Our Triumph T120R story
THIS STORY HAS IT ALL -A NEW TRIUMPH WITH ITS RISE AND FALL, REBIRTH AND EVEN SOME SINISTER GOINGS ON...
One family's life with their Bonneville. This story has it all, believe me!
IN r97r, WHEN RICH MUELLER LEIT THE ARMY, Triumphs, Nortons and BSAswere popular in northern Illinois.The first thing he and riding buddy Glen did once they were out of uniform was to buy new Honda CB450twins, but when his friend got the urge for a Bonneville and got a used 1970 Triumph, Rich decided to follow suit.
In March 1973,Rich walked into Morrie Gauger's Triumph dealership in Richmond, northern Illinois, and rode out on a brand new Triumph Bonneville T120R.He put around 12,000miles on the Bonneville over the next 10 years or so.
While the first Oil-in-Frame Bonnevilles had a bit of a reputation for problems, not least the seat height, at six feet tall this didn't bother Rich.
"Things were pretty partisan over here. You rarely came across people who would ride a Brit and consider a Japanese bike or vice versa," says Rich. "The Harley boys had their own clique. And the Jap bikes took off when Honda brought out the four cylinder models. Of course, the big 4-stroke Jap bikes were top dogs for all-out speed, but they could not compete for cool, as Steve McQueen set the example with his Triumphs. The different brands all had their loyal devotees. Myself and my pal Glen had some of each - the pair of 450s Hondas, our Triumphs, and Glen with his Harleys after that.
"My pal Glen and I typically rode on weekends around a two county area, no long road trips per se. The seat on the 72 is not exactly cushy after several hours on the road. We used to joke that it was like riding a fence rail by the end of the day. Glen had a succession of bikes, while I had a young family and the 72 T120 was it for me. He had a 74 T140 after I bought the T120, then a Harley Sportster a couple years later, and an 80 cubic inch Harley after that, likely an FLseries. I had no trouble keeping up on the Bonnie, until he would finally pull away in 4th gear."
With Triumph's management in confusion and the Meriden blockade in place, you might think that getting spares for the T120 might have been an issue, but despite Triumph's reputation at the time, Rich only needed to visit Morrie Gauger for spares once, to replace a scored piston. "That was the only mechanical issue, and the need to purchase spares, that I ever had with it."
In 1983 the Bonneville went into long-term storage at a friend's small farm. Initially it was stored inside a garage, but as the years went by, unbeknownst to Rich, it was moved to a different outbuilding that was less protected from the elements and the T120 was left to decay. •
A FAMILY REUNION
In 2016 Rich's son Ryan bought his first home, which came with a garage that had plenty of room for motorbike fettling. Of course, the thing to do was get the Bonneville loaded up and brought to its new home to be revived.
It was a bit worse for wear. Over the years mice had nested under the seat, chewing up wiring and causing a significant amount of corrosion from their droppings. Ryan set to work to rehabilitate the Bonneville with the goal of returning it to the road in mechanically sound, reasonably original condition. Despite the lengthy sojourn in the outbuildings, most of the parts could be renovated and re-used. The mice had done their worst on the wiring loom, so a new one was fitted, as was Podtronics reg-rec. This meant the Zener diode and selenium rectifier could be done away with. The rear taillight was upgraded with LEDboard conversion and Ryan cleaned and re-built the Amal carburettors, fitted new wheel bearings, cleaned and adjusted the brakes, and fitted new (and period appropriate) Dunlop K70tyres and tubes.
The years are never kind to seals, so the forks got a strip down and a new set, while the original steering head bearings were cleaned and re-packed with fresh grease.
The hi-rise bars that had been fitted by Rich were dumped in favour of reproduction stock bars. Those shiny megaphones are the same ones that were fitted in Meriden in 1972. "I found the original mufflers in Dad's crawlspace (loft)," says Ryan. "He had removed them not long after buying the Bonneville, in their place mounting a pair of peashooter-style mufflers. Thankfully, those aftermarket mufflers remained on the bike when it went into storage, and they bore the brunt of the elements and corrosion. The original megaphones went into plastic garbage bags and were stored in the crawlspace for decades. Time was far more kind to them, and I was able to polish them up and re-install them on the bike." Cables got changed, the clocks were refurbished and NJBshocks replaced the old original Girlings.
