Triumphrat

TattooedRedHead

Which came first? Was the motorcycle named after the salt flats or were the salt flats named after the motorcycle?

Forgive my ignorance

I'm hoping its the latter

--Kory

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"I'd rather be riding my motorcycle thinking about God than sitting in church thinking about my motorcycle"

Tbirdnz

The Salt Flats were there in name well before the bike, in fact the bike that broke a speed record at Bonneville was a Triumph Thunderbird which was renamed after the record as the Bonneville.

Different versions of this but the Bonneville Salt Flats was there long before cars and bikes.

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Ride on !


p.s. If you want to know which came first between the Ford Thunderbird and the Triumph Thunderbird, then you will be happy to know it was the bike by a long way !

WoodsieIII

Yeah there was a car called a Bonneville? I'm not sure of anything anymore, perhaps the yanks could refresh my meory?

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I believe there is no such thing as accidents. When I ride I must leave enough room for others stupid mistakes, added to that is enough room to make my own.

WoodsieIII

Google is my friend
http://home.rochester.rr.com/vampyre...onvertible.jpg

__________________
I believe there is no such thing as accidents. When I ride I must leave enough room for others stupid mistakes, added to that is enough room to make my own.

seumas

The Bonneville Salt Flats are part of the remains of Lake Bonneville, an inland sea that once covered most of this area. Remnants of the old shoreline are still visible in the Salt Lake valley.
Woodsie, yes there was (and still is) a model of Pontiac called the Bonneville.

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Is fhearr fheuchainn na bhith san duil.

Catenaccio

And here's a pic of my S4 in front of my Pontiac Bonnie...

mrgadget

FYI Pontiac no longer makes a Bonneville.. (I am sure they will bring it back before the time expires on the trade mark) I hope Triumph doesn't do the same.
I believe that at one time Pontiac (General Motors) was in litigation with Triumph over use the the "Bonneville " name

Nickwiz

Just for the record.

The Thunderbird was tuned to create the Tiger 110 a 'sports' bike developed from the Thunderbird.
The 649cc engine was the one used by Johnny Allen in his speed record attempts at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The 1959 Triumph Bonneville T120 engine was essentially a tuned T110 with two carburettors. Dubbed by the company as "The Best Motorcycle in the World" the Bonneville was launched largely at the request of Triumph's agents in America - the company's largest market in the late 1950s and where enthusiasts were demanding extra performance.

The Tunderbird and the T110 continued alongside the Bonneville.

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it takes a better rider to ride an old slow bike fast than a new fast bike slow!

Old albums: http://www.triumphrat.net/photogalle...m792/album634/
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davidc

Pontiac Bonneville - my mother had a 1961 [I think, maybe '60]. Man, what a HUGE car. The back seat was like a couch and the car sucked up the fuel. But at 30 cents a gallon, no prob. I was going to use it for my drivers test, but I put cheapo glass pack mufflers on it [cheaper then than stock] but the inspector said NO. So I drove without a license! Of course I eventually got one - three years later.