Triumph Bonneville

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triumph
ZweiRadMuseumNSU Triumph Bonneville.JPG
Triumph Bonneville T120 in the German Two-Wheeler and NSU Museum
Bonneville
Manufacturer triumph
Production period 1959 to 1982
class motorcycle
design type Naked bike
Motor data
air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine
  • 649 cm³ with 34 kW (46 PS) , 178 km / h
  • 744 cm³ with 40 kW (53 PS) , 178 km / h
drive Chain

Triumph Bonneville [ bɔnvɪl ] is a motorcycle series from Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. in Hinckley, UK. The prototype of the series called "Bonnie" was presented in 1958 at the Earls Court Motorshow in London. The series model came on the market in 1959.

Model history

The Triumph Bonneville emerged from the Triumph Tiger T110 , whose engine was enlarged from 500 to 650 cm³. It should be able to reach a speed of 120 mph (193.1  km / h ) with around 50 hp  . The engine of the T110 had to be thoroughly revised. So he got a new one-piece, forged crankshaft to withstand the higher power. The resulting T120 engine was tested in September 1956 on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in a streamlined machine. Test driver Johnny Allen set a new motorcycle world record of 214.5 mph (345.2 km / h), which led to the model name Bonneville . The motorcycle was built in various stages of development until 1980 in the old Triumph plant in Meriden . After the economic collapse of Triumph and the takeover of the insolvent company by the building contractor John Bloor, the English Triumph dealer Les Harris assembled several Bonnevilles from stocks and parts from June 1985 to 1988.

John Bloor re-founded Triumph in the 1980s; he moved the production site from Meriden to nearby Hinckley and built a completely new plant there. After Triumph had successfully re-established itself as a manufacturer with three- and four-cylinder motorcycles in the 1990s , a new two-cylinder version of the Bonneville appeared in retro style, also known as the Modern Classic at Triumph .

Models

Bonneville 650 T120 (1959-1973)

The original Bonneville was not only a very popular road machine, it was also a sporting success: it was the first series machine to achieve a lap of 100 mph at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man . The frame and lamps were changed in the 1960 model year. A five-speed gearbox was optionally available for the T120R from 1972. Production was stopped in August 1973.

Bonneville 750 T140 (1973-1980)

Main article: Triumph Bonneville T140

As more displacement and more power were required over the years, the Bonneville's engine was enlarged in 1973. In the first series, engines with 724 cm³ were delivered. The transmissions had five gears and were shifted to the right. The motorcycles had a Lockheed disc brake in the front wheel and a conical drum in the rear wheel.

The first engines of the T140 suffered from the same problem as the T120 with the oil-in-frame chassis: There was so little space in the frame that the engine could not be fully installed. On the finished, test-run engines, the rocker arm housings had to be dismantled again so that they could be installed in the chassis. To remedy this, a new crankshaft drive with shorter connecting rods was designed, which was correspondingly lower. The bore of these engines was slightly enlarged so that they had a displacement of 744 cm³. The cylinder block has only seven cooling fins instead of the previous eight, the bumpers in the engine are shorter and other details on the engine and chassis are different.

For the 1976 model year, the T140 was given a left-hand gearbox to meet the new US registration requirements. At the same time, the rear drum brake was replaced by a disc brake.

At the end of 1978, the T140E (E = emission control) model with Amal MkII carburettors without float swabs appeared, as these were banned in the USA. Cylinder heads were used in which, for the first time in the history of the Bonneville, the intake ports ran parallel instead of V-shaped to each other. These heads were modified Tiger parts with intake manifolds adapted to the new carburettors, on which the carburettors were mounted with rubber sleeves. In addition, the outwardly almost unchanged, very strongly damping exhausts were used; Both changes together ensured that the performance of the T140E fell sharply and the already strong torque weakness became even stronger. Very few T140E models were produced in this version, which otherwise corresponds to the previous model.

After a short time, an electronic ignition of the Lucas Rita type was used and the upper triple clamp of the Triumph Trident was inserted on the telescopic fork, in which the ignition lock with the indicator lights sits in a housing between the instruments (instead of the ignition lock in the left lamp holder and the Lights in the headlight) and the instruments are mounted in cast holders with vibration dampers and no longer with chrome-plated holders on the upper fork plugs. In addition, handlebar controls were installed, as they had already been used on the Norton Commando MkIII and Triumph Trident T160. With this, at least in these points, a design was achieved that could follow on from the Japanese competitors.

For the rest of the construction period of the T140 model, there were only minor changes.

Bonneville special models

Triumph Bonneville 750 Jubilee (1977)

The special Jubilee model was launched on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's throne . The basis was the T140V model. The only difference between the Jubilee and the production model was the color scheme in blue, white and red. The edition was to be limited to 1,000 pieces each for the US and UK markets. However, due to strong demand, 400 more copies were made for Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Special (1980)

With the Special , Triumph followed the trend coming from Japan towards the so-called soft chopper . With 42 hp, the engine was designed a little weaker than in the series. The chopper look was achieved with a step bench, higher handlebars, light alloy cast wheels and a 2-in-1 exhaust system.

Royal 750 (1981)

On the occasion of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana on July 29, 1981, Triumph launched the special model Royal 750 . The basis was the T140ES model. The machine had an electric starter, Marzocchi struts and cast light alloy wheels with double disc brakes. In addition to lots of chrome and polished aluminum, an "anniversary badge" adorned the steering head. 2,000 pieces are said to have been built.

Executive (1982)

The Executive was positioned as a touring motorcycle and had a set of cases with a topcase , handlebar cover and an electric starter as standard . It was available with spoked wheels and, at an additional cost, also with light alloy cast wheels.

See also

literature

  • David Minton: The Triumph Story. Haynes Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-85960-413-7 .
  • Jürgen Gaßebner: Typenkompass Triumph: Motorcycles since 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03158-6 .
  • Steve Wilson: Bonneville. 2nd Edition. JH Haynes & Co., 2008, ISBN 978-1-84425-549-8 . (English)
  • James Mann, Mich Duckworth: Triumph Bonneville, Portrait of a Legend. Haynes Publishing, 2011, ISBN 978-0-85733-017-8 . (English)

Web links

Commons : Triumph Bonneville  - Collection of images, videos and audio files