1970 Triumph Bonneville

ED50402TR6R

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I am Tom Klein, dba: Tom’s Cool Cars, a North Carolina Licensed and Bonded Independent Dealer Located In The Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I Specialize Exclusively in Collectible Automobiles, Trucks and Classic Motorcycles. My semi-retirement business since 2008, a continuation of my life long hobby. Offered For Purchase 1969 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE CLONE EXPLANATION: All Classic/Vintage Triumph experts, of which there seems to be a plethora, know 1969 and 1970 Triumph TR6R (Tiger) and T120R (Bonneville) bikes, including frames and engines, are identical inside and out with only two exceptions, one mechanical and one cosmetic. The TR6R engine is equipped with a single carburetor head while the T120R engine is equipped with a twin carburetor head, and the bikes had different paint schemes. The twin carb Bonneville frame and engine are each stamped T120R. The single carb Tiger’s are stamped TR6R. Some buyers preferred the simplicity (and slightly lower price) of a single carb engine. With the additional carburetor the Bonneville engine put out a few more horsepower but could be a bit challenging to keep tuned. The bike being offered here is an excellent clone of a 1969 T120R Bonneville. In fact, the engine is indeed a genuine 1969 T120R Bonneville engine. The frame is a 1970 Triumph TR6R Tiger Frame. This bike is painted in the original Option # 3 1969 Bonneville paint scheme. It is correctly North Carolina titled to the frame as a 1970 Triumph TR6R, a title that will readily transfer to any state in the country. This is like putting a 1969 Big Block engine in your 1970 Camaro. It remains a 1970 Camaro. HOWEVER, because you are dealing with two different body styles you simply cannot make a 1970 Camaro look exactly like a 1969 Camaro. BUT, in the case of this bike if you only decoded the engine serial number you would swear it is a 1969 Bonneville. Everything else except the VIN on the frame is exactly the same. HISTORY OF THIS BIKE: It was acquired in Florida in early 2009 by a dealer of classic Triumphs in Tennessee. He bought it to rebuild it for his personal use. The bike came with this T120R engine installed in the 1970 TR6R frame, just as it is now. It was painted a circa 1980’s funky custom paint job (I’ve included a “before” photo). There are also over a dozen parts on the bike that have been chromed, including major pieces like the front forks, the swing arm and rear brake drum cover. Check out the photos. I own a factory original 1970 matching numbers Bonneville and can be as much a purist as anyone. However, I think all the chrome on this bike really sets it off. I like it! The rebuild was carefully documented (which will be passed along to the new owner). All the work performed was mechanical and electrical. The bike was not repainted. Not counting the purchase price the cost of the work performed totaled $7,297.01. Major work included a Transmission Rebuild and a complete Engine Rebuilt from the crankshaft up. The list of parts installed is 4 pages long. A total of 107.5 man hours rebuild time was logged. In early 2012, having only ridden the bike 1,000 miles in 3 years, the owner decided he was too busy with his business to enjoy the bike and sold it to me. The first thing I did was go to work getting the bike correctly titled. When acquired in Florida the bike came with a title stating it was a 1969 T120R (Bonneville). It was titled to the engine number, not the frame number. How that happened will forever be a mystery. The new owner simply transferred the title to a Tennessee title. Tennessee DMV never inspected the bike so they never questioned it so it remained titled as a 1969 T120R. As a North Carolina licensed dealer I wanted the title corrected. I took the bike to my DMV inspector and the many months long not inexpensive process began. In the meantime I did away with the funky custom paint job from back in the day. The fenders, fuel tank, oil tank and took kit cover were painted as described above, paint scheme 3 for the 1969 Bonneville, by a friend's shop that specializes in vintage Indian, Harley and British bike restorations. And, I enjoyed putting a couple hundred miles on the bike this summer when I wasn’t riding another one of my bikes. I finally received the title just a couple weeks ago. This bike is now officially and correctly titled as a 1970 Triumph TR6R. INTERESTING STORY: I am located in the Blue Ridge Mountains right off the Blue Ridge Parkway (Google it). You might as well call it motorcycle heaven here. Freeborne’s Eatery & Lodge, a regionally famous motorcycling destination (you can Google it, too) is 5 miles from my home. On any nice Saturday or Sunday during the summer Freeborne’s is jumping. More often than not there are over 100 bikes in the parking lot at any given time, often more than 200! After I got it painted I enjoyed riding this Triumph to Freeborne’s, which I still do, where I park it right at the front porch. I then sit down on the porch and watch it draw a crowd. This bike draws a heck of a lot more attention than any other bike on the lot. Folks are constantly whipping out their phones and taking pictures and many just walk around it and stand admiring it for long periods of time. It also sparks discussions about who had one just like it back in the day. And, there aren’t any nit picking Triumph experts there saying, “this shouldn’t be chromed, that shouldn’t be chromed” and reading the serial numbers to see if it is “Numbers Matching.” It simply is a very cool great running classic Triumph that gets universal admiration. It is in excellent condition and will provide reliable enjoyment for an appreciative new owner for many years to come and for thousands less than it would cost for a matching numbers Bonneville in the same condition. My Buy It Now price is more than fair and far less than has recently been invested. The first astute person to agree will get themselves a very good deal. If you have a serious interest and have questions and/or would like to arrange a showing please call 336-372-7400 between 8 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time 7 Days. You can contact me directly via email at tom@tomscoolcars.com Thank you. Tom Klein Tom’s Cool Cars Laurel Springs, NC 28644