AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 39GREGOR
I
guess everyone has a so
spot for their fi rst bike,
or one of their early bikes
that was a favourite. The
one I think about when the
lights go out is my fi rst “real”
bike — the mighty Triumph
Bonneville T120R. It was a true
superbike back in the day and
the second bike I ever owned.
Seddo’s enthusiasm for his
Norton project is defi nitely
rubbing off on me because I
have found myself reminiscing
about that Triumph quite a bit
lately. Seddo is understandably
stoked to have a Norton
Commando, which is similar
to his old bike, but I would like
to take that one step further. I
would like to locate my actual
original Bonnie! I had so much
history and so many miles and
memories on that Triumph
that it is a special bike to me.
I would love to fi nd out what
became of it, and maybe own
it again.
I bought my Bonneville
new in 1972 for $1140 from
Fred Spinks Motorcycles in
Coff s Harbour, a er a ba le
with my parents. I was still
in high school at the time so
it was a huge deal for me. I
can still see the look on my
parents’ faces when I told them
I was going to leave school to
become a garbo so I could earn
the money to buy a Triumph
Bonneville! They were
horrifi ed, and not only because
I wanted to leave school. There
was no sewerage in my area so
the garbos had to double up
as the sani-man at night and
carry the pans!
I don’t think mum could
handle the shame of her sonworking on the “night cart”
so she provided the solution.
She went guarantor for me in
a loan agreement so I could
buy the Triumph and ride it
to school. She was a visionary
my mum! If that’s what it took
to get me educated, and to
fi nish the HSC, she was right
behind it. To her eternal credit,
her trust inspired me to get
through school and helped
plant the seed for a lifetime of
motorcycling.
My Triumph was a
1972-model 650 Bonneville
with the “bread box”-style
tank. I viewed it through
rose-coloured glasses, but
in retrospect it was a bit of
a “parts bin special” model.
A factory clean-out while
Triumph geared up to produce
the 750cc T140 Bonneville
and the new T150 Trident.
My bike had the new frame,
which carries the oil in its
thick central downtube. This
frame formed the basis of the
T140 in the ‘70s and the bike
was widely acknowledged as a
great handler.
History has shown that my
Bonnie was at the very end of
an iconic model run. It was the
last of the 650cc capacity, last
of the drum brakes, last of the
4-speed gearbox, last of the gear
change on the proper (British)
side etc. None of that ma ered
to me though. If anything, it
made it more appealing in a
retro kind of way.
Over the next 14 years I
modifi ed the Bonnie quite a bit
to enhance performance and
reliability. I fi ed a modifi ed
VW oil cooler and a Peter Allen
2 into 1 exhaust quite early
on. Then came the cafe raceressentials — Dunstall clip-ons
and rear sets. A fairing was
next, and the John Player
replica twin headlight fairing
made a huge diff erence.
Covering heaps of miles at
excessive speeds necessitated a
few engine rebuilds during the
‘70s, but by 1980 it was ge ing
tired again. I decided to go all
out and have it fully balanced
and blueprinted. I also fi ed
bigger valves, stronger cam,
and 32mm Dell’Orto pumpers
to replace the 30mm Amals. My
trusty Bonneville absolutely
fl ew a er that and it would
indicate over 140mph (225kph)!
The metallic burgundy paint
job, with silver pin stripe, really
looked the part back in the day.
Unfortunately, in the
mid ‘80s I got overrun withresponsibilities and decided
to sell the Triumph. I fi nished
up swapping it for a 75/6 BMW
and a handful of cash. Albert
Collins was the buyer’s name
and the frame and engine
numbers are HE30752T120R.
Are you out there Albert? Do
you still have my Bonnie or is
it long gone? I still remember
you and the blue/grey leather
jacket I sold you on the day.
If you know Albert, or if
you know where my beloved
Bonnie is now, please get in
touch with me via the mag.
I have owned and sold other
bikes that would now be more
valuable or collectable than the
Bonneville, but none had the
soul of the vertical twin from
Meriden. It must be out there
somewhere. ARRCast your mind back far enough and you’ll always
remember that first true love
“I have owned and sold other bikes
that would now be more valuable or
collectable than the Bonneville, but
none had the soul of the vertical
twin from Meriden. It must be out
there somewhere”
GREG REYNOLDSMY FIRST LOVE
They say memories are better than the real thing, but that’s never the case when it
comes to motorcycles...ARR112_039_Reynolds.indd 39ARR112_039_Reynolds.indd 39 2/3/2015 9:49:12 AM2/3/2015 9:49:12 AM