1957 TRW, crate bike w 520 miles

[chuck peterson]

What, no leather helmet and goggles?

Time capsule..it looks better then I do and I’m one year younger

More photos and the great backstory at link. Posted 19 hrs ago

I don’t know how but it’s showing in New Youk but the map is Minneapolis

https://newyork.craigslist.org/que/mcy/d/minneapolis-1957-trw-matching-engine/7380687432.html








louis stevenson miller

[fotoguzzi]

The area code 612 phone number is Minneapolis.

[cliffrod]

Seemed like there were a number is these new-in-crate TRW bikes advertised back in the early 90's in Walnecks.

Edit- iirc, those bikes were described as Canadian army surplus so proximity to USA-CD border may be related to the same bikes & source.

[JJ]

What a fabulous, beautiful, classic Triumph!! 

Leather gloves and goggles aside, what a great bike to ride briskly down a lonely country lane on sunny, cool, fall morning!!  I want one!! (add that to my ever burgeoning WANT list)





Oh yes...and I just read THIS!!  "OPEN THINE WALLET - WIDE" - and then bend over!!

So here is your chance to buy an all original matching number TRW. The last matching number TRW in crate sold for 37000 (https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2011/08/29/union-jack-in-a-box)

[Canuck750]

A couple of those Canadian army surplus bikes have shown up over the years. A local family has a WWII surplus WLC that was army surplus and was turned into a civilian look, it comes out to shows every now and then.

[John A]

Seemed like there were a number is these new-in-crate TRW bikes advertised back in the early 90's in Walnecks.

You waited until now to tell us? 

[cliffrod]

You waited until now to tell us? 

My bad.   Add one more check to the "Minus" column.....

Seemed like the out of procuction bikes that showed up "new in crate" most often were Triumphs- the TRW, the 1977 T140 Silver Jubilee Bonneville model and the very last T140W TSS.   Finding other Marques new in the box wasn't as common.

[normzone]

Interesting.

My motorcycle mentor, George C. Alvarez, acquired a basket case chopper based on a 1957 Triumph pre-unit motor and trans. It must have begun life as something similar to this.

He breathed life into that box of parts, and the motor, sitting on a milk crate in his bedroom after he built it up, began seeping a small, but visible amount of oil ... and he had not yet put any in it. They were born to do this.

I rode it without permission once, while he was out of town, to ride to work while my Eldo was down waiting for ring and pinion parts. That Saturday while pumping gas and wrenching at Randy Wall's service station (another name drop you funny car fans may know) I washed, polished, and filled the small chopper tank with gas, and carefully rode that left brake/right shift hardtail beast home from work and politely placed it in our shared garage.

When he got home from his camping trip, he noticed his bike looked shiny, and touched the front brake lever, and his fingers slid off. In the house, I heard him shout "Who polished my bike?"

I confessed, and told him it had gas, had been degreased and polished. He laughed and said it was difficult to get mad about it.

[larrys]

In the early '70's the Canadian gubmint advertised these in the NY Times. Ralph Strong Motorcycles in Waterford, CT bought three. My ex BIL acquired one of them in the middle '80's. It had been sitting in a building in Moodus, CT long enough for the engine to stick from sitting. I did a mechanical overhaul with new tires. It ran well but was very slow. Had two ignition systems, points and coil, and a magneto. The chassis and transmission were from a 650. The 500cc flathead twin was developed just for the Army bike.
The story was that the Canadian Postal Service had bought a bunch of them to use as rural mail carriers. Never used, they sold them off.
Larry

[Moparnut72]

I bought a couple of bikes from Ralph. He was a really great guy. He called me the "Yamaha Kid" Until he sold me the R50/2.
kk