I forgot to post this last year when all of the Diamond Jubilation hullaballoo was going on… well here it is: the original silver celebration Triumph. A limited edition red, white (well silver really) and blue seven fifty Bonnie. That’s Ma’am as in jam, not as in farm… or so they say!
“I should like to be a horse” Elizabeth Windsor
Assembly Required: here are a few evocative shots of the Meriden factory line where the 750’s are being built. The last embers of a decades long industry. A tough time for the strong British manufacturers; cars and bikes alike.
Elbow grease and graft. Making products that go around the globe.
The day after Christmas is of course the observed holiday for tradesmen, service personnel and other workers of the world (well in some Commonwealth related countries). The day after that is all back to business for the grafters… Here are two nearly identical photos of a Triumph assembly line 3 decades apart; one lad is working on a 750 on a Meriden Co-op line, the other a beefy Thunderbird 1600 of more recent manufacture.
Factory life is an interesting aspect to review especially related to the British motorcycle industry. Next few days we’ll investigate.
Four Legs or Two Wheels: if you join The Force you could get to ride either. The 70’s Triumph set up with ‘blues and two’s’, tank mounted ‘phone and tall fairing give the Roz on a Rumble an imposing view of the traffic of the day. I can’t imagine giving chase at speed with that conical front brake! Cheery kids look like they’re having fun on both steeds while the local Bobby’s look on.
Saw this Bonnie on Craigslist earlier… under those long legs and sissy bar is a nice little runner. Banana yellow for a banana bike. Two and a half grand and she’s yours. This was the first year of the oil-in-frame set-up and was supposedly a tall seat. You’ll need an upended crate to get on this perch!
As Harry Belafonte said:
‘Work all night on a drink a’ rum
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Stack banana till the mornin’ come
Daylight come and me wan’ go home”
A year after my ’72 Bonnie 650 Triumph updated the model to meet the demands of riders as well as the faster roads. Capacity was increased to 750cc; another gear added for high speed cruising (hence the V in model #); shifting pattern was flipped to the left side, like the asian and american moto market; disc brakes added up front and in’t rear; and cast spoked wheels all combine to achieve an overall functional flair that still makes these machines very roadworthy… put new rubber on the rims (Avon Roadrider), stainless steel brake lines & caliper pistons, Progressive fork springs and Hagon rear shocks and off you go! On offer in Chicago on Craigslist today for $3,500…
T140V 1976
A comment from Mr Bill Ferry, Carlisle UK yesterday in regards to the image of the fine example of a late sixties Bonneville, considered by many to be the best of the bunch, I noted that if that was the 60’s icon Audrey Hepburn of motorcycles then my early 70’s Bonnie could be another actress of that latter decade: Charlotte Rampling. the demure, mysterious lady of such movies as The Night Porter and Farewell my lovely among others.
Yes, yes, Lynn Redgrave was the titular protagonist in that classic British drama film from the late sixties but Charlotte was the flat mate Meredith in that movie which became a launching point for her career. But, hey! Geordie Biker meets Georgy Girl!
“Hey there, Georgy girl
Swingin’ down the street so fancy-free…”
During the slow agonizing decline of the formerly world dominating motorcycle industry, some engineers (Doug Hele) were clutching at ingenious straws to defend themselves from the powerful and reliable machines entering the market from Japan. One curiosity was this litre sized ‘bitsa’ a Trident 750 with another barrel and piston tacked onto the existing threesome gubbins.
NVT should have been upgrading machining, getting buildable and competitive product out, going after Honda and Kawasaki directly with say a 900 triple. But that was Blighty in the seventies and it took another four decades to have the Phoenix rise again.
Watching an old Top Gear today they had the delightful Joanna Lumley as their Star in a Reaaonably Priced Car. Though currently known as the colorful Patsy Stone on Absolutely Fabulous she was an action girl with attitude in ‘the day’. Her role as Purdy in The New Avengers was iconic due to that stylish haircut: I remember my sister wanting that very cut back then. Her mode of transport was typically a little roadster but I’ve unearthed this great shot of her on an appropriate Honda dirt bike; probably used when the TR7 got bogged down along some country lane.
This could be a photo of my very first toy motorcycle: it’s my fourth birthday 1975, and I’m getting ready to blow my few candles out. In the lower right corner of the image is a toy Matchbox Chopper. Just look at those National Health specs…
Here it is larger… an elephant header wide wheeled moto with ape bars and tall sissy bar. At least it has two wheels!
…when those four are on the corners of a smasher of a sports car from the seventies. In this case the unparalleled Triumph TR6 the young sibling of earlier raceworthy greats like the TR2 or alternative cousin to the sweetlined, albeit underpowered, Spitfire. The inline 2.5l six gave oomph enough for a spirited drive around the countryside. The proportion of the square jawed body with large wheels designed by the German Karmann house gave this sportster a fresh and desirable look for any respectable driving glove-clad, tweed cap wearing ‘autophile’. Indeed the sparse dashboard provides the road-pilots cockpit; backed with wood and instrumented by Smiths.
The Swapmeet was like a virtual museum of many marques; here a timeline of “the nicest people’s” Honda. The stepthrough 70cc mobility to the masses and London cabbies.
Another classic is the mid sixties CL77 Scrambler. 305cc brethren of the Super Hawk. Nice monochromatic colour scheme achieves a Kodak Tri-X film quality. A Henri Cartier Bresson visage of the motorcycle – Purely Classic.
With the oil crisis of the seventies well under way, the reliable mid-sized Japanese bikes came into their own, the next generation CB350 became the moto of commuters, tourers and others having their eyes opened to the open road. This tangerine model with black flash on the tank was a mini-superbike, but no lesser, sibling to the world dominating CB750. Magic stuff. Now this model is a great base for cafe racers at hipster hangouts far and wide.
Finally, the gargantuan CBX, six cylinder powerhouse of smooth behemoth-like traction. The pipework is a work of plumbing art. Six into One.
When you’re on a Triumph Trident T160 that is! A delightful triple cylindered moto which took the British bike industry a step further into the seventies. However Honda and Kawasaki were waiting in the wings with their impeccable ‘superbike’ fours, the CB750 and 900cc Z1. Nevertheless the T160, here a ’75 model, was a suitable ride for distance and twisty road work. Electric starter, disc brakes and plush ride, what more could ya want? This bike begat Slippery Sam as well as The Hurricane: both examples for the waning Meriden years to be proud of (to some degree…)
Rollie Free stripped down to his bathing trunks to reach 150 mph at The Salt on The Vincent; creating one of the most iconic motorcycle images. Is this a way to achieve speed on a Bonnie 750? This slim gal is assuming so.
…heres the Vincent photo…