Ryan says that finding the few items needed to get the T120 rolling again wasn't as hard as you might think. "I haven't been in the parts-buying game long enough to know what vintage Triumph parts availability has been like historically here in the States, but I can say it is pretty good right now. Procuring spares has been about as easy as buying anything else online. There are about four or five suppliers in the States that I regularly tum to when searching for parts, and they almost always have what I need - usually multiple options to choose from at that. I have sourced most of my run-of-the-mill parts from suppliers in the US,simply because the cost of shipping is much less
of a factor. I have sourced parts from the UKwhen the item was more specialised and/or less commonly available from US suppliers.
"The rest of the work was largely cleaning, painting and polishing, but there is still more to come. I did not fully strip and re-paint the left-side side cover, instead I tried to clean and spot repaint the corroded areas to preserve the original paint and decal application. While cleaning it up I noticed a sizable bump on the bottom corner that was not present on the other cover. Upon closer inspection I discovered it was a paint drip that had dried hard. I get a bit of a kick out of the fact that this tiny little imperfection from the spray gun of a worker at the Meriden factory has survived all these years, so I figured I had best leave it alone for now."
Ryan says: "There is still corrosion here and there, and I have tried to balance stabilising the condition with leaving things original. Thankfully, all is well with the engine thus far. Apart from the top end coming off and having to repair the scored piston, it has never been apart.
"The next significant work will be removing, cleaning and re-painting the
swing arm. It is the last area with a fair amount of mice-related corrosion and needs to be addressed before it begins to affect safety. The gearbox has also become a bit fiddly - occasionally you end up between 2nd and 3rd gear. It has dropped out of 3rd a few times, and downshifting is a bit rougher than I think it should be. I plan to perform an inspect and repair as necessary on that this fall."
There aren't a lot of classic British bikes near Ryan's home of Urbana. "I mostly stick to the country roads, as they tend to seem safer and more enjoyable. That being said, I do venture into traffic on the T120R as well, and so far I haven't had any issues. I think I ride conservatively and defensively anyhow, and I try to be cognisant of the fact that I am on a 48-year-old motorcycle with the original drum brakes. I try to leave plenty of stopping distance and minimise positioning or situations that increase the odds of needing to stop aggressively. The few times where I have had to stop quickly, the brakes did the job without complaint or unnecessary drama. Thus far Ihave not had any mechanical issues with the brakes. I have not yet needed to replace the original shoes - though the fronts are now on the last click of the adjusters, so I have
"The gearbox has also become a bit fiddly, occasionally you end up between 2nd and 3rd gear. It has dropped out of 3rd a few times, and downshifting is a bit rougher than I think it should be. I plan to perform an inspect and repair as necessary on that this fall"
a fresh set on the shelf awaiting fitment. I have fully disassembled both front and rear brakes, cleaned all components, re-assembled and adjusted. Apart from the fiddly bit of re-fitting the shoes with the return springs, I did not run into anything particularly tricky with either front or rear brakes. Maybe there is something more difficult about fitting new shoes with the conical hub front? I don't know, but I will soon find out."
The Triumph seat latch for these model years is a source of bemusement. Ryan has found the seat latch only performs its duties when you're not seated on the bike. When you sit on the seat it compresses the rubber bumpers between the seat and frame, so the distance between the latch and catch is reduced and it falls open. Whenever the rider dismounts, they will find the latch hanging open. "Maybe it's only there to protect the seat from being thrown open by giant gusts of wind, or to discourage very lazy lookie-loos, I just don't know.
"People out in the yard will often look up as I go by, as the sound of a classic British twin is not very common around these parts. I am pretty much on my own where I live. This area tends to be mostly Harley-Davidsons or other V-twin cruisers, sportbikes, and the occasional adventure bike. I have seen a couple of Hinckley Triumphs around town, but I cannot recall seeing any other classic Triumphs on the road in my area."
Ryan tends to keep the revs low and treats the Bonneville with care, rarely passing 70mph. "It just seems like unnecessarily hard work for the old girl. I find the sweet spot for relaxed country road cruising to be about 50mph. 60mph works well for higher speed highway cruising. "