Santander here we come

1927 Triumph Model N.

I've just had my entry confirmed for the Piston Rally in Santander end September. Planning to take over the 1927 Triumph Model N along with something else a bit more recent and speedy. I've fallen in to the trap of last minute preparation many times before and will no doubt do so again but this time I'm trying to get ready in advance so fettling on the Triumph has begun.

There's nothing like a few good mountain roads to expose weaknesses in a bike so hopefully I can get the old girl fully up to scratch before heading off to Spain. I started off on the cosmetic issues - a coat of blacking on the exhaust and silencer plus adjusting the oddly angled saddle that had been welded in place. It's tack welded again to stop it moving but this time at a sensible angle. Mechanically the advance and retard mechanism was a bit sticky so that's been lubricated and the spark was very weak despite a recently re-wound mag. The mag problem was traced back to a dodgy HT lead, not often those fail... In addition the carb lacked a gauze on the bell mouth so a new one has been soldered in, doesn't sound like it was a big issue but the extra air flow without a gauze was making the bike run a bit lean and made it prone to overheating.

I've still got concerns about the brakes so might take them apart for checking - the rear is quite a big brake and just doesn't seem to offer the performance its size suggests. The front is an expanding band and is never going to be more than average but probably needs checking too. Nothing worse than no brakes on mountain passes...

Spain here we come. Ideal bike for pass storming in the Picos
Mountains, or maybe not.