Motorcycle Repair: Triumph Speed twin 1966, speed twin, british bike

Question
Dear Chris
I have just aquired an old Triumph 5TA speed twin.  The bike runs fine although produces quite a lot of white smoke.  I have checked the plugs and they are extremley sooty.  When I remove the plugs there seems to be quite a lot of engine oil around the plug and smoke comes out of the spark plug hole.  Do you think this is normal for a bike this age or does it need some major work like rings or a rebore.  Look forward to your reply  

Answer
Hi James.
 You could be running slightly rich, but most likely, that is because of the need for new rings.

 White smoke is usually an indication that the engine is burning off some oil.  I am not certain if that particular bike should be burning off any oil or not, but it is a British bike and they tend to be a bit more quirky in some ways than most others.

Check the compression and see what the repair manual says it should be.  If it is less than the specs say, then get the engine worked on.

Let me know what you find.
Good luck.
FALCON