[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by san9jay

Wasif,

I have a feeling its a 500cc Speed twin.

After you mentioned it the name struck a bell. I only assumed it was a Thunderbird since a picture of a 50's Thunderbird was a close match to the bike.

After a google search for pictures of the 1950 500cc Speed twin I can say that the Speedtwin picture is an exact match.

I will get the engine and chassis number this weekend and after that request an admin to rename this thread.

/sanjay

The Thunderbird and Speed Twin would probably look almost identical externally. Maybe the number of cooling fins would differ. The engine and chassis number should clear things up.

[san9jay]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Looks in perfectly restorable condition.Are you planning to do it on your own are are you going to be getting some mechanics?

I am getting some friends of mine who are accomplished racers/mechanics to work on it though I will be involved quite a bit.

They were involved in the first restoration as well so it will be nostalgic for all of us.


Any suggestions on the colors for the Speedtwin?

The bike is currently blue but I am inclined to change it after all these years to give it a fresh look but ideally would like to stay with a color combination that was used for that year of bike.



/sanjay

[Spitfire]

Those exhausts look like they came off a Tiger 100. I guess the Twin Speed had a bottle like exhausts; similar to the Bullet one's.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by san9jay

Any suggestions on the colors for the Speedtwin?

The bike is currently blue but I am inclined to change it after all these years to give it a fresh look but ideally would like to stay with a color combination that was used for that year of bike

If I remember right the Speed Twin was always (or almost always) offered in a maroon hue, called 'Amaranth red'. Looks great in that.



http://artshobbyprojects.com/sa779.jpg

Do keep us updated as you proceed with the restoration.

[hillram]

Sanjay..congrats on acquiring the Triumph..its truly a legendary bike.
I know atleast 2 owners of such bike in Hyderabad and they too faced the same problem of not having papers,registration token etc.Letme find out with them the way around.

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by san9jay

I am getting some friends of mine who are accomplished racers/mechanics to work on it though I will be involved quite a bit.

They were involved in the first restoration as well so it will be nostalgic for all of us.


Any suggestions on the colors for the Speedtwin?

The bike is currently blue but I am inclined to change it after all these years to give it a fresh look but ideally would like to stay with a color combination that was used for that year of bike.



sanjay

I would say go with the current colour and origin al colour combination of this bike.Are you going to be doing up the engine as well?I'm sure lying in the basemnet water must have penetrated into the cylinders.Good luck and keep us posted on the happenings.

[chanu]

It looks like a neat one, ready for restoration though it was dumped & ignored for 3 decades. This twin triumph needs magnet, chain covers, split spring seat, lucas horn & tail light. The silencers may be custom made / bullet (sounds awful) the best part of this bike seems to be the shock absorbers which were unique those days (embedded in the rear drum)

All the best dude

[wasif]

Some litrature on these Edward Turner masterpieces for Triumph Most parts for it should not pose a major problem to locate here in India itself.

I know of some who have converted tehse bikes to run on an distributor/ coil set up if the magneto is not available.

Those mufflers are not original too.

If you clean up the left side of the crankcase hust where the bore fits you will find the engine number stamped there. For a Speed Twin or any other 500 cc twin it will start with "5T" and for a Thunderbird or any other 650 cc version it will start with "6T"



below are links to an interesting website too.

Triumph Motorcycles 1937-1940 and Illustrations by Rob Stockdale
Triumph Speed Twin and Tiger 100 buyers guide, with history, specifications and buying tips.

[IndrojitSircar]

One more thing the triumph 650cc would have a single seat and a really small rectangular seat on the rear mud gaurd!But in case of a tiger 500cc you would have one seat which is long like the ones seen in the enfields.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

One more thing the triumph 650cc would have a single seat and a really small rectangular seat on the rear mud gaurd!But in case of a tiger 500cc you would have one seat which is long like the ones seen in the enfields.

The seat combinations changed with model years, not with engines. Both combos were available on both the 500 and 650 engines simultanouesly.

[IndrojitSircar]

I just found these on the internet this gives a description in the difference in the models witha few specification.

[san9jay]

Thanks for the links folks. Makes interesting reading.

The picture above of a 1952 500cc Speed Twin is pretty much exactly what I have with the exception of the seat and muffler.

I got the serial numbers:

Engine Number: 5T44619
Chassis Number: 5157

[IndrojitSircar]

Well those could be mods done when the earlier restoration took place or as karl said they varied from model to model.

[wasif]

Originally Posted by san9jay

Thanks for the links folks. Makes interesting reading.

The picture above of a 1952 500cc Speed Twin is pretty much exactly what I have with the exception of the seat and muffler.

I got the serial numbers:

Engine Number: 5T44619
Chassis Number: 5157

That confirms what you have is in reality a Triumph 5T Speed Twin.

I used to have a similar bike but without the sprung hub. It was indeed a pleasure to drive, superb deep throbbing sound and great pick up.

You will really enjoy driving this around when it is ready.

[san9jay]

Based on the frame and engine numbers can you tell exactly which year it is?

Engine Number: 5T44619 Chassis Number: 5157

I did a bit of googling and found a site that correlated the engine number to 1954. Which seems in the correct ball park.

Couldnt find any correlation to the frame number.

Any ideas or can I safely assume it is a 1954 Triumph 5T 500cc SpeedTwin.

/sanjay