Bennington Triumph Bash

So UncleCharlie had a small Tech Day at his house. It was pretty much so I could install my D9 Lay-Flat bracket with key relocation prototype #1 and address character defect Sloth! Charlie was going to adjust his valves on his BA. Meeting time was 10am so I got there at 9:55am and saw this –


I figured I should probably wait. Sure enough Good Ole’ UncleCharlie pulled in at exactly 10am and the door opens! Gilligan showed up in 4 wheels soon after but could only stay for an hour or so.


For those of you who are new and not up to speed on this project, I’ll give you the quick skinny on it. Seth makes a replacement bracket that lowers or flattens the appearance of the stock OEM Speedo & Tach. As an added bonus he noodled exactly how to do a ignition key relocation so one needn’t have to bend over and find the awkwardly placed stock ignition location, which by the way, if you have other keys on your ring, rubs the paint off the front shock.

So I got the package back in, God, I can’t even remember, maybe November. Anyway it was so long ago I’m embarrassed. Seth meticulously packages and marks each item extremely carefully and concise.


OK – time to get busy taking the old stuff off. I decided that I was going to release my bucket from the headlight mounts so I didn’t scratch the powder coating on the light. After I did this I draped small clean white shop towels over the light, front fender, rectum-fier and the gas tank.


Following Seth’s clear-cut directions I got the Speedo& Tach unit off.

I got it over to the bench and began carefully taking it apart.


Now keep in mind I am not an electrical Guru by any means so this kinda stuff is scary to me. After taking my time I had it completely taken apart. There was no turning back at this point so I cleared my mind of all horrible thoughts!


About an hour into the project my lead man Benny comes on the scene and has his new ride he just picked up in Westchester with him. That’s UncleCharlie flashing the Secret Double Input & Clit tickler - Gang Flash!


Soon after, Matt1050 shows up on his Black Tiger.


When UncleCharlie throws a Tech Day anything can be fixed!

OK – enough, back to work! I got the idiot lights mounted and I cut away some of the harness to expose the wiring a little better. I have to admit here and now that the little connector with the orange & grey wires had us baffled for a while. We couldn’t figure out where it went. As luck would have it we had a spare BA speedo setup from a spare tank and when we flipped it over we saw the same connector sitting there and realized that it is an extra connector for some factory add-on that I have no idea about. I just tucked that wire back into the idiot light housing in the middle and buttoned up the back with the perfect fitting back that Seth made for this unit. He even had countersunk holes drilled into the plastic where 3 M4 flat head hex cap screws that were included in the kit fit perfectly.


Here is the front side with the idiot lights now mounted correctly and the 2 foam gauge grommets for the Speedo & Tach correctly in place.


After that I dropped the gauge bracket over the Speedo & Tach and put the bulb back in and rewired the tach back up. I then carefully put the gauge cups over the wiring harness and then lock her down. This was when an extra set of hands came in handy because the Speedo & Tach and the idiot light housing were still loose. So Benny worked the cups as I held it together. I then got the socket caps back on while he held it in place. I tightened it up and the Tach & Speedo were now seated perfectly.

Here’s how it looks from the front. As you can see, the idiot light housing is still not secure but it is pretty wedged in between the Speedo & tach.


It was now time to add the stainless beauty piece on top of the idiot lights. The hex head cap screws were included. This was how the idiot light housing got secured to the bracket. I then brought over the ignition and mounted that in its new home and secured it with the new plate and flat head counter sunk flat head hex cap screws.

Lookin real good from the back now as well!


It was time to mount this bad boy! I decided that it would be prudent to ask for help here because doing it alone at this point can yield some terrible scratches if you screw up. I decided that I would support the unit while Benny & Jason fitted the four M6 mounting bolts through the bracket, through the 1” backing spacers, and into the threaded holes where the factory bracket use to live.


Three Busy union workers, determinedly working together!


Now that it was in place it was time for Hedge’s World Famous Slow Cooked BBQ Ribs! I started these ribs a day earlier around 4pm by cutting the racks into 5-6 rib sections and applying my secret BBQ rub on both sides. I put them back into the fridge until 9pm when I fired up the oven and set it for 225 degrees. I had the ribs in 2 rectangle aluminum pans and I got them onto two racks inside my oven. I submerged both pans with real Coca-Cola until they were completely covered, added some more secret stuff and shut the door for the night. I shut the oven down at 8am the next morning and they were done. All I needed to do was bring over my secret BBQ sauce and finish them on Uncle Charlie’s grill.


Union Lunch Break! Happy, Happy, Happy!

