Southern Triples Rally Roundup

5th Southern Triples Rally 2017 Hahndorf (9-12 March 2017)

This year the ‘Southern Triples Rally’ for BSA Rocket Three and Triumph Trident riders was moved to South Australia at the request of several triple owners in SA. The previous four southern triples rallies were held in southern NSW to compliment the well-established and very popular northern NSW triples rallies organised by Col McAndrew in Ballina and now Evan’s Head.

So, it was that Gerry Rowley, Steve Cramp, Geoff Kemp and the Tri-Spark team got together to organise this Rally in the picturesque tourist town of Hahndorf in the Adelaide hills to promote the use and enjoyment of these machines.

Many of the thirty or so entrants travelled from as far as New South Wales, Canberra, Queensland and Perth to get there (it is nearly 1200Km from Canberra). The venue was the Hahndorf Resort just south of the village with its fantastic hills vistas and excellent amenities.

To kick things off we had a BBQ dinner in the camp kitchen, organised by Joanne Kelly. This was a very pleasant evening with balmy conditions and the casual surroundings were perfect for getting acquainted with fellow triplers.

The presentation dinner on Saturday evening was at the restaurant in the Resort where we enjoyed a great meal and some thirst quenching after a great day of riding. The award presentations followed the meal with some noteworthy outcomes. Ian and David Wright (Brothers) won awards for their beautifully restored early T150 and T160. Paul Edwards won the best special for his Legend. Steve Mobbs won the Best BSA Rocket 3. The heroic Tim Tapsell won the ‘furthest traveled award’, well deserved for riding his T160 to and from Sydney! The award for best Hurricane went to Steve Cramp while the award for best Drum Brake Trident went to Ian Matthews, both of South Australia. 

Many commented on the caliber of the bikes which are an absolute credit to their owner’s efforts to keep them up to this very high standard. Plans are already being discussed for a next triples rally event in Gunning NSW for 2018 and perhaps back to South Australia after that.

Southern Triples Rally 2017

Tri-Spark are sponsoring a rally exclusively for riders of pre 1976 British triple motorcycles based in Adelaide South Australia 

Southern Triples Rally #5 - Friday 10th to Sunday 12th March 2017

Your Organisers -  Gerry Rowley - Geoff Kemp - Stephen and Joanne  Kelly - Steve Cramp

Based in the historic German town of Hahndorf
Hahndorf Resort Tourist Park (Big 4)
Mt Barker Road, Hahndorf SA

Rides through the picturesque Adelaide Hills along winding country roads through historic towns and villages

Show & Shine, Trophies, presentation dinner and social activities

Book your accommodation early! Hahndorf Resort, Cabins, Cottages, Caravan and Camping sites. http://hahndorfresort.com.au/ Tel 1300 763 836

Old Mill Motel http://www.hahndorfoldmill.com/accommodation/
Tel 08 8388 7888

Register your interest - contact Gerry Rowley 0477 250 749
or email AdelaideTriples@gmail.com    website http://tmra.org.au/southerntriples/

All British Rally 2014 - Newstead Victoria

 This year the weather was kind allowing us a great opportunity to visit with our customers and then get busy with some installations. With willing onlookers ready to lend a hand we installed 3 twin systems at our site - all in record time. The rally is a great way for us to see first hand how the ignition works on different bikes and the amazing thing I found was just how quick and easy it is to install - even under less than the ideal workshop conditions. This was our sixth year at the ABR and it just seems to get better and better!

Aussie Triples Rally 2013 Winning BSA

Travelling 2,000 kilometres by motorcycle is a feat in itself but when the trip is completed on a classic bike then it makes the expedition even more courageous.  This is exactly what Gerry Rowley did in 2012 to attend the Triples Rally when he rode from the Gippsland area of Victoria to Ballina in the Northern Rivers region of NSW where the rally is held annually. He would have repeated the trip in 2013 too but due to various circumstances he ended up taking two bikes on a trailer along with a mate to ride the second one.

This year he brought his 1969 Rocket 3 and his 1969 Triumph Trident T150 to Ballina and both bikes are beauties. Gerry keeps them in tip top condition. Obviously everyone else who participated in the rally thought so too as he took home rally awards for both motorcycles including Best BSA 2013 for the Rocket and Best Drum Brake Trident for the T150.

Gerry says he’ll probably ride up for the 2014 rally because he knows that whichever bike he rides, it will cover the distance without a hitch. He’s that confident because he’s got Tri-Spark digital electronic ignition systems installed on both bikes. Whether he rides one of these bikes or his 1974 Norton Commando 850, which also has the Tri-Spark system installed, he knows he’ll get to his destination no matter how far away it is.

