Joe Fischer’s lovely 1971 T150 Trident. Wrecked and burnt when he bought it, we’d say he’s done a heck of a job.
Rider: Joe Fischer, Burnet, Texas
Age: 66
Occupation: Retired technical manager
Rides: 1971 Triumph T150 Trident, 1974 Yamaha trials bike, 1979 Harley-Davidson FXS
Joe’s story: “I have owned my T150 for 16 years and 50,000 trouble-free miles. It is my third British motorcycle. My first was a 1967 BSA Lightning that I bought new in Virginia while in the Navy. In 1969 I rode the Beeza from New York to San Francisco. It was a handsome, reliable machine, but it vibrated like crazy. In 1971 I bought a new Norton Commando, which I enjoyed for 10 years. She was very fast, but reluctant to start in cold weather. All in all they are great bikes and deserve to be ridden and enjoyed.
“I bought the Triumph T150 Trident in 1996 and it was pretty rough. It had literally crashed and burned, but it ran and most of the pieces were there. When I got the bike home my wife thought I was crazy, but I wanted a new project, so work began. I did a top end job, added a new seat, replaced the fork tubes, rebuilt the transmission and carbs, added new exhaust and a Boyer ignition, new clutch plates, and did a lot of other little jobs. A friend did the base coat/clear coat paint job in the original colors. I did the work while I still had access to a complete machine shop before I retired, which helped a lot. It took me about two years to get everything as I wanted it. I retired to the Texas Hill Country in 2003, so the good riding roads begin at the end of my driveway. The bike is ridden weekly and starts first kick. I usually ride it solo because I am tall and Barbara (my wife of 40 years) says I scrinch her off the back of the seat. She does ride with me on the 1979 Harley on which she has her own perch. When I ride that old Triumph T150 Trident I feel 24 years old again.”
