1960 Triumph T120 BONNEVILLE 650cc Pre Unit TR7/B DESERT SLED RUNNING SURVIVOR!

1960 Triumph Bonneville

Price: US $9.99
Item location: San Jose, California, United States
Make: Triumph
Model: Bonneville
Year: 1960
Mileage: 1111
VIN: 030033
Vehicle Title: Clear
Contact seller: Contact form
Description

Offered here is a 1960 TRIUMPH T120 BONNEVILLE 650cc Pre Unit twin (first sold as a TR7/B "TrophyBird") barn find, in RUNNING condition! This actually was a "barn find" for me, ut it was nearly 20 years ago! A true survivor from the California desert racing era with legendary events like Big Bear, atalina, reenhorn and so many others, ack when men were men and motorcycles were... well... Dinosaurs like this beast! 1960 was the 2nd production year for the T120 Bonnie, irst year for the new duplex frame. Early 1960 engine number 030033, tamping is clean and unmodified, o number on frame, he "B" stamped on the right side of the head stock next to the casting number indicates this is a replacement frame that was installed by the dealer under warranty, o for all intents and purposes you can consider this to be the "matching" frame, lthough it is unstamped. The early 1960 duplex frames prior to the "Dxxxx" numbering sequence almost always broke at the headstock, specially when used in anger off road (as they pretty much all were back then) - according to Wikipedia, dward Turner witnessed the death of a rider on a duplex-framed TR6 at the 1960 Big Bear Run and immediately ordered a frame re-design with a stronger steering head. No idea if the Edward Turner story is true or not, ut either way this is a VERY interesting piece of Triumph history here! As mentioned I've owned this bike for nearly 20 years, ode it a bit back in 1997, in storage since then, ragged it out the other day, ut some fresh gas in the tank, ickled the carbs, kicks and she roared to life! Original Lucas K2FC red label Competition magneto (Lucas part number 42368B, production date 2-59) makes nice fat blue sparks! No smoke, o funny noises, ice steady idle, risp throttle response, ice healthy oil return flow to the tank (VIDEO of running bike available). Engine has 9-bolt head & barrel upgrade, oncentric Amals, as a small weld repair on the exhaust rocker box, therwise looks VERY good, O bent or broken fins, rankcases in EXCELLENT condition. Outer primary chain case has offroad racing scars on the bottom, oth it and the timing cover have rubbing wear marks from the original high-level exhaust pipes that confirm this bike started life as a TR7/B - it now has 1 3/4" TT pipes with shorty mufflers as shown in the photos below. The frame has had the rear loops cut, ear gas tank mounts removed, custom" front mount for what looks to be an early unit 500 gas tank, ustom battery box, therwise the frame & swing arm are straight and in good shape. VERY nice Ceriani MX front forks, both triple clamps with the "ARCES Made in Italy" trademark, O rust pitting or scoring on 35mm fork tubes, liders also in EXCELLENT condition, O nasty dings or gouges, op nuts not all chewed up or abused, ompression and damping in very good working condition. Other nice period bits on this bike include the 19" front wheel from a pre-1972 ironhead Harley Sportster, ith shouldered alloy 40-spoke rim, full-width hub & 8" brake, K-made Dunlop K70 has plenty of good tread but some dry rot cracking on the sidewalls, enuine Lucas "enduro" style headlight, omplete with two BB holes in the Lucas lens, later Triumph QD rear wheel with bolt-on sprocket, riginal Dunlop WM3-18 rim in EXCELLENT condition, eautiful British chrome, intage Carlisle Arrow ST tire almost looks new! All in all, his is a very cool scoot - you could restore it to original 1960 TR7/B spec and have a bike worth $18-20K based on recent auction results, r just add fenders and taillight and ride it as a period street scrambler! 

Sold with BILL OF SALE only - as far as I know, t has been an off-road bike all it's life, nd old California dirt bikes were rarely registered - if ever! SOLD HERE WITH REASONABLE RESERVE reflecting the RARITY of this machine!

Payment by Paypal (BUYER PAYS FEES), aypal eCheck, ank transfer, ash on pick-up or email me for other Ebay-approved payment options. LOCAL PICK-UP IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA PREFERRED! However I will work with winning bidder to arrange shipping by trucking company or private party of your choice... LOW COST international shipping can also be arranged - email me for more info!

SEE MY OTHER LISTINGS for more vintage motorcycle goodies... 

 

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