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Difference between revisions of "Triumph Bonneville T120"
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==Development== | ==Development== | ||
The Bonneville T120 was [[Edward Turner]]'s last production design at Triumph<ref name="Howstuffworks">{{cite web|url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1965-triumph-t120-bonneville.htm|title=1965 Triumph T120 Bonneville|accessdate=2009-02-21}}</ref> (in retirement Turner designed the [[Edward Turner#Triumph Bandit and BSA Fury|Triumph Bandit/BSA Fury]] which did not pass the prototype stage before BSA went under<ref>{{Cite book |title=Edward Turner: The Man Behind the Motorcycles |first=Jeff |last=Clew |publisher=Veloce Publishing |year=2007 |isbn= 978-1-84584-065-5 |page=133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi4sPHUiTiUC&pg=PA133 |postscript=<!--None--> }}</ref>). The new motorcycle was conceived and developed so quickly that it was not included in the 1959 Triumph catalogue.<ref name="Brown">{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Roland|title=The History of British Bikes|publisher=Parragon|year=1999|isbn=978-0-7525-3153-3}}</ref> With a {{convert|649|cc|in3|abbr=on}} parallel-twin (two-cylinder) engine the T120 was based on the [[Triumph Tiger T110]] and was fitted with the Tiger's optional twin 1 3/16 in [[Amal (motorcycle)|Amal]] monobloc carburettors as standard, along with that model's high-performance inlet camshaft.<ref name="KempClassic" /> Launched in 1959 by Triumph as "The Best Motorcycle in the World", the Bonneville T120 was aimed mainly at the lucrative US market where enthusiasts were demanding extra performance.<ref name="PT">{{cite web|url=http://www.patricktaylor.com/triumph-bonneville|title=The Triumph Bonneville|accessdate=2009-02-21}}</ref> | The Bonneville T120 was [[Edward Turner]]'s last production design at Triumph<ref name="Howstuffworks">{{cite web|url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1965-triumph-t120-bonneville.htm|title=1965 Triumph T120 Bonneville|accessdate=2009-02-21}}</ref> (in retirement Turner designed the [[Edward Turner#Triumph Bandit and BSA Fury|Triumph Bandit/BSA Fury]] which did not pass the prototype stage before BSA went under<ref>{{Cite book |title=Edward Turner: The Man Behind the Motorcycles |first=Jeff |last=Clew |publisher=Veloce Publishing |year=2007 |isbn= 978-1-84584-065-5 |page=133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi4sPHUiTiUC&pg=PA133 |postscript=<!--None--> }}</ref>). The new motorcycle was conceived and developed so quickly that it was not included in the 1959 Triumph catalogue.<ref name="Brown">{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Roland|title=The History of British Bikes|publisher=Parragon|year=1999|isbn=978-0-7525-3153-3}}</ref> With a {{convert|649|cc|in3|abbr=on}} parallel-twin (two-cylinder) engine the T120 was based on the [[Triumph Tiger T110]] and was fitted with the Tiger's optional twin 1 3/16 in [[Amal (motorcycle)|Amal]] monobloc carburettors as standard, along with that model's high-performance inlet camshaft.<ref name="KempClassic" /> Launched in 1959 by Triumph as "The Best Motorcycle in the World", the Bonneville T120 was aimed mainly at the lucrative US market where enthusiasts were demanding extra performance.<ref name="PT">{{cite web|url=http://www.patricktaylor.com/triumph-bonneville|title=The Triumph Bonneville|accessdate=2009-02-21}}</ref> | ||
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==The Bonneville name== | ==The Bonneville name== | ||
The Bonneville name came from the achievements of [[Texas]] racer Johnny Allen on the [[Bonneville Salt Flats]] in [[Utah]]. In September 1955, Allen had achieved a two-way average speed of 193.3 mph (311 km/h) on his special motorcycle the "Devil's Arrow", a 650 cc twin-cylinder Triumph engine fuelled by [[methanol]] in a unique 'streamliner' fairing. Allen's speed was ratified as a record by the [[American Motorcycle Association]] but not by the world authority, the [[Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme|FIM]], as no official observers were present. German motorcycle firm [[NSU Motorenwerke AG|NSU]] took the record the following year, so Allen and his team returned to Bonneville in September 1956 and won it back with an average speed of 214.17 mph (344 km/h). The FIM also refused to accept this as a world record but Triumph gained much needed publicity from the legal dispute that followed. After the Bonneville T120 had been named in recognition of Allen's records, other Triumph-engined motorcycles went faster still on the Salt Flats. In 1962 Bill Johnson set a two-way average of 230.269 mph (370.5 km/h) over a measured mile, riding a 667 cc 'streamliner' whose design was based on the American [[North American X-15|X-15 rocket plane]]. In 1966 [[Detroit]] Triumph dealer Bob Leppan raised the record to 245.66 mph (395.3 km/h) with his [[Gyronaut X-1]], powered by two 650 cc Triumph engines. For the next few years, Triumph fitted Bonneville roadsters with "World's Fastest Motorcycle" stickers.<ref name="motorsports"/>[[File:1969 T120R Triumph Bonnevilles.jpg|right|thumbnail|Pair of USA specification 1969 Triumph T120R Bonnevilles at the [[London Motorcycle Museum]], one sporting after-market direction indicators]] | The Bonneville name came from the achievements of [[Texas]] racer Johnny Allen on the [[Bonneville Salt Flats]] in [[Utah]]. In September 1955, Allen had achieved a two-way average speed of 193.3 mph (311 km/h) on his special motorcycle the "Devil's Arrow", a 650 cc twin-cylinder Triumph engine fuelled by [[methanol]] in a unique 'streamliner' fairing. Allen's speed was ratified as a record by the [[American Motorcycle Association]] but not by the world authority, the [[Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme|FIM]], as no official observers were present. German motorcycle firm [[NSU Motorenwerke AG|NSU]] took the record the following year, so Allen and his team returned to Bonneville in September 1956 and won it back with an average speed of 214.17 mph (344 km/h). The FIM also refused to accept this as a world record but Triumph gained much needed publicity from the legal dispute that followed. After the Bonneville T120 had been named in recognition of Allen's records, other Triumph-engined motorcycles went faster still on the Salt Flats. In 1962 Bill Johnson set a two-way average of 230.269 mph (370.5 km/h) over a measured mile, riding a 667 cc 'streamliner' whose design was based on the American [[North American X-15|X-15 rocket plane]]. In 1966 [[Detroit]] Triumph dealer Bob Leppan raised the record to 245.66 mph (395.3 km/h) with his [[Gyronaut X-1]], powered by two 650 cc Triumph engines. For the next few years, Triumph fitted Bonneville roadsters with "World's Fastest Motorcycle" stickers.<ref name="motorsports"/>[[File:1969 T120R Triumph Bonnevilles.jpg|right|thumbnail|Pair of USA specification 1969 Triumph T120R Bonnevilles at the [[London Motorcycle Museum]], one sporting after-market direction indicators]] | ||