Triumph T120 Bonneville
For many, the 1970 Triumph Bonneville is the model’s ultimate incarnation. Riding one, it’s not hard to be reminded why.
In 1777, writer and critic Dr Samuel Johnson opined: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” This quote can be adapted, I believe, substituting ‘Triumph Bonneville’ in place of London. For one cannot tire of Triumph’s immortal model, in all its incarnations and revisions, and if one is, then quite simply, get back on one and go for a ride. It reawakens the soul and stirs emotions, reminding us of why we primarily became interested in motorcycling: because it’s really good fun.
I thought this as I hooned about on Colin Jansen’s 1970 version, at the end of a long, hot day in the late summer of that dull and tedious year of 2020. We’d photographed many machines in one day of rare freedom, including the stunning A10 café racers of Colin and his brother Kevin (see December 2020 issue) as well as other motorcycles, and, well, it had been a long day. As the day drew near to its conclusion of intended activity, Colin basically said: “Here you go, have a ride on this.” And who was I to say no?
The Bonneville straight away reenergises one’s emotions; the timeless style starts the process, then, on firing it up, the rasping exhaust note turns the smile into a grin. A man’s tiredness (that’s me) becomes a distant memory, and I’m soon back, beaming, revelling in the Bonnie experience. It’s a brilliant tonic for flagging spirits or waning energy levels.
Colin’s example
From seeing and experiencing the superb job Colin has done on his and his brother’s pair of A10s, then one knew that his Bonnie was going to provide a joyful experience; and so it proved. Colin’s not really a Triumph man, BSAs being more his thing, but the Triumph has the feeling of a nicely sorted, well-fettled machine. Not that Colin’s taking the credit, he’s quick to point out.
“I bought it pretty much as it is,” he starts. “Though I did put a brand-new set of carbs on it. It had a bit of an intermittent fault when I got it, so we cleaned out the carbs, but it still wasn’t right, so we tried swapping them about, but then decided it was an electrical problem, so started looking into that, but couldn’t find anything. In the end, I tried the carbs off my brother’s Bonnie. Perfect. So I bought a new set of Concentrics and there’s been no problems since.”
Other than the mudguards ‘were falling apart’ and needed sorting out, that’s about the sum total of work done, in the seven years Colin has owned the Northampton-registered machine.
“Touch wood, it goes – and has gone – very well,” Coin comments, “though it nearly broke my leg one day. I ended up with a bruise right from my knee to my ankle. We’d gone for a ride, Kevin and I, on the Bonnies [Kevin has a similar, US spec machine], and it was a horrible, wet day, but it was a local bike show we wanted to support, so we’d gone anyway.
“Leaving, I fired my bike up straight away, and then it just died. So I kicked it and it gave me an almighty belt. Kevin had to start it for me. But then his bike wouldn’t start, so it needed bumping, but I was in no state to give him a push!
“We always reckoned my bike had higher compression than Kevin’s but we’re not so sure now. In fact, he reckons he’s selling his, after it kicked back and hurt his ankle.
“But really, that incident apart, mine has been good. I did upgrade the clutch as well, with seven plates instead of six, as it’s reckoned they can be a bit susceptible to clutch slip.”
Colin’s lifelong love really has been BSAs and this is only the second Triumph he’s owned, after he had an ‘old Speed Twin years ago, back when we were daft.’ This one only came about as a pal had one and Colin was suffering with a dodgy hip, and a sit on the Triumph felt comfy, leading to him tracking this one down. Talking about how the Triumph has been, he reckons: “Maybe I should’ve bought one years ago…”
Though in fact when he bought this one, from a garage owner in Puckeridge, there was, there too, another Triumph Bonneville, a 1959 ‘tangerine dream’ which Colin fancied, but the proprietor wasn’t selling. Though Colin did all right with this one, I reckon.
The ages of Bonneville
Loosely, Bonnevilles can be split into four groups; namely Pre-unit (group one), Unit (two), T140
(three) and Hinckley (four) which can then further be subdivided. So, for example, in group one there are single downtube (1959) and duplex frame (1960-62), then within the unit category there’s pre-oil-in frame and oil-in frame, while there’s possibly another sub group in there which could be called ‘the widely acknowledged best’ (1968-70) but we’ll not get into what came next, the most often derided (so early oil-in-frame/OIF), although, again, there are advocates for those models, too. The T140 era lasted through from 1973, first listed as the T140V, with 744cc engine and five-speed gearbox, until the 1980s, the last built 1985-88 by Devon-based Les Harris.
It’s entertaining to think that the new generation Bonneville was launched in 2001, so 20 years ago this year. It’s fast approaching the longevity of the ‘original’ model. What came from Hinckley was effectively a bike designed purely and squarely at the nostalgia market, cleverly rightly realising that a 1968 18-year-old youth was now a 51-year-old grown-up, and the new launch was pitched exactly at those guys (and girls), who had either been away from motorcycling or grown tired of the speed-orientated machines that they’d had in the 1980s and 1990s. Either way, the Bonnie was going to appeal, as well as to the 1959 18-year-old too, enjoying his 60th birthday and possibly looking for a Bonnieshaped, but all-round modern, present. Triumph’s was an intelligent strategy.
In the intervening 20 years though, there’s been some revision with how the new Bonnies are pitched, attempting to appeal to a new clientele. There’s also
“A Bonnie isa brilliant tonic for sagging spirits.”