There are generally two sides of the chopper coin: an old restore job that's as high maintenance as a supermodel's diet, and a push-button modern bike with old chop style. Both have their merits; it's mostly a matter of taste and how involved you want to be with your ride. Mike Chan's pretty familiar with this concept, having bikes from both schools.
Some stories end with a flogging; this tale starts with one. Mike Chan's first motorcycle was the '69 Triumph Tiger shown here and he spent the summer of 2007 making it his bitch all over Southern California. Don't get us wrong, he loves the bike. but sometimes it just won't listen. That's kind of the love/hate nature of old choppers, though. They're a lot of fun and get you plenty of street cred, but you're gonna log plenty of hours keeping them up and running or pay out the cornhole to get someone else to do it.
Mike had wanted an old Triumph for a long time: "I'm always tinkering with cars and wanted an old chopper but couldn't afford a pan or knuckle. I liked the simplicity and gizmo-iness of this type of bike. Getting my hands dirty. It's like an antique watch you pay attention to to keep it running." He passed a lot of time searching the local Cycle Trader for one, but eventually an old pal hipped him to an ad on Craig's List. The owner was selling off his bike collection to pay some medical bills and Mike was more than willing to facilitate that with a little coin.
The Triumph was in great shape when he picked it up. A shakedown cruise revealed a bunch of little things in need of minor tweaking, like the carb. Most of the other work needed was cosmetic. There were a few things he changed like the seat, tank, and bars. He re-powdercoated the wheels, added some simple bolt-ons, and basically cleaned it up.
After that it was time for the flogging, and Mike didn't skimp on the beatdown. By summer's end it was time for comprehensive motor maintenance. During the overhaul he came across a lovely surprise-a nice crack through one of the top motor mounts that traveled around the diameter of the front down tube. Had it failed while Mike was on the road it would've been game over. Since he was pulling off the top end to redo the valves and their guides, it was a great opportunity to correct the problem. The stock front engine mounts were ground off, to be replaced by later-style removable plates once the front down tube was slugged, plated, and welded up.
Putting the chop back together wasn't all Mike's doing, though. Wes White of Four Aces Cycle in Pacoima, California, is a bit of a Triumph nut (he runs his own at Bonneville each year). Tony and Andy Dunn of Classic Cycles were also a big help with the reassembly.