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fIJ 51 DQI 2: 5ii:lI ..:01 g =- g ~ r--.. Cl eo ... <:.J .c '" '" c::; .... c, <:.J en • Alan Lampkin in action somewhere in Massachussetts, riding the very m achine this report is about. (Ph o t o courtesy of Chilton Publishing Co.l riump -Days Trophy Tra-I: Y au can buy experience By Chuck Clayton 269 IS now The Medal finish in the :-"assachussetts International Six-Days Trial. It was purchased as-is from the new Norton Vill icrs Triumph company ... 36 for 5·1,100. It is just nicely broken in and steeped with the aroma of Unberslade Hall and warm Gunk. What Tryon did to m ake a near-worldbeater out o f the Spitfire-era 500cc twin was not a whole lot. A lillie more, pe rhaps, than the savvy enduro buff would need to do to make a stock Trophy Triumph respectable, but nothing like the moonshot prepara tion that the average 6-Days Gold winner gets. To m ak e th e bike handle , he installed Rickman fo rks and front wheel, with a beefed-up stem to take the extra weight. The rear wheel was swapped for a BSA quick-change wheel and brake hub. Plastic fenders replaced steel and the electrics were re-strung to eliminate the hat tery and ignition sw itc h , then carefully soldered to Enduro ligh ts (6-Days bikes have to b e "street legal" at all times). The clumsy muffler was thrown out and an early Trophy silencer is mounted high up at a jaunty angle. There is a hulb horn in place of the ele ctric hooter. A new cover was riveted to the seat. with a zipper running halfway around, making the saddle a tool box as well. When I Kat the bike the seal contained an old drive chain . a new gearshift, a broken throttle cable and a box wrench wrapped in a dirty rag . Redundant systems were ins talled where 6· Days rules fo rbade replacement. T he re arc three coils (the spare has not been needed) two tai l ligh ts (o ne had been knocked off) a nifty cha in oiler and extra sp rings and clamps h olding o n th e muffler. Afte r w ash ing off the Massach u ssetts mud, the Lampkin Triumph see ms rea dy to go get another Gold. It starts on the first prod, its high-co mpressio n cylinders sucking Ethyl and air from a single monobloc carb uretor . The engine percolates quietly and you ca n hear all those lifters lifting and dropping on the cam followers and pushrods pushing and releasing rocker arms and valves rushing open and slamming sh ut and pistons pounding . The tailpipe emits a rippling note. It doesn't sound like it is making popcorn. It's down for low with a loud gnashing of gearteeth (unless yo u freed the clutch before starting the engine) and the clutch engages at your finge rtips and the whole thrashing, gnashing mechanism turns on the bass volume and rolIs smartly up and awav. The way to operate British machinery is on and off. That is, turning the throttle in and out so that the machinery is always backing off or charging. This keeps the mating surface of the bearings reliably in a state of thrust, and m in im izes the hammering of an engine running free. Trying to maintain a constant speed o n a Triumph is bad for the bearings. So. hovering around the cu rrent speed limit, we dial it up to 60 miles a n hour (est imated , beca use' t he speedome ter cable broke at 869 m iles, or abou t th e 6 th day) a nd im mediately shut off t he th rottle , letting the engine co mpression b low us back to 50 , then hard on agai n to 60 and rep e a t. T his is the way the T rium p h wants to be ridden , and it resp onds w it h a satisfying series o f gallops and canters, acco mpanied by the most thrill ing so und effects this side of S tar Trek. On p ave m en t , t he Trophy's manners are im p eccab le, tribute to its b reeding on th e British roads . Lea n it fast into the turns and the clear wa rning of tire slippage is your safety limit. The l'ri um ph ne ve r balks at a lillie pavement thrashi ng . A Iter the pavement ends, this T riu m ph just keeps on truck in t u rn ips. You hunt for the smoothest d ir t yo u can fin d. because th e bi ke is such a p leasan t slider. What you do is you make it along about 30 or 40 miles per hour and you come to the place where you want to tum and you lean in . chop the throttle off quickly to set the rear wheel sliding, then dial it on around your turn. steering (can trolling the rear wheel slide) with your th rot tle hand. It's easier to do than it sounds with the Triumph. Its front wheel stays fir mly pushed onto the ground no matter where your body is and its disposition is quite unlike the skitrerish :.rx models we have ~own accustomed to . If you want the front wheel to come up, to clear a ditch, say, or jump a log, yo u have to yank it u p with a ll your migh t at low speeds, but it lightens progressively the faster it gets, w hich is another reason w hy Ex pe r t riders never seem to get tired . T he 2.2 gallon tank h old s enough gas fo r abou t 10 0 mil es of fu n a nd ga me s an d t he oil cons um p tion is negligible . T h ere is a sligh t wcep age aro und th e left fron t rocke r cove r. o therw ise the Trophy is o il-tig ht. After Gold Medal w in in the 1973 Six-Days and second place in World Trophy chase, the Triumph is little the worse for wear. It we ighs exactly 319 Ibs . wet. The only damage to my Triumph after six days of battle in the Berkshire woods is one large d ing in the steel fro nt rim , a folded engine guard and a ser ious fork oi l leak. T h e gearbox was almost o ut o f oil when IjI;ot it, b ut no leakage has been discovered there ; makes m e think La m pkin ran it Iow a n purp ose, to ext ract the last ounce of horse power (a n old Harley.Davi dson trick). And the drive c ha in and sproc kets are about due for rep lace ment. I lov e m y T riu m p h. It is a n en d uro frea k 's deligh t. It weighs j us t unde r 320 Ibs, and is as de pe ndab le as a stone axe. I don't know when, if ever, they'll start ma nuf acturing Triumph twins again , but if yo u ca n get you r h an ds on o ne, b y all mean s. b uy it. Yo u ca n t urn it in to a Six-Days Trophy jus t like m ine w'th a neg ligib le investment of time an d treasu re. Wha t you 'll have is no t only a sp lendid piece of history, but a modern, grownup toy that not hing else can match. • American d ist r ibutor prepared the 500cc Trophy Trail for 6-Days by fitt ing BSA qu ick-change rear wheel, early Trophy silencer, Rickman front whee l, reworked intake and electric systems, p lastic fe nders. Ports a re matched and engine blueprinted, otherwise left stock.