1968 Triumph Bonneville

T120RDU70899

Clear

Up for sale is a 1968 Triumph 650 T120R Bonneville. I purchased this as a project bike but have decided to work on another bike first. This T120R will make a good project bike for someone since it is mostly complete. I do have a clear Indiana title for this Triumph. It has been titled off the engine # since the frame has been molded. The person that i purchased this triumph from did fire it up when i picked it up so i know that it does run. Very old school Triumph 650. Original frame has a bolt on hard tail section but it has ben welded also. Has original front and rear wheels. Front end has extended fork tubes installed. Parts that are missing is the left front footrest & drive chain. Please take a look at all photos and if you need any others please let me know & can forward them to you. This Triumph is located in Oaktown, IN. Buyer must make all shipping arrangments. I can store it but it must be paid in full. Payment can be COD or Certified bank check. A $250.00 deposit is due via paypal within 24 hrs from end of auction. Full payment must be made within 7 days from end of auction. Please ask all questions up front & thanks for looking. A little info on the 68 T120R. The 1968 Triumph Bonneville had a bit of a watershed year. While the slow march of progress continued, 2 major improvement were made: Amal Concentric carburetors replaced the Amal Monoblocs; and a new 8" TLS (Twin Leading Show) front brake. But 1968 also marked the beginning of a very brief window when the Triumph Bonneville was in it's 'sweet spot', widely considered to be from 1969 through 1970. Model designations were as before, T120R was the road version & T120C was the off-road/street scrambler (ala enduro). Absent, however, was the race-ready TT Special, the model was dropped entirely for the 1968 model year. ENGINE UPGRADES Big changes were made to the engine. Hepolite pistons were back, but with reinforced crowns. Grey Spot outer valve springs replaced last years Red Spots, allowing higher valve lift. Starting with Engine #DU79965, the rocker arms were strengthened by eliminating the oil passages that ran from their pivots to the contact faces. The cylinder block got 12-point base nuts. Starting with Engine #DU66246, the threaded timing hole (used to locate TDC) that was behind the cylinders was moved to a location below the front engine mount. The flywheel now had 2 notches, one at TDC and one at 38-degrees BTDC (the standard advance at the time). But to make it more convenient to time the engine, an entirely new system was employed as of Engine #DU83021, which included a new primary cover with removable inspection plate over the alternator stator and corresponding timing marks on the stator & the primary cover. Ultimately, the threaded inspection hole in front was turned into a drain plug & the timing plug moved back to its original location, behind the cylinder block. The contact breakers were now independently adjustable (Lucas 6CA) allowing more precise timing. More Unified threads inside and out. Several detail changes were made to the transmission. The Zener diode was moved from behind the engine to the front of the bike under the front yoke, where it would remain from then on. FRAME & RUNNING GEAR An overall strengthening of the frame was undertaken, starting somewhere between Engine #s DU75430 & DU75449 (a 19-bike disparity), thicker-gauge tubing was used for the front frame section, and as of Engine #DU81196 for a stronger swing arm. The swing arm pivot lug was also strengthened. A new set of forks were fitted that looked practically identical to the units they replaced, but had internal differences such as 2-way shuttle valve damping & changed over to American threads. NEW TLS FRONT BRAKE The big news for 1968 however was the new 8" twin-leading-shoe (TLS) front brake to replace the old SLS unit. A modified version of the old hub was used with an entirely new guts & an alloy backing plate that had the coolest-looking air scoop in the front. It was 'all business' in more than appearance - it really stopped!