 So delighted is Gerry with the trouble-free riding he now enjoys that when he takes delivery of a Rob North BSA currently being built, it too will have a Tri-Spark system installed before a final tuning on the dyno.  For him a Tri-Spark system has become a mandatory component.

“I tried other units before I discovered the Tri-Spark system and I just wasn’t happy with them,” Gerry explained. “I like to keep maintenance on my bikes to a minimum and Tri-Spark does the trick giving me superior starting and better riding especially on the three cylinder models.”
Gerry says initially Tri-Spark was recommended by another satisfied customer. Since then, he has recommended Tri-Spark to at least three other classic bike riders.

“It’s a very easy system to install so there’s just no reason to put up with inconsistent starting, kickbacks or backfiring.” Gerry said. “I can set out on a trip knowing I can enjoy the ride without a worry.”

Aussie Triples Rally 2013

Our roving reporter Norma Flint attended the 2013 Aussie Triples Rally in Ballina NSW where Tri-Spark was a hot topic amongst rally participants. Riders who had Tri-Spark Digital Electronic Ignitions Systems installed on their bikes were so pleased with the trouble-free riding they were experiencing that they were happily sharing the reason why with other riders.

One of these was Danny Ryan who was delighted with the way his bike had performed on the 200km Saturday ride. He said he’d tried various options in the past before discovering Tri-Spark “but, they just didn’t perform as well,” he stated. 

It was a lucky day for him then when he bumped into Steve and Joanne Kelly at the Triples Downunder Rally some 7 years ago!  He purchased a Tri-Spark system soon after and hasn’t looked back. “Tri-Spark fires individually unlike other options making it much more reliable,” Danny explained.

As a result he now has Tri-Spark units fitted on his 1968 Triumph T150T and his 1972 T150V and more recently, he’s installed one on his 1981 Bonneville and he’s a happy man.“My bikes are easier to start now and run much more smoothly,” Danny said. “Also, when I place an order with Steve a unit soon arrives and they are easy to fit.”

Similar comments were repeated by several of the 55 plus participants throughout the three days of the rally.  It’s good to know that Tri-Spark has improved the riding pleasure for so many classic motorcycle enthusiasts.

Ben's 850 has a History

Ben Woolven dropped by to see us at the All British Rally this year with his very tidy and completely original Norton Commando Interstate 850. He's quick to point out that there's a story behind this bike which he imported from a collector in the UK.
It turns out that this is the actual bike that was displayed at the NVT stand at Earls Court London in 1975. Ben will not hesitate to compare serial numbers and show you the photo of a very pretty model sitting on the bike at Earls Court. Good on you Ben - thanks for a great story!

All British Rally 2013

In Newstead Victoria once again the riders were blessed with clear weather and a warm evening for camping out. This event keeps on getting better!

This is our opportunity to meet the riders and see their bikes and understand their chalenges.

It's a good thing I brought a few tools to assist with the installations and repairs going on around our site. We installed ignitions on a T150 Trident, Norton Commando and a Triumph Bonneville - all humming along nicely after the transplant!

2012 Manx GP entry

Update from Steve Robins:
Mark Parrett the rider and I spent the weekend at the Beezumph track days and rally in Anglesey a few weeks back, fine tuning the gearbox and other small annoyances. Mark was very pleased with the Rocket 3 now and feels the bike is a much better all-round package than it was 2011, with more attention to detail.

As usual the Tri-Spark fired the bike at the first turn of the rear wheel which is a big challenge for an ignition system with the huge porting on the R3 cylinder head and 33mm carbs, of course with such large carbs the pilot jet is almost ineffective so the ignition has to fire the bike with a huge amount of fuel from the 270 main jets and a very large volume of air passing through. Quick starting capability is of the greatest importance at the Manx GP because of the 240 Km distance covered a refuel at the half way stage is necessary, where the engine must be stopped and restarted after the refuel. Poor starting in pit lane can cost the race during this exercise.

There is a lot more competition this year in the Formula Classic race this year with six Triples entered, a few Honda 4s and at least two Norton Commandos, but even with this competition we are confident and looking forward to what we hope will be a successful two weeks at the Manx and bring home the win in the Formula Classic race again on the Tri-Spark powered BSA Rocket 3.

