Used 1957 Triumph Thunderbird Used 650L

Seller Description

I bought this bike two years ago from a well known bike restorer, Tim Bardsley. I believe he sold it because he thought it was beyond salvation. He was probably right. Never one to walk away from a challenge, I bought IT. IT was little more than several lumps, forks and a frame. The engine appeared to have been semi-submersed for several years. The valve ports were hollowed out to fit humungeous valves and the iron parts were semi-oxidized. The timing pinion looked like a miniature pineapple, it was so corroded. After several months of soaking in diesel fuel it was possible to ease the components apart with a little persuasion and a lot of heat. now the starting point has arrived. The alloy parts: crank cases, rocker covers, primary covers and gearbox housing were in excellent condition. The frame, yolks and forks were also in excellent condition, straight and complete with all the lugs. By networking with all my restoration buddies, I was able to source most of the big iron lumps, such as flywheels barrel, head, and a replacement gearbox. Thebits and pieces came from dealers here, in the U.S. and the U. K. Except for the horn (Japanese) I believe this bike is correctly restored using good used parts and dealer supplied new parts. Some of the parts are from secondary suppliers from mysterious parts of the world, but appear to be reasonably accurate representations of the originals. It took me a year to source the correct CCW distributor as these seem to be particularly hard to come by. This model of bike is not as sexy as the later Bonneville which replaced it but it was a good reliable bike with a cooking engine in its day..

It was in some ways advanced for its time with alternator and distributor. This bike answered the American demand for ever more horsepower, although by todays standards it seems somewhat under-powered. For those who remember the good times in the fifties, and those who wish they did, this might be the bike for you. Certainly a must have for any serious Triumph collector. I am also listing a 1958 Triumph Thunderbird for those who want something a little newer. I can deliver to the Port of Ogdensburg, New York, if a buyer or his shipper wants to pick up in the U.S. Ted Turner, CEO of Triumph Motorcycles, got the name Thunderbird from a motel near the Florida-Georgia Line when he was on a sales trip along the East coast. Ford Motors later got the rights to the name from Turner for their new sports car. The odometer reading is the mileage of the odometer only. It probably came from another bike. I can ship to London or Liverpool at a very reasonable price for buyers in the U.K.
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