British Invasion: 1959 Triumph Bonneville
The cultural exchange between the United States and Great Britain during the unpleasantness of World War II caused seismic shifts in both the automobile world and, later, in the world of motorcyclists. That long term exposure to all things British fostered an appreciation in the hearts of GIs for the charms of sports cars and light, maneuverable motorcycles. If you would like to park a pristine example of a British motorcycle that changed everything for the American motorcycle market, then have a look at this 1959 Triumph Bonneville for sale on eBay in Fayville, Massachusetts. This Bonneville is fresh out of a long-term ownership by a prominent collector and is ready to find a home in the garage, or living room, of a collector that can offer more than the current $8,300 bid.
After the war, Harley-Davidson and Indian controlled the US market. Both companies were never what you could call “financially robust” by this point, but Indian became progressively weaker as the post war years marched on. Finally, after many tries to come up with a winning product line, the company took its last gasps in 1953. Though the name lived on, Harley-Davidson was basically alone in the US marketplace.
Competition can be a good thing for a company, and Harley’s decades long competition with Indian went a long way towards keeping the company sharp and relatively lean. What Harley wasn’t ready for was competition from Great Britain. Companies like Norton, BSA, and Triumph brought to the American market efficient machines that handled well, looked good, and were priced very competitively. The flood of British bikes somehow caught Harley off guard. When they finally responded with what we know today as the Sportster, precious market share had been lost.
One of the motorcycles that took more than its share of the American motorcycle market was the Triumph Bonneville. Named after America’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats, where top speed runs had become an annual event, the Bonneville debuted to a market that was very hungry for something new in 1959. The lightweight motorcycle sported twin cylinders arranged vertically that put out 46 horsepower at 6,500 RPMs. That 46 horsepower came from 650 ccs of displacement and was paired with a four-speed gearbox. The combination made it one of the fastest motorcycles in the American market.
The motorcycle you see here is advertised as an extensively restored example of a first year Bonneville. Painted in Pearl Grey with Tangerine accents like every other Bonneville that year, this motorcycle is from the collection of Bobby Sullivan. It is advertised to be correctly restored down to the little touches like the Amal carburetors that interestingly weren’t equipped with air filters. The bike’s restoration was documented in a book on, you guessed it, restoring Triumph motorcycles.
The seller tells us that the bike has been gone through by Jay Medieros of Vintage Triumph Supply and runs perfectly. The only nitpick on this otherwise museum worthy motorcycle is a small scratch on the right side of the fuel tank. Other than that, it looks ready to be displayed at the Barber Motorcycle Museum. Which, by the way, should be on your short list of destinations if you like motorcycles.
With bidding languishing at $8,300 with three days to go, this may be a motorcycle that could be had for a bit less than its market value. There is no hint as to what the reserve price is, but if it bombs on eBay than perhaps a deal could be struck on this groundbreaking and amazingly original piece of history.
Have any of you owned a Triumph Bonneville, old or new? Please share your experience in the comments.
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Comments
My brother had a ‘62 Bonny. Went like Jack, the Bear but it was a shaker. I remember riding it down the gravel road and there was a clunk. I looked down and saw a couple of wires dangling. The generator had fallen off. Not a lot of harm done; just grabbed the generator out of a windrow of gravel, cleaned it off and reinstalled it. All was well. Like I said, it was a shaker. I’ve ridden a couple of later Bonnevilles (with the unit construction) plus a 750 version and none of them shook like my brother’s. It got sold to a guy in Havre and I don’t know what happened to it; I do know that the guy rode it a lot…
Hey Geo, why didn’t we buy these when they were $800 bucks? Jeff pretty much nailed the motorcycle scene in the late 50s. Well into the 60s, Triumph was the only other bike to have besides a Harley. While the “ring-dings” may have gotten the jump, after 3rd gear, if you had the grapes, probably pushing 80, 4th was easily over 100, the Asians couldn’t keep up and it was so long Yamakawazuki.( That all changed in 1969) Antique oil dispensers, some say, but with modern sealants, no worse than any other bike. These didn’t have “arm- straightening” acceleration, like future Asian bikes, more of a steady roll, a much more British way of doing things.
