Difference between revisions of "Triumph Bonneville T120"

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&nbsp;mph (311&nbsp;km/h) on his special motorcycle the "Devil's Arrow", a 650&nbsp;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&nbsp;mph (344&nbsp;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&nbsp;mph (370.5&nbsp;km/h) over a measured mile, riding a 667&nbsp;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&nbsp;mph (395.3&nbsp;km/h) with his [[Gyronaut X-1]], powered by two 650&nbsp;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]]