After lunch, I carefully put the wiring back through the ass hole of the headlight bucket. Again, this time it was easier, because I had help with the wire feeding. Matt & Benny were pushing it through while I was keeping the legendary Pain in the Ass rubber grommet in place and pulling the plugs through. Once I got it all inside the bucket and plugged in and held back in place by the wire minders I plugged in the headlight and let it hang and tested it out. Fingers crossed, key in new relocation, turn the key . . . and Ta Da!!!! Everything worked perfectly, low & high beams, blinkers, engine fired right up on the first button tap, tach came to life immediately! I shut her down and buttoned up the headlight again using the resources of my fellow Triumph enthusiast who lined up the lens correctly to the bucket, and held it in place while I screwed it tight. We then attached the light to the headlight mounts and carefully tightened ooops, I fucked up! OK, un-tighten that side and connect the speedo cable. OK – Speedo cable connected, Got the headlight mounted and re-positioned correctly, tightened it down. Lastly, I re-attached my clock and air temperature gauge. The job was completed.


Since my right foot was still a little swollen from the bone spur removal I asked Benny to take her for a test drive. He happened to have his helmet in his minivan so he gladly accepted and off went Benny on my Bonne with Matt on his 1050. About 20 min later they came back after tearing it up on the Merritt Parkway with a big grin and 2 thumbs up!

So, what I can tell you - is that D9 / Seth’s products are perfect in every respect! If you want a custom made bracket you can click on his TRat link (if you can find it) but for better results just email him at davidnyne@yahoo.com and ask him to get your name on the list! Kudos to Seth for another 100% Satisfied Customer!
Hedge

Great posts, Hedge!

What are you doing with your stock gauge bracket? If you don't need it, I might want to take it off your hands.

--mark

Hedge, now THAT'S how work on bikes should be done! With great ribs nearby!

Nice pictures and great job. It looks nice and clean that way.

Hey Matt1050, we'll have matching Tigers at Bennington. I love my Vario too! (What a difference.)

mark wrote:Great posts, Hedge!

What are you doing with your stock gauge bracket? If you don't need it, I might want to take it off your hands.

--mark

Mark - I'm not quite sure yet what I will do with the extra bracket. As we get closer to the BTB make sure you remind me about it and I should know by then. You are the first person to inquire so I have to give you first rights of refusal for being on the ball and seeing and opportunity! If it is going to be yours I will pack the bracket and bring it with me to the BTB.
John

I like to "work the cups".

Great job guys. Looks totally professional. Like the Idea of key up top! AWWWwwwww ....and them Fuckin' ribs. I'm so hungry I could eat the Asshole out of a skunk ! Why did I know that you would take a picture of the world famous Hedge's ribs ! Speed.

Hedge that is one cool looking set up.
I think the brushed stainless plate really dresses it up nicely.
Now you got to paint the Triumph logo on the handle bar clamp black.

I have a gold thing going on on my bike.

Funny you should mention that Bill. I already filled it in with a Black Sharpie but it was a little wide for some spots. I have to go back over it with a finer Sharpie or a fine paint pen.

Hedge wrote:Mark - I'm not quite sure yet what I will do with the extra bracket. As we get closer to the BTB make sure you remind me about it and I should know by then. You are the first person to inquire so I have to give you first rights of refusal for being on the ball and seeing and opportunity! If it is going to be yours I will pack the bracket and bring it with me to the BTB.
John

Cool, let me know what you end up deciding to do with it. How much would you want for it?

--mark

Hedgie: Would ya be so kind as to post a couple more pix of that relo bracket in the context of the overall bike?? I've been on the fence on this one (I keep saying I'm done with the mods, but we all know how that goes), and I'd like to see the 'big picture'. If there's a scantily clad babe holding the cups in the background, more the better.

Mark- I've got my stock bracket hanging from a nail in my shed b/c I've got the original D9 layflat (sans relo) on my Black, and I ain't going back. It's yours if Hedgie doesn't come thru - shoot me an email and I'll bring it to the BTB. The cost? One cold beer.

BlueJ wrote:Hedgie: Would ya be so kind as to post a couple more pix of that relo bracket in the context of the overall bike?? I've been on the fence on this one (I keep saying I'm done with the mods, but we all know how that goes), and I'd like to see the 'big picture'. If there's a scantily clad babe holding the cups in the background, more the better.

Mark- I've got my stock bracket hanging from a nail in my shed b/c I've got the original D9 layflat (sans relo) on my Black, and I ain't going back. It's yours if Hedgie doesn't come thru - shoot me an email and I'll bring it to the BTB. The cost? One cold beer.

Jeff - I have been working my ass off this weekend! YES PEOPLE, I actually worked! We moved our office into a new building and i have been slaving since Thursday morning. It looks like i got all the servers up and the Trading floor is now live. We should (fingers crossed) be able to trade when the market opens Monday morning.

I think my right foot is healing fast now. I am now out of the Crocs and wearing my Merrill's. I would have loved to ride today, 70+ degrees, but I had to finish the job. I'll call UncleCharlie tomorrow when I come out of my coma and see if I can ride. My bike is still over his house. I hope he has put on some miles for me!

Anyway, As soon as I get her I will take some righteous shots and Post Whore them!
John