1959 Triumph Bonneville

D7657

Clear

Up for your consideration, a 1959 Triumph T120 Bonneville that has been tucked away for the last 25 years. The motor is a true first year Bonneville engine that is sitting in a 1960 Duplex frame if I'm not mistaken. Engine number is T120 024535 The frame number is #D7657 The California document shows both the numbers and is stated as a 1959 machine. I recently acquired this machine from a gentleman who discovered it, and purchased it in the mid 80's. He rode the bike a bit, spent some money on her, and then set the bike aside and into storage. She's obviously a ways from stock/original. However the bike is true example of what guys did to personalize there machine's back in the day. The ditched front fender, the solo seat, shorty mufflers, small chopper headlight etc. During it's appearance in the 80's, the late 60's Triumph gas tank was added. It also received a fresh headlight and taillight to replace the earlier aftermarket bits. Facts and info........ True mileage is of course is unknown. However, i do know the bike is running 20 over pistons that have approx 100 miles on them. I have receipts in hand for the new pistons/rings, a complete cylinder head rebuild and a rebuild of the Lucas competition Magneto. This was all done in 1988 shortly before the bike was put away in storage. This work was done at Mean Marshalls shop in Oakland CA. If you owned a British bike in the S.F. bay area in the 80's you know Mean Marshall. The cylinder head is a 9 bolt variety which is a common install. The original 1959 heads are desirable and rare, but are problematic. The 9 bolt head/cylinder swap is a typical upgrade and better for a bike that's going to be ridden. The front end will have to be addressed, the chrome tubes are wasted, triple clamp has peeling chrome, caps crusty. Plenty of crusty/rusty nuts and bolts that need to be replaced. The bike does fire up and runs! The bike will however require maintenance, fresh gaskets, fresh tires, carb rebuild kits, perhaps brake pads, all the disposables! With the value on these engine cases, I would absolutely invest in a new primary chain and drive chain. The primary case houses a stator/rotor set up. The inside of the gas tank is very clean. I also have a larger home market tank thats the same period as the slimline pictured. The buyer can have the tank of his choice. Not sure of seat brand. The seat springs sit on some funky homemade bracket that runs across rear loop I believe the front wheel to be original. The rear fender and wheel is perhaps late 60's. The frame does not appear to be altered or molested. The clutch plates are brand new NO broken head or cylinder fins. NO repaired or damaged covers. NO engine case damage Again, the bike runs, but it is currently in a putt it around the block stage. She not ready to be ripped down the road, or ridden to sturgis. You'll need to go thru her a bit, and get her up to snuff. We will be adding pictures, any additional info and emails from the Q&A so keep watching! We do reserve the right to end the auction early as we are accepting offers locally. We can be reached at 925-594-2099 Please call anytime! And please feel free to ask questions! Overseas shipping available! We ship to Australia and the U.K. on a regular basis. Most all are overseas exporting/shipping is handled by Global logistics in Hayward CA. Contact there is Gabrial at 510-940-7447 Buyer is of course responsible for shipping, but we do help anyway we can within reason. We do deliver and drop to Global Logistics FREE of charge. Please contact Gabrial for shipping cost/quote. I've used Gabrial services for 20 years now, and never a glitch. Thank you for having a look and happy bidding! On Mar-02-13 at 23:53:37 PST, seller added the following information: A knowledgable Triumph enthusiast was nice enough to look up the history on the bike for me. The motor and transmission sitting in this bike left the factory together and was dispatched to Johnson Motors February 16th 1959 So for those looking to transplant a correctly numbered motor/tranny combo into there 1959 Bonneville........here you go. Will be adding additional pictures tomorrow. Thank you for all the bids thus far, all the emails and phone calls.