Since I’m babbling, Americas fascination with “Limeys”( it’s okay, they were called Limeys because British sailors ate limes to ward off scurvy) and some big names rode Triumphs. Harley had a not so rosy reputation, and Hollywood needed a motorcycle that everyone could relate to, since Italian and Asian were still clearly forbidden. It was okay for British bike owners to ride with a bunch of Harleys, although, few did. Be like Mr. Bean hanging with Hulk Hogan. Harley riders knew full well the importance of the British AND their engineering. Marlon Brando, a 1950 6T Thunderbird, Bob Dylan and his famous crash ( I actually saw the spot in Woodstock, NY, a small sign indicated so) a 1964 T100, and of course, the most famous, the Fonz, a 1949 Trophy 500. The Triumph/ BSA was kind of the low end of British cycles, behind the Royal Enfield, Matchless, or Vincent, but the Triumph was universal. No air filters, or “breathers” is not cool, and I have seen Bonnes with air filters, but maybe in England, where it rains all the time, dust isn’t an issue. I don’t think early Morgans had filters either.
Very cool find,,,$800 bucks, I kid you not. After the Asian bikes hit the scene,, nobody wanted these.
I just wish I’d kept all mine. My cousin clawed some of his back and added a few to his collection. I think he’s got 50 bikes now. And there’s a couple he got for less than $500. He just happens upon them and hauls them home…
Howard, you forgot to mention Steve McQueen riding the 1962 Triumph in the Great Escape movie. There is a guy here in UK that actually owns it along with many other Triumphs.
Thanks, interesting story about that bike. I read, McQueen refused to ride a German bike, and the bike artist, Von Dutch, disguised the 1961 TR6 to look like a BMW R75, since the Germans would never be riding a Triumph. BTW, I also read, he did NOT do the jumps. They were done by Bud Ekins, a stuntman at the time.
Wow. I haven’t seen an intact pre-unit Triumph for ages! I remember these getting cut up and chopped…this one is beautiful right down to the colors
Yep, known here in UK as the Tangerine Machine. (Tangerine being a type of small orange fruit) If you really want to make a Triumph 650 Tiger 110 twin haul do as I did and add 2 teeth to the engine sprocket. I had to take out some of the aluminium to make space for the primary chain but the cover screws still worked fine. There wasn’t a on track bike in Rhodesia that could catch it up to 110 mph.
That should have read “non track bike.” Finger trouble!
Had a 70 Bonneville. Had it through college and commuted many days to class on it. Drove it sans air filters, went with stacks and screens. Lightened it up by eliminating the center stand and the battery. It handled great on the back roads until I met a Rambler on the wrong side of the road one night. Guy was drunk with his lights off. Messed my Bonneville up pretty bad. I was lucky to come away with lots of scraps. I rolled onto the hood of the Rambler and across the windshield. Helmet and leather.
Nice bike. That reminds me, where did I go with my Whitworth spanners.
I’m old.75. Sometime in the ’60s I bought my first Bonne. 650, stock. A 1960 I think. I pumped gas in 2- gas stations till 1-am to buy it! In one of the stations the owner and the other guys working there and a couple of the regular guys that hung out , ALL got together and we made what turned out to be the first “Chopper” around! High bars ,chopped fenders tear drop gas tank small bike seat. I did “wheelies” every time I took off. A real fast bike. Famous dragster driver Don Garlic in Tampa Florida used to have cameras set up out on the sidewalk and I would go by every day wheelies in and out of the traffic. A real butthole. Hey I was a kid. In high school I rode it down the main hallway and back , twice ,right past the principal’s office. Like I said, I was a kid. Great handling bikes,fast and reliable.
my friend don burnett won the daytona 200 mile race in 1961 or 62 on a triumph the last triumph to win i think don stills rides every week at 87 years don was and still is my hero john lyon
Buddy Elmore won the 1966 Daytona 200 on a Triumph. He started in 46th position and came first! Brandon Paasch won the 2022 Daytona 200 on a Triumph Triple 765 by 0.007 seconds. The Buddy Elmore bike is on display at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, UK.
