

 

blue paintwork and gold coach lines, and the similarly treated sidepanels that match the tank’s bright and shiny look The polished alloy of the engine and silver cylinder block which enhances the Royal’s styling Other plus points are the Umberslade oil-carrying frame, non-standard Akront polished alloy rims, chromed mudguards, twin Veglia clocks, chromed headlight, Marzocchi rear shocks and the T140V’s excellent 5-speed box

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THE UGLY  The elongated silencers look bizarre.



Granted they’re a product of emissions control but Triumph could have come up with some glitzier-looking silencers, surely?

The humongous but comfy king-andqueen seat (more of which later) also looks completely at odds on this otherwise royally handsome motorcycle

APRIL 2017 I 9

Suitable for both officers and gentlemen, so they say…

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The most obvious changes to the Royal Wedding’s engine are the electric starter and its attractive kidney-shaped timing case. The casing is vertically split to allow easy removal of the electric starter. The starter itself is seamlessly grafted into the space left by the previous pre-unit engine’s old magneto and is a more robust Lucas unit than the‘press to explode’starters fitted to Mk3 Commandos. Another new feature was the change from Amal to twin CV Bing carburettors to‘give easy starting and improved fuel economy’.

Internally the engine remained largely unchanged and is tried and tested T140V Bonneville technology. The 744cc engine has a bore and stroke of 76 by 82mm and a compression ratio of 7.9:1, giving a claimed power output of 49bhp at 6200rpm – once again, standard Bonneville practice.

Depressing the scales at 429lb the Royal Hefty is a portly 30lb heavier than the standard T140V – not sure where Meriden has added the extra lard but my theory is that the heavy silencers are to blame – even though they’re the same silencers as the UK models. Hmmm…

In keeping with the bright and shiny look, both Triumph/Lockheed brake callipers are chromed. This USA Royal Bonnie however has only one single disc up front and not two as with the UK version. Any onlookers are left in no doubt as to this Triumph’s special status as‘Limited Edition’and‘Royal Wedding’commemorative badges and plaques are plentiful – even the tank bung boasts‘Royal Wedding, 1981.’

My friend Bruce again:‘I was seduced by the Royal Bonneville’s attractive paint scheme and its chromed petrol tank. I’m also a huge fan of the electric starter which has proved utterly reliable – to the extent that I cannot recall when I last used the kickstart! I like the high handlebars, but I do appreciate they’re not to everyone’s liking. Similarly, I like the king/ queen seat because it’s comfortable for two-up touring. My wife said it’s the most luxurious saddle she’s ever‘endured’– who can argue with that!

‘The exhaust note is quieter than on my other two Bonnevilles and I always intended to bin the emissions silencers in favour of a more free-flowing and attractive exhaust system.

But then our kids came along and suddenly I just didn’t have free time to use my Bonnies anymore. I only put the Royal Wedding back on the road again recently, with help from my son-in-law Mike, who’s an ace mechanic with a classic collection of his own. Mike took the bike

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TRIUMPH T140LE ROYAL WEDDING

away and I understand he simply changed the oil and fuel, checked the carbs, changed the battery and she started first kick. Mike said he was amazed at how well the Bonnie ran after having been‘retired’for so many years.’

Indeed, own Mike’s very yellow Commando appeared in RC149. When he arrived with the Royal Wedding my first impressions of the Triumph were not flattering – I ridiculed the cloud-scraping ape-hangers, outdated K&Q seat and the overly-extended rear silencers that disappeared somewhere over the North Sea’s horizon. But the more we discussed Bruce’s Bonnie, the more I began to appreciate its unusual character. Mike was so enthusiastic about the eager engine, relaxed ride and superb handling that I had no choice but to slide on my leathers and boots, grab my hat and start up my Commando so we

could both go and enjoy a test ride.

Over the usual quiet back roads that skirt the Tay estuary we stopped to swap bikes. Mike had left the Royal sitting on its centrestand. I was about to go through the motions of flooding the carbs and kickstarting the engine when Mike interrupted and pointed to the Bings and the electric start button. As the engine was already warm no choke was required. After first checking that the box was in neutral (there’s a warning light) I stabbed the starter button and Bingo! the engine was quietly ticking over. I didn’t even hear the starter engage due to the engine’s instantaneous firing. I was so impressed I had to cut the engine and fire her up again.

