1964 Triumph Thunderbird - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1964 Triumph Thunderbird - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Long before a certain automobile manufacturer in
Dearborn cribbed the name, “Thunderbird” meant
total performance to thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts.
To them, Thunderbird meant only one thing: Triumph’s
very smooth and rapid 40 cubic inch vertical-twin motor-
cycle, which was quite justly regarded as being the machine
for the sporting rider. Times have changed (the “40-inch
’Bird” was introduced 14 years ago) and there are now
faster Triumphs, but the Thunderbird is still an important
part of the Triumph line, and it is still a remarkable
package of performance and reliability. As a matter of
fact, the many improvements introduced over the years
have made it even better than before — and that is saying
a great deal.
In the 1964 version, the Thunderbird incorporates all
of the improvements bestowed on the other big Triumph
twins, such as the unit-constructed engine and single
down-tube frame of recent years. Most people are at
least somewhat aware of the overall changes in the Tri-
umph, but there have been detail changes for 1964 that
may have been overlooked. For instance, there is the
redesigned oil scavenging system, which has a larger sump
area to improve scavenging and thus reduce oil drag on
the flywheel at high engine speeds. In the same general
area, the breather has been reworked to improve crank-
case ventilating, and the hose from the breather has been
re-routed up to the oil supply tank, where it leads into
the de-frothing tower. With this arrangement, any oil that
might find its way out of the breather is captured in the
supply tank, instead of being lost. Also in the interest of
oil conservation, the Thunderbird has new slotted oil
control rings, which should be more effective in scraping
from the bores oil thrown up from the connecting rod
journals. The pistons themselves arc being fitted with a
bit less clearance than before to give more quiet running.
These pistons are, incidentally, slotted so they will not...
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