3HW ODYSSEY Words and photos Barry Newman
My first meeting with the Triumph 3HW came in the summer of 2009 while in Nelson at a 50th celebration for the Triumph Bonneville. Outside on a trailer was this strange little bike. Being new to this old bike business (I had only recently purchased my '77 Bonneville Silver Jubilee Bonneville that year) I asked my friend and Triumph guru Phil Taylor what it was, and became fully informed of its identity and brief history. The 3HW was a 343cc, single cylinder 4 speed motorcycle based on the Tiger 80, and produced from 1942-1945 for the UK War Department, being used mainly by dispatch riders. Approximately 28,500 were produced in all. They were very popular with the Royal Navy but used by all services, serving in Europe and the Middle East. This bike was a 1945 model according to the frame number, and belonged to a doctor who had moved to Nelson from Dunedin. He had purchased the bike from Madjan Motors in New Delhi while working in India and as you can see from the photo it was pretty much pulled off the scrap heap and “restored” for the cost of 45,000 rupees (approx. NZ $1,000 today). The bike was then shipped to New Zealand, arriving in March 1999. The reason for the bike being at the Bonnie do was that the owner was off to work in Canada and was looking to sell it. The next time I saw the bike was in Phil’s garage along with his other 20 plus Triumphs. Three years later having carried out a rebuild and minor restoration of a 1970 Triumph Tiger I felt like another challenge. Negotiations and a bottle of wine led to the purchase of the 350, with the totally unrealistic intention of riding it to Whangarei for the 2013 National Motorcycle Rally. As Phil had never had the bike running, and to his knowledge the previous owner had only ridden it a couple of times after long downhill bump starts, I figured getting it going was probably the best plan initially. After lots of kicking, tinkering and tweaking, success was achieved and the bike would start and run, sometimes better than others, but I wasn’t too unhappy with my results. Intentions for the bike were to restore it cosmetically to what
The Triumph 3HW as purchased from Madjan Motors, New Delhi. ▲
20 Beaded Wheels
it would have been back in the day. Regarding the mechanical side I thought, as it ran, they must have done a reasonable job in India (can you see the flaw in my plan?). After it was stripped down the first job was to get fins on the barrel repaired. Some had small chips, some had huge chunks missing, and some were just missing. In all 24 separate repairs were needed. This job was carried out by Rod Udstrom, a local retired engineer who was recommended to me for cast iron repairs. The frame, tinware, wheels and all the shiny stuff went to Adam North for painting. He also helped me find the correct census number and badges for the tank and guards. Meanwhile the gearbox was stripped to check if all was well, which was the case, and had reinforced my idea that they had made a reasonable job in India. A few things did need attention; new cup and cone bearings for both wheels, the brakes and steering head. Brakes were easily sorted by BNT Blenheim. I nearly had a heart attack when told that the wheel bearings could be sourced but would be approx $200 each for the front and about $400 each for the rear. After being told that
