1970 Triumph Bonneville

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Bike is an original unrestored 1970 Triumph Bonneville that I recently ran across and purchased with the intent of restoring because it is an unmolested example of what I consider to be Triumph's finest. Bike was supposedly a one owner bike until 2013, and it came with a stack of service records and receipts dating back into the seventies. In 2003 the bike threw a rod that punched two large holes in the bottom of the crankcase. The stack of receipts that came with the bike includes a 2003 receipt from Randy Baxter of Baxter Cycles for a pair of NOS 1970 unstamped crankcase halves. Those receipts also include a 2004 receipt from Expert Motorcycle Works in Hobart, Indiana, for the complete rebuilding of the motor, including the sludge trap, with 22,970 miles on the bike at that time. The current mileage of 26,054 indicates 3,084 miles have been put on the bike since the motor was rebuilt 12 years ago. The original crankcase half with the matching numbers and a hole blown through the bottom is shown in one of the photos below and will be given to the purchaser if he picks it up or pays to have it shipped. The second owner purchased the bike from the widow of the original owner about 3 years ago because he had a Triumph as a kid, but now that he is retired he wanted to get an electric start bike. That is how I came to get this bike. It starts easily on the first or second kick and settles into a nice idle within a few seconds after warming up a little. It does not smoke at all, and it shifts smoothly through all 4 gears. Everything on the bike works...the high/low headlight beams, the tail light, the brake light (when activated by either the hand or foot), the horn (of which there are two), and both the speedo and tach lights. I have 5 old British bikes, and one thing that surprised me about this bike is that both the speedo and tach needles operate smoothly like they did when they were new. The rims are original, and the rear one looks great. The front one, however, has some scattered rust spots. As you can tell from the photos, the original paint has considerable fading. However, the condition of the sheet metal is perfect except for a small dent about the size of a quarter in the oil tank. It is hard to see in the photo, but it is there. The inside of the gas tank has absolutely no rust, and it has not been lined. The bike will need the rocker box gaskets and/or the pushrod tube O-rings replaced because the motor had oil on the top end when I bought it, before I cleaned it up. I really like this bike and wish I was 20 years younger, but I currently have 5 British bikes and my 66 year old arthritic knees ache at just the thought of spending the next 6 months in the garage restoring it. I hope the bike goes to someone who will appreciate it and not turn it into a bobber. If it doesn't sell, I'll just keep it as an unrestored original.