A friend home restored one of these models a few years back. He was going to travel a mere eighty miles to a bike show with it, but decided against it. “It rattles itself to death and the trip would involve stopping to pick up bits along the away; guaranteed! I’d take a tool kits but hard to say what might go wrong on the trip”. He took his car instead! Lovely motor, but if it can’t promise getting you ‘there and back’, it loses its’ shine very quickly.
I bought a 1956 Triumph Tiger 110 back in 1958 and discovered that my great friend had ended up in a hospital 300 miles away. I jumped on the Triumph with my brother on the pillion and 4 hours and twenty minutes later I was at the hospital. We were turfed out 40 minutes later, jumped on the bike and rode 100 miles back to a friends house for an overnight stop before doing the last 200 miles the next morning. The only problem I had was that the one silencer bolt came loose. Not bad for a Limey bike doing 600 miles in two days, mostly at over 85 mph.
I am now 82 and remember my first ride in 1959-60 on a Bonneville. I had ridden an old Indian that used 90 weight gear oil for motor oil and wasn’t much of a bike but fun for kids. I thought I was better than I was and when I hit 2nd gear and got on the throttle I decided I wasn’t as good as I thought I was and slowed down and returned it to the salesman.
Youth can only be lived once.
76 years old now, in 1964 I had a 1956 BSA 650 Lightning like the Bonneville it was fast and sure footed.
Great comments here.
Hey, 370, it’s why I keep coming back, lunkheads aside. Triumphs and BSAs hit a specific nerve for many. They were just as much a part of growing up as Harleys. Since 2 strokes didn’t appeal to many, the Limey was the only bike that resembled a bike. Guy across the alley, traded his 305 Honda Scrambler in on a BSA Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt had a single carb, the Lightning had 2. ( get it? 1st comes the lightning, then the thunderbolt, so clever, them Brits) in the late 60s. It was an impressive sight to a kid with a Honda 50.
In the 70s, when I had my Suzuki TS400, a guy, who I no longer talk to due to wacky government views, had a TT500. It was an unusual choice for a dirt bike, but that bike did everything it’s Asian counterparts did, and it never broke either.
Wow, Reading this put shivers up and down my spine! I bought a 1956 T110 used in 1956. Seller said it scared him cause it was so fast. I loved that bike but after four crashes, the last of which knocked me out and bent the front wheel, I woke up telling myself I was going to end up killing myself. I dug the gravel out of my elbow, got a new front wheel and sold my favorite bike ever.
I gave a guy riding a Harley Sportster a head start and beat him about 50 yards to 60 mph. He claimed I cheated. I rode it at 118mph once. I’m now 85.
Anybody that puts a Harley against a Triumph is just looking for a hiding! I have a nick-name for Harley Davidsons, I call them Putt-Putts, because that’s all you ever see them doing, just putt-putting along. If I ever see one being ridden with zest it will be the first time. Great bikes maybe, but fast and furious? I don’t think so. I owned a 1981 Low Rider, along with several WL 750’s, back in the late nineties and I used to ride the Low Rider with the Honda Fireblades, Yamahas, Kawasakis etc. on the Sunday morning breakfast runs but I’m sure my Harley was the only one that ever did. but boy, did it leak oil? Worse than my Triumph’s ever did. My Harley specialist friend told me that the person that put my engine together hadn’t used an impact screwdriver! I’m 83 now and still riding a Yamaha 250cc. Life is great!
To start these, you gotta know the drill and have a strong leg. If they’re in tune they’ll start first or second kick. If not, well there’s your daily workout.
If you flood the carbs, set the advance/retard lever to midway and kick the engine over, it will start. If it doesn’t it means there is something else wrong.