TRIUMPH TR6R 650s
These two former Meriden men like their ’60s machines original, right down to the fasteners
Two ex-meriden men compare their original Trumpets – and their nuts
Sometimes a full restoration doesn’t seem the right thing for a ’60s classic. These two 650cc twins are a case in point: a 1968 Triumph TR6R Trophy and a 1969 TR6R Tiger 650, very little changed and only lightly corroded since leaving the factory half a century ago. Surely it would be a shame to erase their originality and patina?
Their owners certainly think so. They are ex-factory men who worked at Meriden when these were current models. Clive Humphries, who found both machines in California years ago, and Norman Hyde who bought the Tiger from Clive, love these Triumphs because they are unspoilt. Such condition is unusual for re-imports from the US, often modified with aftermarket cycle parts or butchered frames.
Undisturbed classics can be a valuable aid for restorers seeking correct details and, in this case, two bikes from consecutive years show a surprising number of build differences. Clive has unrivalled knowledge of original specifications for twins of this period, because he worked in Meriden’s Service Department, where machines giving problems, often during the warranty period, were sent by dealers for rectification. Minutiae regarding front mudguard top mounting bolts exemplify his familiarity.
“In 1968 they have domed heads, with little flats on top from the machining process, but in 1969 they have flat heads with the maker’s name Wiley on them,” he explains, pointing out that some bolts on the earlier machine have ‘Bradley’s’ embossed on them. Changes of fastener suppliers were
‘SURELY IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO ERASE THEIR ORIGINALITY AND PATINA?’
connected with a piecemeal revision of thread forms being made by both Triumph and its parent company BSA. Traditional British BSF (British Standard Fine), BSW (British Standard Whitworth) and CEI (Cycle Engineers Institute) or BSC (British Standard Cycle) threads were replaced by North American Unified UNF (Fine) and UNC (Coarse) forms.
“Some threads had already been changed in 1967, but from 1968 to 1969 most were changed to UNF or UNC,” Clive says. “One exception is the rear hub and sprocket, where Cycle threads were kept.” The eight Cycle bolts securing the brake drum to the hub have rectangular raised portions on their heads, presumably left from the production process.
Plating on the Dunlop wheel rims – 19in front and 18in rear – has lasted well in Southern California’s dry climate. Not surprisingly, Clive had to replace rotted silencers with pattern items that make the authentic Meriden twin sound. The 1968 bike needed new exhaust downpipes, but the later one has its originals, markedly different with a cross-tube near the exhaust ports. First seen on the limitedproduction Bonneville Thruxton of 1965, the link pipe modulates noise while improving flow by having each cylinder exhaust into the volume of two silencers. Clive also rebuilt both engine units to cure oil leaks and prepare them for regular use.
During production for the 1969 sales year, Triumph’s engine and frame numbering system was changed. The ‘DU’ prefix followed by up to five digits commencing with the first unit-construction 650s of 1963 was replaced by a two-letter prefix denoting month of build and model year, followed by the serial number. For protection against tampering, the crankcase stampings were on a raised pad embossed with Triumph logos. The Tiger 650’s ‘PC’ prefix indicates a November 1968 build for the 1969 model year. Cosmetic changes between the two years show that
TRIUMPH TROPHY TR6R & TIGER 650
Triumph could not stand still when sales were booming, especially in the US where new colours as well as specification improvements were expected year-on-year. The US market 1968 TR6R (‘R’ for Road) Trophy was finished in Riviera Blue and Silver, while its 1969 successor carried the Tiger 650 model name (reverted to Trophy for 1970), its main paint colour ironically listed as Trophy Red, with Silver centre-stripes on the mudguards. Lifting this bike’s seat on its side hinges reveals the true colour on the rear ’guard, faded by sun elsewhere on the machine. The Tiger 650 tank-top decal is still like new. ‘Eyebrow’ tank badges introduced in 1966 were dropped in favour of a less curvy design for 1969, while the tank-top parcel rack seen on the Trophy since the first model of 1951, but not fitted to the TR6C competition variant since 1966, was removed from the TR6R for 1969. Both bikes have original seat covers and internal foam, with the dimple pattern added to the top panel from 1969 seen on the Tiger. A mid-seat passenger grab-strap added to Us-market seats from 1964, for the West Coast only at first, was replaced in 1969 with a chromed steel loop attached to the rear of the seat. Also for compliance with US safety regulations, side reflectors were fitted to export twins from 1968. Those mounted on tubes under the nose of the fuel tank are orange, while those on the sides of a cast-alloy Lucas rear lamp unit are red. A switch from fully-shrouded rear shocks to units with exposed plated springs from ’69 gave Triumph’s big twins a sportier look. The eight-inch twin-leading-shoe front brake introduced on 650cc Triumphs and BSAS in 1968 is one of the finest classic British drums. But first-year operating cable problems saw necessary alterations for 1969. On the ’68 bike, the cable is tethered to the mudguard by a plastic guide loop that survives on Clive’s bike. It then runs parallel to the road to the outer cable’s anchor point on the backplate, from where the inner cable goes to the front cam-operating arm, which is connected
by linkage to the rear arm. Because the cable was prone to detach itself from the anchor point, a small retaining split pin was added during production for 1968. The revised brake fitted in 1969-1970 has a more direct cable run, due to a bell-crank front operating arm. Throttle cable routing was also improved, by passing it through a hole in the right-side headlamp bracket. An antichafe grommet in the hole appears to be original on Norman’s Tiger. Clive routes his speedometer and revcounter drive cables to avoid rubbing at the steering head, rather than strictly following the catalogue pattern.
At a glance it is not obvious that wider fork yokes set the 1969 stanchions ½in further apart than the previous year’s six inches, a modification that allowed wider-section front tyres to be fitted. Both bikes appear to have Triumph’s standard Us-market handlebars, and Clive’s bike still has its original Italian Granturismo anti-vibration handgrips. The 21,918 miles on the Trophy’s speedometer look credible, but the 1968 bike’s odometer has gone haywire.
“I don’t want to put new clocks on,” Clive says. “The grit-speckled paint on the old ones is too nice.”
By 1968 Triumph’s grunty 650cc engine was reaching its development peak and apart from having a single Amal Concentric carburettor, the TR6 unit was virtually identical to the Bonneville’s. The main engine change from 1968 to 1969 was the introduction of UNF threads to the castings, including the exhaust pipe mounting stubs. Other changes include hard-wearing nitrided camshafts, revised conrods with UNF big-end bolts and a heavier crankshaft flywheel for smoother power delivery. During 1968 production, the cylinder barrel base studs were changed to a 12-point form allowing access for a torque-setting tool. Various changes were made during model-year production, rather than all at the same time. But Clive refutes the suggestion that old parts were taken ‘off the shelf’ to fill gaps in supply.
“At the end of a year’s production, all discontinued parts were taken out of the assembly area and put in the Service Department,” he explains.
‘AN ANTI-CHAFE GROMMET IN THE HEADLAMP BRACKET HOLE ON NORMAN’S TIGER APPEARS TO BE ORIGINAL’