Triumphrat

Hitch · 10-07-2006

All,

Just saw this on a local dealer's website. I haven't seen it yet, but before I go out to look at it, can anyone give me any opinions/advice?

Custom "Bonnie"

mike07 · 10-07-2006

Seems like way too much money for a put together bike in my opinion. It would have to be REALLY SWEET for me to even consider. For that kind of money you could get something original, matching numbers, running good, not something put together-could be a nightmare partswise. Mike

Mecchanica · 10-07-2006

If it was done right, by a knowlegable mechanic, it has the right stuff. The 750 engine is a good starting place (five speed, triplex primary, better oil pump) and the 65 frame is a good one, too. It is deraked by 3 degrees compared to the later ones. Has the DLS brake. I'd put a 69-70 swingarm on it, stiffer. Other than that, sounds like a winner.

KADUTZ · 10-07-2006

ad states engine is 1979 T120R

1979 engines were 750cc

Last T120R was 72 and was a 650cc 4speed

says bike is a 1970 yet has a 65 frame where did this 70 stuff come from?

ok so who has been doing what with what VIN number and what numbers are on the frame and engine.

Bike is a BITSA for 6 grand (dat be a lotta money to me)

(my pinion) you pay that much you gonna lose you asp.

Mecchanica · 10-07-2006

Yeah, if yer buying it with an eye to resell.....but if you want to keep and ride it, this is a winner. All you need is someone with the same taste and an appreciation of a bike built from selected parts to accomplish a particular end.
This is a good looking, quick handling, torquey set up with the best gearbox and oil pump in the Triumph universe, if it's the original 79. Great looking fuel tank.
That "matching numbers" deal is a lot of hooey unless you are a "collector" with a museum or planning to speculate on the value of old bikes. If, instead, you are serious about building and riding a bike to suit your tastes, pick and choose, build what you want. Tritons rule. This bike is cool, and I suspect it would cost you a lot more to put one together if you paid someone to do it. I think it's a deal, from what I can see and infer.
Find out what happened to the Bonneville head, if you can. I'd like one of those parallel port numbers.

bluesjeans · 10-08-2006

How do they get off calling it a 1970 model..??? From the description the only thing on it from 1970 are the forks..!! $6,000 for a bike that was pieced together from bike parts which cover a 14 year period is way too much money..!! The parts might be considered classic but this bike will never be. I'd pass that one up and find an original.

KADUTZ · 10-08-2006

again the engine is Listed as a 79 T120R aint no such animal

johnnypence · 10-08-2006

opinion:

the ad's kinda proud that the bike was "built by paul ackerman." if paul does GREAT work and gets featured in whatever "Old Brit BITSA Magazine" is out there, you might be psyched. if paul is no better than me, don't pay much for it!

editorial mistrakes end up in ads all the time. anytime there's more than one person typing, you can count on a typo. dumb stuff in the ad might not mean anything about the bike.

a quick google search found a paul ackerman who's an "antique" brit guy in maine, looks like the same area code:

MAINE
Paul Ackerman Antiques
611 Port Clyde Road
Tenants Harbor, ME 04860
(207) 372-6204
sentinel@midcoast.com
Parts - Tools - Literature Mail order

do your research and kick the tires. if you got $6000 to spend on a bike, spend it well!

[ This message was edited by: johnnypence on 2006-10-08 10:38 ]

Mecchanica · 10-08-2006

Quote:

On 2006-10-08 00:59, bluesjeans wrote:
How do they get off calling it a 1970 model..??? From the description the only thing on it from 1970 are the forks..!! $6,000 for a bike that was pieced together from bike parts which cover a 14 year period is way too much money..!! The parts might be considered classic but this bike will never be. I'd pass that one up and......FIND AN ORIGINAL.

Why? The 79 chassis is ooooooogly and the 65 engine is not as developed, as durable, or as much fun to drive. 65 650s also were one-year wonders, with the crankshaft located by the drive side bearing, unlike the Triumphs before and after.
This is a bike built on the same philosophy that gave us those lovely Tritons. For each Triton, two stock bikes bit the dust. So what? Neither was as good a bike as the resultant "bitsa".
How many preunit Triumphs run unit top ends?.....every one I ever put on the road for myself, that I know. And they had late model alternators and gearsets with needle roller layshafts, too. Late cranks with the thicker rods. Roller drive side bearings. The occasional 750 kit. Morgo oil pumps. Bitsas??? I guess, by definition. But, then, just like with dogs, the mutts are the best.

GrandPaulZ · 10-08-2006

The picture could have been taken a lot closer in order to see what's going on in better detail. It certainly LOOKS nifty from that distance.

I just posted a "For Sale" ad in the classifieds for a "bitsa" 67/70 that I just got running. About 1/2 the price and could be made similar to the one you are considering for a few bucks less...

Just an option.