The history of the Triumph Bonneville is a long one, beginning in the late 1950’s and continuing on into the present. The Bonneville is named after the Salt Flats in Utah, where Triumph and other motorcycle companies would set land speed records. The motorcycle first became popular in the 1960’s and was well regarded for its speed and price in comparison to other motorcycles available at the time.
The Triumph Company went through many ups and downs throughout the years taking the Bonneville on a ride with it. After discontinuing production in the early 1980’s the Bonneville was revived in early 2000, leading to the current model affectionately referred to as a modern classic.
The Beginning of Bonneville in 1959
The first motorcycle to carry the Bonneville name was the 1959 T120. The motorcycle was a hybrid of previous Triumph models and the design team was lead by Edward Turner. The 650cc engine had a delta head, twin carburetors, and a 4 speed transmission. Going on sale in the U.S. and U.K. at the same time the bike became an overnight success for the company.
The early Bonneville was not a perfect motorcycle, it was known to suffer from excessive vibration, had a tendency to weave, and the heads would easily crack. Yet it made up for its flaws with style and speed for a reasonable price.
In 1963 Triumph switched to a unit construction in order to fix some of the problems with the bike. The pre-63 Bonneville’s are highly sought after by collectors of classic motorcycles. The pre-unit construction consisted of the engine and transmission as two separate units, which were connected by a primary drive chain, contributing to many of the Bonneville’s mechanical issues.
The post 1963 unit construction model combined the engine and transmission into a single aluminum housing. Other changes included additional bracing for the swing arm and steering head. The down tube was changed from a twin down tube to a single down tube. These changes continued to contribute to the Bonneville having a stiff and rough ride. The new construction also fixed the problem with the cracked heads.
Even with the vibrations and rough ride, by 1967 the Bonneville only increased in popularity, going from 6,300 units sold in 1963 to 28,700 units in 1967, according to the documentary Story of the Triumph Bonneville.
The 70’s to 80’s
The 1970’s saw an increase in competition by Japanese motorcycles, which were able to manufacture a more reliable alternative to the British. Triumph switched the Bonneville to an oil-in-frame construction which reduced the amount of oil in the bike causing them to run hot. And in 1975 the gear change lever was moved from right to left, and some emissions changes were performed to comply with regulations introduced for the American market. With increased manufacturing costs and market regulations the price of the motorcycle increased also hurting sales.
In 1977 following a strike, the Triumph factory became a co-op, further contributing to the higher cost of the motorcycle. Although Triumph upgraded the engine to 750cc’s with the T140 model, the build quality dropped further reducing Triumphs ability to compete with Japanese motorcycles.
Although the company was in decline, Triumph did attempt to make improvements to the Bonneville, such as the T140 AV. The AV (anti-vibration) was an attempt by Triumph to recover from the stigma that plagued the Bonneville. Some other attempted changes were a U.S. spec bike known as the T140D, featuring a 2 into 1 exhaust and a smaller tank to look more like the cruisers popular within the U.S. In 1981 Triumph released the limited edition Bonneville Royal Wedding to commemorate the wedding of Prince Charles and Diane. The motorcycle featured an electric start and chrome tank.
The last year of official production for the Bonneville was 1982 with the final bike rolling off the Meriden production line in January of 1983. From 1985 to 1988 a limited production model was sold by Less Harris of Newton Abbot, and only released in the U.K. market.
The Modern Bonneville
Beginning production in 2000 the Hinckley factory began building the new Bonneville. The first new Triumph Bonneville was released in 2001 with a 790cc engine, later upgraded to 865cc’s. The engine is a modern version of the same parallel twin, twin carburetor engine sold in previous models.
In 2008 Triumph changed from a motor with a carburetor, to a fuel injected model. The 2008 model also saw some minor styling changes as well. As of 2008 there are three versions of the Bonneville available: the basic Bonneville, the Bonneville T100, and the Bonneville SE. All three versions use the same 865-cc engine.