Best regards

Steve Robins (aka) Snibor

picture courtesy of  DJG Photography +44 7791647414

Where we're exhibiting in April

Our first exhibition for 2012 will be at the Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza running from 6-8 April at Broadford in Victoria. Check out our site in the road race area for new products and displays. Hosted by Motorcycling Australia, you can find out more about this great family oriented event on their website www.ma.org.au




We're also participating in the All British Rally again this year which is at Newstead Racecourse Reserve in central Victoria from 28-29 April. Come and check out our site - we will have some new products and displays for our 4th appearance at this event hosed by the BSA association. check out their www at www.bsa.asn.au

Manx Grand Prix 2011

We’re planning to attend the Manx GP this year to support Steve Robins entry, Rob North Rocket 3 – 850cc in the Senior Formula Classic race.

Steve Robins has been a Tri-Spark supporter from the beginning first using the systems on his own bikes and later recommending them, and even fitting some, for riders in the Brisbane area. With two spark plugs per cylinder, the racer will be fitted with dual output coils connected to the Tri-Spark triple adjustable control box. This is a sequential system that fires the coils only as needed so there’s no wasted sparks. This system has optimum coil saturation even at high RPM due to the sequential firing method plus an adjustable rev limiter and advance slope adjustment.

Steve commented “With the punishing 4 laps (and about 20 laps of practice) of the 60Km circuit at the Isle of man at extreme revs (between 7000-9000RPM for about 1.5 hours at a time ) every aspect of the motor and chassis has to have extreme attention to detail applied and the very best solutions available in the market to increase the chances of finishing let alone winning . Having used the Tri-Spark Ignition systems, Coils and Regulator/Rectifiers for some years trouble free and very successfully it was a no brainer selecting the ignition and other electronic components - Tri-Spark.
We have a serious line up in the Triple pit crew on hand at the Manx with Charlie Barnes, John French, Pat Brown (from Triples Rule), Gary Woodcock and of course Steve Kelly all assisting . We will be based in Ramsey and no doubt will have a few beers at the Trafalgar pub in the evenings so anyone coming over for the event make sure you look us up.”

Magneto Replacement Kit

There was a great deal of interest in our new Magneto Replacement kit that we launched at the All British Rally. This kit includes an alloy housing for bolting the classic twin system onto the engine where a three bolt flange mount magneto would normally sit.

This is a 12 volt system that also includes a twin lead ignition coil with the electronic ignition.

Introductory pricing $549 Australian for the kit.

View with the cap removed

All British Rally Draw Prizes

We pulled the winners names out at 4pm on the Saturday of the All British Rally with the help of Richard from Montimedia (left in photo). Montimedia look after our web hosting and have been a great help with setting up our web site and ecommerce. We highly recommend Montimedia for any of your IT needs.

The winners were:

First prize a $200 Tri-Spark voucher – Tony Pocock

Second prize a $150 Union Jack voucher – Julie-Ann Brennan

Third prize a set of Tri-Spark coils – Stephen Edwards

Fourth prize a Tri-Spark voltage regulator – G. Hodgson

Congratulations to you all and thank you to all those who entered.

All British Rally 2011

Three years ago in 2008 we launched the 'Classic Twin' ignition system at the all British Rally in Campbells Creek Victoria.

This year we're back again at the new rally location in Newstead with more new products and promotions. We really enjoy this rally and love seeing our customers and their bikes. It's in it's 35rd year this time running from Friday the 8th of April to Sunday the 10th at the Newstead Racecourse in Newstead the event is sure to be a hit with motorcycling enthusiasts and visitors alike.

Now two weeks before the traditional Anzac day and Easter weekend and with expanded facilities, great local catering, extended pub hours and such a great site the organisers expect more than 1000 British bike enthusiasts.

Tri-Spark will be featuring 2 new products - Our High Output Alternator kit and a much asked for Magneto Replacement Kit. The latter may not be in full release mode but we will be displaying a prototype if not actual parts, and will definitely be taking orders.

Only British iron and tents are allowed on the main site but there is plenty of mixed camping around the track and the organisers confirm there will be the usual feast of exotica, entertainment, trophies and a great atmosphere.

Soaking up the unique "British only" atmosphere, catching up with old friends and making some new ones while viewing the huge range of veteran, vintage, classic and modern bikes will be fantastic as will seeing the latest industry and trade offerings.

Location Newstead Racecourse Newstead Victoria

Contact Michael Poynter 0427 315 212

Triples Down Under

The Triples Down Under rally was held in Canberra back in March and what a great event is was, 27 '68-'76 BSA and Triumph triples showed up for some trouble free scenic riding around the capital.

Read about the rides on the TDU site (including a brief mention of Steve's spill, he's recovering nicely thanks) and be sure to check out the numerous photos.

Greg Carmody won the Tri-Spark sponsored T160 Cup, with his tidy white example.

We are proud to have been involved in this years event and look forward to next years installment on the Gold Coast. See you there!