1967 Triumph Bonneville

T120RDU51853

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Normal 0 0 1 751 4284 35 8 5261 11.1280 0 0 0 GARAGE SALE AUCTION LOT: Motorcycle and assorted, stashed 650 spares 1967 TRIUMPH 650 BONNEVILLE Aubergine over Glacial White T120RDU51853 (matching numbers) 48 miles Restored, drained and parked since 2000. Showroom condition Remaining collection of 2.5 gallon GAS TANKS, unstamped ENGINE CASES, mechanical bits, odds and sods. --- IT’S SPRINGTIME AND I’M CLEANING OUT MY GARAGE. At seventy years old, I’ve been retired as a lifetime mechanic and am simplifying my life. Milding my manners. Sleeping in later. Reading the paper in its entirety. Ignoring the phone. With admitted pleasure, it’s great not having any more daily grease stuck under my nails and the thought of performing another oil change on anything is losing its appeal by the day. I went wild on British twins as a kid and even wilder collecting them later as an adult. Some got restored and ridden, some were just parked and admired. This is my last one, my favorite, along with a few boxes of tasty bits. I’m not into feather-dusting a museum any more. Like fishing, it’s always a thrill to catch, but better to release. HARDLY USED AS A MOTORCYCLE, ADMIRED MORE AS A BACK ALLEY, PIN-UP DARLING. I never tire of glancing at this bike from across the garage. Ridden after a restoration for about fifty miles, it’s been idle as blue-collar, industrial art for almost fifteen years. Without rocket science or primetime auction hype, here’s the rundown… Started as a matching number, low-mileage, complete, yet tired, motorcycle deserving a nut and bolt restoration as needed in 1998: Fresh lacquer black frame, bottom end bearings, top end piston/rings/valves. Re-laced wheels, repainted tanks. Thoroughly inspected, cleaned and reassembled with NOS and repro trimmings: Seat, fenders, clocks, taped wire harness, carbs and air cleaners, bars, Granturismos and Dunlop K70s. Gaskets, chain, cables and the original matching Union key sets finish it off. A Boyer ignition and newer Amal Concentric carbs are installed, with the original point sets, backing plates and Monoblocs included in the spares. SHOW ME A DUSTY, TOOL CALENDAR MODEL WITH A FEW HICKEYS AND I’LL SHOW YOU A MECHANIC WHO APPRECIATES HER SPECIFICATIONS AT A DISCOUNT. The restoration has held up nicely with showroom luster. Cosmetically, there are no obvious warts, scratches of dents. Look closely and notice the front wheel hub has some slight oxidation where the paint sprayed thin. Rubber knee skins were never applied to the gas tank after repaint. The recalibrated clocks sit in chrome cups instead of stock black laquer. THE TRUTH ALWAYS LEAKS OUT. Mechanically, after fifteen years, it deserves a little attention over a six-pack and a rainy afternoon before hitting the road. Add gasoline and it will fire right up, but has an intermittent miss in the left cylinder. A clogged jet may be to blame. The rest of the bike functions as should with proper shifting, braking and lighting. This bike holds all its oils, too. No drip pan needed if it is just going to get parked and dusted in the manner it has ridiculously been accustomed to. MORE SPARE CANDY THAN AN EASTER BASKET. There’s a few 2.5 gallon 650 Bonneville tanks that need to find a new home, too. No rust, no fading, they are ready to use, all were undented, excellent NOS metal with no rust or filler, resprayed in enamel and clear from assorted Triumph color schemes. Badges and caps are perfect NOS, never used. Swap them out to suit your mood on this Bonneville without issue. 1. Burnished Gold with Black scallops and gray pinstripes. A stunning combination scheme of factory colors. Burnished Gold, a fine metallic, gilded yellow is brighter than the Gulden’s Mustard, browner Tiger Gold. Scallops are patterned from thinner 69 Bonneville style. This was an NOS 68 Bonneville tank, perfect metal, never used, but slightly dull and scratched. Expertly repainted in enamel years ago by Bob Myers, CycleColors. Never used since. Wiped clean and dusted, tank has never been waxed, had taps or mounting studs. 2. The same applies to the Jacaranda Purple tank with Silver stripe, pinstriped in gold, as seen on sixties Daytonas. Never used. 3. The Astral Blue tank with fuller White scallops and gold pinstriping is a seventies Tiger scheme. It is used and still looks perfect except for patchy paint touch up at rear mount area where seat rubbed and brazing once weeped. The remaining 650 spares include a new flat seat, assorted new and used carbs sets, headlights, pipes, badges and boxes of miscellany helpful to stuffing garage shelves. The unstamped engine cases in wood shavings and Burgess muffler are impossible to find and the rest just good to have around. CUTTING TO THE CHASE. It’s time for someone else to wake the bike up and ride it into the ground, part into milk crates and rebuild it again from scratch, to understand how special this nonsense all is. PICKUP. Within one hour of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania recommended. Cash preferred, due upon actual delivery and inspection, simply swapped for title, motorcycle and bits. Trusted Ebay seller with excellent rating. Bike is still currently nestled in a warm flat sipping hot tea over Castrol biscuits.