Same result. Both now grinning from ear to ear we prepared to set off again on our different steeds.

This is not exactly a lightweight motorcycle, and the single front disc fails to inspire confidence. It’s strange that the UK version of this model had twin discs up front while Americans were expected to cope with just the one

Just one of the twin Bing carbs. They repay cleanliness, and keep an eye on the return springs too if you’re after precision in throttle operation

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Although the engine appears to boast an all alloy top end, in fact the barrels are cast iron, painted silver to add to that Royal bling

Both the Bing carbs and the electric hoof have their critics, but when they work well, they work very well. As here, happily

APRIL 2017 I 11

In case you were in any doubt about the bike’s identity, there are memory joggers everywhere

My next unexpected surprise was that both feet were comfortably planted on terra firma when I sat upon the Royal Throne. I credited this to the 18’’ rear wheel which contributes to the T140V’s 31” seat height; a far cry from the initial 33” height of the very first oil-inframe Bonnies of a decade earlier.

I always enjoy the sensation of sitting on a new motorcycle, and as I familiarised myself with the controls I discovered that the ridiculous ape-hangers actually felt quite practical – I imagined with my helping of ‘humble pie’ I could easily be settled into my favourite armchair and about to watch a TV episode of ‘Escape To The Country’.

And escape we did as I engaged the very light action clutch, selected first, and gently opened the even lighter throttle. ‘That’ll be the Bing-effect,’ I thought, before we loped into the gently rolling hills.

Out on the road my first impression was how familiar this Bonneville felt. I was enthralled with the Royal’s ergonomics, eager engine and incredible handling. I know it’s a given that Triumphs handle well, but I’ve never been so instantly impressed with a motorcycle’s handling – and I’ve ridden all

sorts. I remember waxing in an earlier RC about a Ducati 750 Sport I’d road tested; but this Bonnie was better, much better. Better than my Interstate too I would wager; a revelation indeed, because any well set-up Commando is a benchmark in handling. I’m sure the Triumph’s Dunlop Roadmasters play a significant role; as do the frame, controls, suspension, transmission and engine, which all gel together to provide a sensational ride.

It excels in flicking through tight bends and never wanders from its line should you meet with an unexpected pothole. The only blight on an otherwise accomplished scratcher is that the sidestand touches down through the tighter bends. I reckon with a little realignment, the stand could be tucked away behind the exhaust without affecting its car park role.

Triumph’s five-speed gearbox is excellent and, combined with the super light clutch, all gears select flawlessly up and down the box. The neutral warning light blinked on at every stop and there was no requirement to select neutral on the roll. Even when a brief stop was required to allow a herd of cows and sheepdogs across our path, holding in the clutch induced no slippage or drag. The 750 engine is responsive and deceptively strong: it pulls like an ox in all four lower gears and fifth is ideal for relaxed, all day long cruising.

The Bing CV carbs provided excellent throttle response, contrary to some period press reports of ‘pinking and poor pick-up on Bing breathing LE engines’ – not the case with this motorcycle, gentlemen. It goes like stink!

Under hard acceleration, not only is the Royal’s engine absent of transmission whine or undue tappet noise, it also remained oiltight and utterly composed when chasing my Commando at licence burning speeds.

Mike is a track-accomplished rider but even

By this stage in the Bonnie’s long progress through history, Smiths has ceased supplying its clocks.

These are French-made Veglias, and although the needles can flicker a little, mostly they’re fine

12 I APRIL 2017

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Baldrick aboard the Royal could keep my galloping Commando in sight, more thanks to the confidence-inspiring chassis than some newfound riding skills. Some vibration creeps through the footrests at around 70mph but this was never intrusive to the point of being irksome. Fortunately any vibes quickly smooth out again and the engine remains pleasant and useable all the way to an indicated 90mph, which was fast enough to establish that this ’81 Bonneville’s engine is a peach.

Unfortunately, just as the engine gets excited the accompanying exhaust note becomes muted and uninspiring – yet another downside to emission controls and political correctness. Some might argue that this enhances the Bonneville’s smooth and relaxed ride, but I like to hear a classic engine sing its heart out – especially Triumph’s uplifting and charismatic Bonneville.

Much as expected, Triumph’s highly

Invalid even when current, as Stuart explains. A nice piece of history, however