Classic Cob
From the shed
This year at the 30th annual Taree & District Classic and Vintage Motorcycle Club rally I spotted a veteran Triumph. It was a 1916 model H Triumph of which some 30,000 were produced for military service during the Great War 1914 – 1918. Since 1910 Triumph had used the slogan “Trusty Triumph” and by the end of the war the troops referred to the model H as “The Trusty”. Fortunately this machine had not been subjected to the “restoration” process and had the appearance it would have had in its heyday. I got to talk to the owner, Michael Jordan, a member of the Historic Motorcycle Club of Queensland, Sunshine Coast Branch. He has several classic motorcycles which he has restored but this little Triumph was to be his first veteran machine. It was in 2014 when he had registered to make a bid on another machine which was a Sammy Miller restoration. Whilst on the computer and waiting for the auction date to arrive he noticed, just by chance, and old bike on a video being started up after having being found. Michael tracked the machine to Dutch Lion Motorcycles. He decided that this was it; he had to have it.
After making the purchase he intently tracked it every step of the way from The Netherlands with great anticipation. With the assistance of early Triumph guru Peter Cornelius he has ascertained that it was manufactured in October 1916. The machine had laid idle in a French barn for some 30 years as well spending some time in Spain prior to going to the Netherlands.
Several owners and restorers of veteran machines were present to see the opening of the crate. Michael then came to appreciate just how fortunate he was in acquiring this machine. It was showing its age with a weathered appearance but it was all there complete and in reasonable mechanical condition. Bear in mind the conditions that existed in the western front and appreciate that when required the despatch rider could not call into the local Triumph Dealership for service and repairs.
Some repairs had been made by improvising with what was readily available, bullet cases for bushes and a large artillery shell for a repair to the chain case. With the help of Les Allen the machine was dismantled so as to fully appraise the mechanical condition which revealed that considering the age, it was found to be in excellent condition. Michael has kept a clutch worm that had been made and tells me that it was a home made piece but has since replaced it with an original part.
There was the cast piston, valves stamped inlet and exhaust on the heads and the clutch assembly and races in the gearbox and wheel hubs are of the cup and cone type. A lot of parts that are usually missing, such as rims, spokes and tool boxes were still part of this machine.
There was a bend in the frame which Michael was able to gently restraighten. The frame was then cleaned and coated with Penetrol and buffed. Peter Cornelius has confirmed that the complete exhaust including the cutaways to the front and underside are original. Michael tells me that he has worked on machinery virtually all his working life and trained in heavy vehicle repair. However with the model H he reassembled the various components relying simply upon how the tolerances felt. This is opposed to using dial indicators and tension wrenches. This vital lesson he thanks Les Allen for. Michael tells me that by riding the model H he has come to have a better understanding of how to ride using the controls such as the air, magneto and throttle levers.
During the rally I was driving one of the backup support vehicles. With the Model H being a slower machine at the back end of the field, I was able to observe it over the Friday and Saturday when it did not miss a beat and travelled about 200 km.
Many thanks to Michael Jordan for the time he spent in collating the material for this column.
See you next issue, Pete