A quick doodle of the old Moto as she sits waiting for a quick tickle of the carbs and kick into life…
… I may do a short series of sketches as a study of the shapes, form and component of this bike.
December 3, 2012
Sketch Up!
December 2, 2012
May in December
The weather was in the unseasonable sixties today so the two Bonnie’s, both Deans and mine, were wheeled out and we wound our way northward along the well worn direction of Sheridan Road. The sun kept breaking through a haze of clouds through the leafless trees with promises of Spring rides months hence…
November 14, 2012
Sands of Time
I’m off on a trip back to blighty to see my family. Geordiebiker gan back to Geordieland! In my absence the blog will post some prearranged entries for your viewing delight. Biker Gals galore! The fairer sex seen with two-wheeled wonders, mostly Triumphs! Here’s an Hourglass birds-eye vantage of a Triumph T100 Bonneville…
M.M. – An hourglass in the sands…
October 23, 2012
Auf Weiedersehen Pet
“Workin’ on the site from mornin’ ’til night; that’s livin’ alright”
Back in the early eighties when there were only four channels on the Telly and over three million on the dole. One much watched programme in particular gave light relief and laughs to many. The adventures of three brickies from Newcastle whilst working in Dusseldorf, Germany. I watched one today where Oz, the irritating one with wisecracks galore superbly handled by the indefatigable Jimmy Nail, had a argument with some Germans and was sacked from his job, catching a bus to head back to England his compatriots chase after him. The only mode of transport is a Triumph Bonnie owned by the Brummie Barry, played by a droll Timothy Spall. The unspoken leader Dennis (Tim Healy) gets a backie from Barry to chase down the bus….
“Workin’ all day for a pittance of pay, then blow it all on Saturday night. And you kiss the dames, but you don’t ask their names, that’s livin’ alright!”
Of course Oz got his job back as the graftin’ bricklayer but he still had something against the Germans:
“‘Cos they’re the bastards that bombed me granny!”
October 17, 2012
ooh STOP!
…and if you’re going to go fast, you’ve got to be able to stop too! I’m slowly acquiring parts for the front end to set up a disc brake system. The conical drum brake standard to the ’72 T120R is okay for delicate slowing maneuvers but when you need to slam on the anchors then they’re more comical in reality, you always have to think ahead with traffic and have a potential run-off space – which you should do anyways when riding!
Basically as the front end of the late model 650 and it’s beefier 750 younger brother (the T140V or TR7) were much the same; all I have to do is swap out the fork lowers, add a caliper, hoses and brake lever with master cylinder, and change the wheel to a disc braked one. Well, the eBay searches have been going well, indeed some items are coming with extra stuff that I can flog off to pay for itself. Get some new seals, stainless hoses and stainless pistons then Bob’s yer uncle, the Bonnie will then ‘HALT’ on my two-fingered command!
With your feet on the air
And your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head’ll collapse
If there’s nothing in it
And then you’ll ask yourself
October 13, 2012
Rainy Day
A rainy day allows a few maintenance items to be addressed. Points sweetened, oil level checked and a sprint around a couple of blocks to warm the moto’s blood and blow out a few cobwebs. The throttle gives a firm grunt, brakes snap-to and movement both straight and cornering is supple. Hopefully another bright autumn day on roads yet lies ahead this year…
October 1, 2012
My Big Bruvver…
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
September 30, 2012
Surfs Up!
Tube and chopper rider, Scotty Stopnik takes to the air with an adept balance on his lightly bobbed Bonnie.
September 16, 2012
Motorcyclamatic
When processing a couple of yesterday’s photos through Instagram an effect evoking the original days of Triumph Bonneville ownership in the late 60’s or early 70’s is created. Snapshots on an instamatic.
September 6, 2012
Ten out of Ten
1. Boots? Sticky Dunlop Sportmax spooned onto Sun alloys – CHECK
2. Anchors? Kevlar wrapped lines, 6 pot Brembos on +12″∅ rotor – CHECK
3. Roadholding? Flat-track billet Tripletree holding beefy Buell forks – CHECK
4. Back end? Mule/Race Tech twin shocks… Nuff said! CHECK
5. Trim lines? Shorter Thruxton front fender and scalped rear ‘mudguard’. CHECK
6. Speedo? Naw! Just a tachometer. At Any speed this bike will handle. CHECK
7. Where’s the oil cooler? Neat integrated motor mount and cooler niftyness. CHECK
8. Riders perch? Superbike bars (Go Eddie Lawson!) stepped bumstop seat. CHECK
9. Engine? Lightly modded and carefully sweetened: rejetted; airbox eliminated; smidgen more ignition advance; bellowing high piped exhaust with barking mufflers. CHECK
10. Orange??? Yup! CHECK
Thanks to Richard Pollock of Mule Motorcycles for building this fabulous Triumph Bonneville for some lucky bastard. Thanks to Chris Hunter for posting this on his wonderfully inexhaustible Moto related website today.
August 2, 2012
Swinging Sixties
Like bears to honey: they not only sold bike with their velocity performance(race on Sunday; sell on Monday); but also with who you could attract whilst being the Captain of such a machine. By ‘Eck the Sixties looked fun. A photographer captures the sunny scene like David Hemmings character in Antonioni’s Blow-Up.
“it’s a six-fifty luv; fancy a ride?”
July 24, 2012
Behind Bars
A mint coloured late sixties Bonnie sliced into strips of envy like some zoetrope barrel flicker show.
June 28, 2012
Marcus Welby M.D.
The actor James Brolin, father of Josh, played a young doctor on the above titled show. He plays the ‘by the book’ practitioner Dr. Steven Kiley, against the elder Dr Welby with his unorthodox methods, played by Robert Young. The premise was a kind of ‘House’ of it’s day (that show starring another Triumph rider Hugh Laurie).
This late 60’s Bonneville promoted Brolin’s characters youthful exhuberance against the sedan driving Welby. Toting his doctors briefcase like that ain’t gonna be easy tho’!
June 3, 2012
Diamonds are Forever
Carbonized Twin: A Triumph dealer in Staffordshire has created a Diamond Jubilee special for this year… Silver-white tank with swooshing Union Flag motifs and a side panel marker depicting the commemoration.
… Or as Elizabeth Two might say, “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend”, and she should know, she owns a few!
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