1969 Triumph Tiger

AC0754T100S

1969 Triumph T100S 500cc Euro Model This bike was purchased new in the UK by an American Airman stationed in England. Upon his discharge, he had the bike shipped home to Connecticut where he rode it for another 20 years. In 1991 he removed to Tennessee and shortly thereafter sold the machine to my cousin who has owned it ever since. The UK model differs slightly from the US export model. It has a QD (quickly-detachable) rear wheel, rigid-mounted bars with steering damper and the front mudguard was drilled for the UK numbers plate. Note the period Craven luggage rack you see in the pictures which probably at one time had the matching 'panniers.' In the early 1970s the original owner was inspired to customize the Triumph with western bars, a metal-flake blue/gold paint job and a lot of additional chrome plating, i.e., headlight ears, triple clamp, fork sliders and a few other bits. At that time he added the TriCor crash bar and replaced the passenger pegs with after market items to match the cruiser pegs he mounted on the crash bar.. He also converted the. original single-carb head to dual carburetors. That is the extent of the original owner's changes and it can all be reversed if ageing metal-flake and excessive chrome is not your cup of tea. The current owner had a top-end job done soon after purchase in '91. He also installed a new pair of mufflers and handlebar grips at that time. Three years ago we replaced the fork gaiters which remain like new. The bike has been on display in a local Tea-Room owned by a vintage motorcycle enthusiast for the last two or three years. It has not been ridden regularly since 1999. It starts and runs, but it does smoke and could probably use a top-end re-build. No unseemly noises emanate from within the motor and everything works. We put a new battery in it and some fresh fuel and it started first kick. The tires have lots of tread and lots of cracks. I think they were installed in 1991. After the images below there is a link to a short video of the 500 in action... Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us [More videos from rollfast] On Apr-15-11 at 05:48:09 PDT, seller added the following information: Here's a link to my image host and a few more pictures. By going there you can ZOOM in on the details, one which I want to point out: the top fin on the right side of the head is broken in front of the spark plug. http://img217.imageshack.us/g/t100s015.jpg/On Apr-16-11 at 13:16:58 PDT, seller added the following information: When we first started the bike it smoked considerably and quickly fouled both plugs. I replaced the plugs and it ran well for a couple of minutes and then began to miss. Triumphs unlike Norton and BSA twins rarely wet sump. Norton and BSA use a gear-type oil pump and gravity will cause oil to drain back through the teeth in the pump once there is sufficient wear. Triumph plunger-type oil pumps don't permit this...I thought. The upshot is, I drained about 4 or 5 ounces of oil out of the sump and the smoke went away and the 3rd set of plugs remain clean. So, it seems Triumph will wet-sump given enough time...