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It’s a keeper

Sep. 07, 2014

(This chapter is a bit wordy [tl;dr?]… the next one is mostly pictures : -)

A few things have changed and then changed back since my last post a few weeks ago. I was certain that even if I fixed all the issues facing me with the project (primarily that the bike is too tall for me), even if I sorted out all of the items one through eleven in the picture below, one fact remains and that is the bike has 130 horsepower. The bike has a listed top speed of 160 miles per hour.

I panicked – how would I ever keep that much power under control? It seemed like it would be unbearably seductive to avoid twisting the throttle and suddenly finding myself ‘doing the ton’, or aiming for something even these fantastic brakes can’t keep me from hitting. These days in Oregon when clocked at over 100mph the officer can choose to arrest you and impound your vehicle. If he/she calls it Reckless you will have severe problems. Over 100mph is punishable – at the judges discretion – by a minimum license suspension of 30, 60, or 90 days. Huge fines, bail, cost of temp license and SR22 insurance, community service… nightmare! How can it be avoided – the bike is just too… uh, able. I thought it would be best if I aimed a little lower and got another, older bike as a winter project. Get a Yamaha XS650 and turn it into a Street Tracker? – I had experience in this, and that bike would pencil out at about one third the horsepower. Yes that will be fun. Let’s do it!

So, I put a for sale sign on the T595, listed it on Craigslist and eBay. During that time I saw someone at the Safeway with a helmet in his hand and he looked the type, so I asked him what kind of bike did he have? – ‘Ducati’
he said. I asked how did he keep from getting tickets, keep from letting the bike seduce him into trouble. He said I’d get used to it. I would learn to keep it cool, knowing I had more if needed, but not to worry, just enjoy it.
Shortly after that, the bike began to run like crap. Wouldn’t idle under 3000 and would sputter and stop without giving it a lot of gas. I consulted the smart kids on the internet and they said there was a vacuum leak in one of the hoses going into the throttle body. I have a book and I like learning how to fix things so I tore the bike down and found what they said was true, and then figured a way to fix it. Satisfying. Some test rides made me start to like the bike more and more. One trade fell though, and then nobody bought it by the end of the eBay auction, despite being priced pretty low bid-start with no reserve – It all seemed to add up to me keeping it, so I will.

I’m going to turn it into a winter project after all – Triumph made a companion model to the T595 the Street Triple – with upright handle bars, no plastic fairings and a big drop in horsepower – Since my bike was crashed and much of the fairings are off, it’s halfway there – With my limited budget, turning my T595 into a high horsepower Street Triple will keep me busy for some time.

Let’s go!

Here’s the eleven things that needed doing when I first brought it home – followed by how they’ve been accomplished.

1. Bar-end mirrors have been installed.
2. New ignition switch has been wired in.
3. Locksmith made me a key for the spare gas cap the seller provided.
4. I have discovered it will be somewhat simple to lower the subframe – more on this later.
5. Found a front fender on eBay for $60 – will be here this week.
6. Fairings will stay off – keeping the bike ‘naked’ –
7. Shifter has been replaced.
9. Leak in rear tire fixed for one dollar (valve stem core : -)
8, 10 & 11. Again, no turn signals. License plate held on with zip-ties and the tail light lens is broken and no lights. All of these have been fixed (pictures in the next chapter).
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