A beautiful day in upstate NY today, and I'd pretty much wrapped up all the stuff I was planning to do in the short term on the 67 Bonnie I picked up from an estate a couple months ago. So it was time to drag it out of the basement and see what it really was I'd picked up. I'm happy to report it appears to be a real gem. Runs as good as any Triumph I've ever had, idles nice, no bad noises, smoke or anything. Leaked 1 drop of oil after a 10 mile ride. As I was hoping would be the case, it evidently was a perfectly solid bike when the owner got too ill to ride anymore. The speedo/odo work so the 10,250 miles are evidently legit.
What a nice ride! I will say, compared to the TLS brake on my '70, the front brake on this really sucks. But other than that it felt great.
Still have some minor stuff to do, but it's legal (even inspected!), paperwork is now in my name and all is good! Not the prettiest condition but not bad for nearly 50 years old and mostly all original.
Now thats what Gators prospect should look like.I wonder if it has been repainted as the aubergine looks a bit light from what i recall from seeing original paint bikes.
Steve that looks fantastic and in great condition I reckon. I agree entirely regards the front brake but at least with that front hub you have you should be right to add a TLS brake plate by looks.
In my mind there's no doubt it's original paint... Light makes a big difference and it's just my cell phone camera... But yeah, there's 49 years of fading involved too.
Here's one against the garage not in direct sunlight.
One more pic of the tank. I'd say it's original. I think all the dings at the front are because the PO had a TR6C top triple on the thing, and I found it was pretty impossible to remove the tank without banging it up. The white has yellowed some and is cracking a bit. The pin striping is worn. Remnants of the "world record speed holder" decal are there.
I think it would look "better" if it had been resprayed at some point. It has a lot of "patina of age" as is right now.
Still being curious about the paint, I pulled off a tank badge to see what it looked like underneath. Looks like the purple faded a little, but the white - which was kinda cream to begin with - got quite a bit dirtier looking. Maybe I'll try to rejuvenate it a bit... Maybe not...
The white is like old English white.I have my bike in purple and off white at the moment.I used a VW car white and a Ford purple velvet metallic with gold striping.My purple is not like aubergene though. I thought the 67 colours were one of the best of the 60s colours.
You could try a light cutting polish like T Cut to clean up the white. Personally I think the shade is quite different to Old English white. I would be careful cutting the Purple since it was a Candy finish and very thin, you could rub through to the ground/base coat. I would be more inclined to give the Purple a good wash and then buff with a soft wax. Several layers of wax over a few weeks should start to add some depth to the finish.
As to whether or not it's factory. The stripes and the rough masked edge under the badge would certainly indicate so.
I was very tempted to finish my 66 in 67 colours after painting this tank for 67 TT. It's a stunning scheme.
Thanks for the comments on the paint. I'll do nothing other than clean it up and wax as has been suggested.
Was pondering Paul's comments about the '67 exuding class and being his favorite. I think I get it. I have a mostly stock '70 (not original, not restored - but a parts collection and made to look stock). The '67 is a bit purer. The '70 is somewhat more cluttered in appearance, what with the reflectors under the tank, the horns hanging down, the less-tidy taillight. I like the scallops on the 70's tank, but they do look relatively busy. The SLS front brake on the '67 stinks functionally but it looks cleaner than the TLS.
The colors on the '67 tank and relative simplicity of the pattern along with the stainless fenders looks pretty nice, I've gotta say...
With that said a '70 Bonnie is still a beautiful bike.
I've got a '66, 67, 69, 70, 79D & 83TSS (all fairly clean original or restored runners), not to mention a nice Triton, pair of Tridents, and several rare & nice Nortons.
67 Bonnie still my favorite.
Might have something to do with my initial pre-teenage imprinting...
Being on the road on business this week, have a little down time. So for bed time reading last night, I was looking at the '67 parts manual. Just a few curiosities... Is there supposed to be a handlebar operated choke? Did all US bikes have knee pads? How about a steering damper? Was the fork lock key supposed to be the same as the ignition key?
Mine had a TR6C triple tree on it with a damper. There was a "proper" (albeit chromed") triple tree in the parts box so I put that on and elected to retain the damper, whether it's proper or not. Ignition key doesn't fit the fork lock. Obviously there aren't knee pads and there's no choke...
Thanks,
Steve
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