TRIUMPH CAFÉ RACER
Nutters gets down and dirty and starts cutting away more redundant parts. When will the phoenix rise from the ashes?
John Nutting with part two.
Fast progress was made with the CRK Triumph 1200 project over the winter, culminating in the promised structural alterations facilitated by the quick and effective use of an angle grinder that created a dramatic light show. But then we decided to visit our eldest daughter in Australia and progress stalled.
You’ll recall from the March issue of CMM that I wanted to build a version of the bike I’d ridden in the Isle of Wight where Ian Saxcoburg produces his Café Racer Kits for customers around the world. The CRK 1200 Roadster was a highly impressive hunk of a machine that I immediately took to, for its refined and smooth engine, immense flexibility and relaxed riding style. The idea behind Ian’s conversion kits is that you can take a cheap-to-source donor machine such as a Honda CX500 or the T300 series Triumph triples and fours, and after you’ve stripped off redundant parts, bolt on CRK’S made-to-measure kit of parts to create your own custom machine. The kit is broken down into subassemblies that can be bought as you going along. CRK provides an instruction manual so all you need is a toolkit, spanners and a socket set, plus a modicum of skill in using them. Having a vision of what you want the bike to look like also helps with the planning, along with adequate space in a garage or workshop. An improvement in my garage lighting followed with the installation of LED strip lights on either wall, which helped with my vision. First step had been to acquire the donor 1200 Trophy, a 1996 four-cylinder 1,180cc model updated from the original version of 1991, strip its copious and heavy bodywork and touring equipment, and whittle it down to the basics. Help came from mechanic Richard Pedleham at JB Motorcycles, who breaks bikes and sells the parts over the internet. In a couple of days he’d reduced the massive machine to its bare chassis and bagged up the parts, leaving the hand controls and instrument console, parts of which I wanted to re-use. That still left a number of components to be removed for later use, including the engine cooling system, ignition, carburettors, wiring loom, oil cooler, drive chain, brake and clutch hydraulics. The exhaust headers were a right bind to remove, but they’d be replaced with a stainless set anyway. I also discovered that many of the larger fasteners use those alien Torx heads, adopted I can only surmise to confound crusty characters like myself who have only just got to grips with metric tools. So it was off to Halfords to bag a set. Likewise the ignition lock mounted on the
top yoke, which is attached by blind fixtures calling for heavy drilling. I now had just the engine, frame and wheels, leaving a bare skeleton on which to start work. While the earlier CRK approach was to offer bolt-on parts to provide all the modifications, for Triumph triples and fours Ian requires the owner to cut off the rear sub frame and replace it with his more classic-looking design. The frame still uses the large-diameter curved steel spine, from which the engine hangs using a tubular structure below the steering head and a box-section behind the gearbox. Rear suspension has an aluminium-alloy swingarm and a single shock connected at its base with a linkage. It’s very robust and, for Triumph, was fairly simple to manufacture. The rear sub-frame is, however, purely functional in design, with square-section steel tubing festooned with bracketry, which is fine when hidden behind bodywork. With the bodywork removed, it’s clear the Forth Bridge-like subframe had to go, to be replaced with one that is fabricated from large diameter tubular steel. What’s clever is that it doesn’t have to be welded on, which would necessitate the application of skills that many owners might baulk at. So the CRK manual provides instructions on how to cut off the sub-frame at four points using reference points and an angle grinder with a thin blade. This process was quicker than expected, and with help from mate Gerry and his angle grinder, within a couple of minutes and amid a shower of sparks the frame was even more abbreviated. CRK’S new sub-frame bolts to the Triumph spine using an already extant cross tube and on the lower footrest attachment points. It is positioned firmly by using spigots that slot inside the lower rectangular tubes where they have been cut. Mine needed a bit of fettling by
removing flash on the inside of the tube along with springing the tubes apart before it slotted together. Interestingly, the new sub-frame is heavier than the item I cut off: 5.2kg versus 4.7kg. At that point I was still wondering whether to strip the frame and engine for re-painting. Once exposed it was clear that the 1200 engine was an aesthetic mess, with the underside oily and the grey lacquer peeling away from the cylinder head and side-covers. I’d planned to have it cleaned using soda-blasting and re-enamelled, just as I had with the NT650J Honda engine: whether to do that earlier or later after a dry build is a question that still has to be answered. The Triumph motor is a huge lump, so I ordered an engine stand from Sealey to make manoeuvring it less stressful when the time comes. In the meantime, and as a means of building up the CRK 1200 Roadster into something that might give a better impression of the finished article, I started to follow the manual with the assembly of various components that had been mailed to me. These included the new foot-rest hangers and bracketry for the electrical system within the subframe. It was then that I was horrified to find that I should have asked Richard, who had initially stripped the Trophy’s bodywork, to also keep the factory foot-pegs and foot controls. When I called him, Richard had already sold them, so what next? Luckily, Ian Saxcoburg had some foot-rest components remaining from an earlier project and kindly mailed them to me. Another missing component was a bracket to support the ignition box. This is a T-shaped component on to which the box’s rubber mounts attached, and is riveted to the rear bodywork, so was long gone. Luckily, Richard had another Triumph rear going spare, complete with the bracket. My vision of the finished CRK 1200
includes the use of an assertive-looking headlamp of the type made by Bosch for the Laverda triples in the 70s, or the 200mm versions used on various Yamahas in the 80s such as the XJ650 four and TR1 V-twin. Trawling the web was fruitless, unless I was willing to pay crazy prices (£100 or more for a complete assembly, and many on offer had superficial damage), or accept cheap replicas. Then, during a rummage through a box in the garage, I was surprised to find a long-forgotten spare headlamp from my Honda Bros, a legacy of crash repairs from six years ago. It was just about the diameter and style I wanted, and better still it was packed with the necessary attachment bolts. Another call to CRK’S Ian in the Isle of Wight, and a pair of headlamp brackets soon arrived in the post ready to assemble with the associated rubber supporting rings, and more nuts and bolts. I’ve decided to use a modernised electrical system for the CRK 1200. The old loom is hanging forlornly on the garage wall as a reminder of how complex and bulky they can be, while the new system will be light, less complex and ‘smart’. Instead of running the power for lighting and indicators up and down the bike through the handlebar switches, relays and loads of connectors, the C-box system designed by Axel Joost Elektronik and CRK uses electronics to control the power switching of lighting, starting, indicators and brake light circuits, while the handlebar switches no longer need to carry the full current load of each circuit, allowing smaller wires and simpler push-button controls to be used. The two small fully sealed electronic controllers – each not much larger than a matchbox – arrived with instructions and wiring diagrams, but the real challenge will involve incorporating many of the original Triumph electrical components such as the ignition system and lighting. Some special tools will be necessary, and I’ve realised that the soldering iron I’ve been using since my teens is inadequate, so a new one has been ordered, along with shrink-sleeving, air heaters and other electrical paraphernalia. Now I’ve got some of the interesting components, it’s getting really exciting. Next time: Should I invest in a bike lift, and what would be the best colour scheme?