1969 Triumph Bonneville

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Hi Folks, I am selling the last vintage motorcycle out of my collection. It's the last one because it's my all time favorite motorcycle. My wife and I have retired and now live full time in our RV. Bringing the Bonnie with us isn't an option. This motorcycle is a 1969 Triumph Bonneville. It was restored, and documented, by the great Don Hutchinson. If you have not heard of him, please do yourself a favor and research. He has a great website. This is the first, and only, Don Hutchinson restoration that I have ever seen for sale. Rather than give you my description, I will give you Don's blog as he restored this motorcycle. All of the below writings came from Don and his website: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Getting it right on a ’69 Bonneville One of our customers whose bike is featured here on our website wanted to find out whether his paint job was correct for his particular machine.In 1969, Triumph featured three different paint schemes on the Bonneville during it’s production run from August of 1968 through July of 1969. The first featured of an Olympic Flame tank with a 3-inch Silver Sheen stripe down the top-center, much like that of the 1968 Bonneville. Soon thereafter, the factory moved to a scheme which featured a swept-back scallop coming off the top of the tank badge. Finally, in later 1969, the factory added a lower wing off the bottom of the tank badge. Our customer’s bike has both the top scallop and the lower wing as featured on late-1969 Bonnevilles. We examined two 1969 Bonneville cores in our warehouse (either of which, incidentally, we’d be happy to restore for you) and noted that each bike features the single scallop paint scheme. We then took note of the serial numbers on each bike. The first VIN begins with “AC” which denotes that it was produced in January of 1969. The second begins with “GC” which denotes a production date of June of 1969. As our customer’s bike has a serial number which begins with “AC” and falls between those on our two bikes, we believe the bike came from the factory with only the single top-center scallop. So, we’re looking forward to getting it right on this bike by furnishing it with a brand new, and factory-correct, Don Hutchinson paint job. Getting it right on a ’69 Bonneville – Part II We’re continuing to work on our customer’s 1969 Triumph Bonneville. As we’ve mentioned previously, this bike started as a fine build from a reputable shop. We’ve been helping to make this bike an even more correct and perfect restoration by applying the correct paint scheme, among other things. We’ve gone through the bike twice, and swapped out incorrect bolts, nuts, fasteners and other small parts. Pictured below are a few of the parts we’ve removed and replaced recently, including the crossover pipe and clamps. The original ’69 Bonneville crossover pipe clamp was a double clamp measuring about 3″ long, and included two bolts on each clamp. You can see examples of this original clamp on one of our core bikes in the photo below. Later in 1969 and into 1970, these double clamps were replaced with single clamps. While high-quality single clamps are readily available, the double clamps simply don’t exist. We’ve never seen a good-quality reproduction, as those which are available are just not correct – and it shows. We love our customers, and love helping them make their bike as perfect as possible. In this case, we were able to find a single set of NOS clamps. After taking some time to clean the dried masking tape off of them, and shining them up, we installed them on this bike, helping bring this restoration up to snuff. Getting it right on a ’69 Bonneville – Part III When we decided to repaint our customer’s 1969 Triumph Bonneville, we figured we just couldn’t waste the existing paint job. It’s not our paint job, but it’s pretty good, and we’ll make use of it elsewhere. That said, as we’ve been making some big efforts to restore this bike to factory condition, we decided to source an original tank and fenders for this special bike. Not that the reproductions are bad. In fact, they’re very good, fairly inexpensive, and we gladly make them available to our customers. In this case, we searched our warehouse and located the original components. One telltale sign of an original fender is the subtly rolled edge, versus the more pronounced edge as seen in the photos below. These parts have been sandblasted, and now wait in the queue for our famous Don Hutchinson paint job! http://hutchinsoncycle.com/bikes/customer-bikes/1969-triumph-bonneville-t120r/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to the above information, this bike runs Flawlessly. I repeat, FLAWLESSLY. It starts on the first, or second kick, at most. I am a fanatic about maintenance. All of my motorcycles get at least one oil change a year, whether the mileage indicates it is due or not. Generally speaking, I change oil approximately every 1,500 - 2,000 miles on all my vintage motorcycles. This motorcycle has had an oil change every fall before she get's put up for the winter. All of my motorcycles are stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. The temperature never gets below 64 degrees, nor above 76 degrees, and the humidity is controlled between 45 and 55%. All of my vintage motorcycles, and cars, get ethanol-free gasoline and SeaFoam, always. No rust in the gas tank. Also, all of my vintage motorcycles, and cars, are kept on Battery Tender's year round. Mileage may increase a little, as I will probably ride it occasionally. In fact, today she is going to get a nice ride. I always ride my motorcycles long enough time to get the engine up to operating temperature in order to eliminate condensation inside the engine. Feel free to contact me about seeing the bike in person. I welcome visitors! Test rides may be available, but please have cash in hand. Thanks for your time, Chris McCarthy, 419-656-7127