1974 Triumph Trident

T150VHJ40148

Clear

This is a late 1974 production T150V in spite of the 1973 color scheme with the red flashes and side cover emblems. The 1974 model was gold in those places. I surmise that a previous owner just preferred those 1973 colors and had it painted that way. Any way, the paint is nice and glossy but there is a scratch or two that keep it from being perfect. The frame was repainted at some point and that paint is holding up well. Most parts have been re-chromed. I bought the bike in May or June of 2009 from an elderly gent in Florida who had spent many dollars bringing it up to snuff, including new .020 over pistons and a re-bore. He gave me a sheaf of receipts for parts and labor. Unfortunately for him a bum arthritic knee kept him from being able to start the bike. A pity, since it is a reliable one-kick starter whether hot or cold- gotta love that Lucas Rita electronic ignition! He gave me a new speedo drive unit which I installed, but the speedo still does not work so the mileage is unknown> I am guessing that it is not much more than the 25K showing. It had a 3 into 1 exhaust that I replaced with stock manifold and after market mufflers. I also replaced the pod filters with a stock air filter assembly. Those parts actually made it run better too! It runs very well, pulling strongly to my self-imposed 5000RPM red line ( break-in for the new pistons and rings). It does not smoke. I have probably ridden it less than 100 miles since I got it. I just have too many bikes- hence the reason for selling it. The bike rides well on barely worn Avon Super Venoms and alloy rims laced with Stainless steel spokes. The master cylinder is new as is the hose. The shocks are BMW and appear new.The clutch does not slip and the transmission shifts well. The lights work and the headlight is an H4 halogen unit. I changed the oil yesterday,cleaning the sump screen, the oil tank screen, and replacing the cartridge filter with a new one. It follows the Brit bike tradition of having an oil leak. I cannot pin it down for sure because the clean oil makes it hard to see, but it is coming from the rocker box area. These bikes (old Triumphs) are known to leak from the rocker box gasket, the push rod tubes and the rocker spindles. It appears to have a rocker box bolt that is broken and there is a fin on the head that was broken and poorly repaired. At least it is the top one- easier to fix. After my last ride it left a couple of quarter-sized spots on the floor. I would advise the new owner to ride it another 100 miles or so and take it to a good Triumph mechanic to have the head re-torqued and the valves adjusted as part of the break-in routine. That would be the time to tackle the oil leak too. Please watch the You Tube videos (2)! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9E90Clizgg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHGHhQyMktAIf the links don't work, just do a search for George's Triumph Trident T150 All of the usual caveats to buying an old Brit bike apply here. Although, these do have an undeserved bad rep from problems with the early models. Check out the article in the new issue of Classic Bike that extols the virtues of these Tridents. And they do have one of the sexiest sounds -glorious even! I am advertising this in other places, so I reserve the right to end the auction early. Selling on an open title. Buyer is responsible for shipping, but I will assist your shipper. Deposit of $200 by Paypal within 24 hours of auction end. Remainder by cash, bank transfer or certified check.