triumph bonneville

[mx547]

i have a chance to buy a 72 triumph bonneville t120v. i always thought that they looked cool when i was a kid but i don't know anything about them. can anyone tell me about what they are worth or where i can get some good info. i'm not having much luck with my searches. i need info tonite, if possible. thanks.

 

[Ol'89r]

mx547.

The Triumph T120's underwent some changes in 1971. The main change was the frame. They went to a single backbone type frame inorder to mimic the Trackmaster type racing frames in use during that time.

The backbone frames were a step backwards. They were made from mild steel and they flexed a lot more than the earlier frames. They also had some leakage problems when they first came out.

The more desirable T120's were from 1965 to 1969. Properly restored, these are worth more than the later models.

In regard to the '72. It would depend on the condition and the price. I have seen some 1965 and 1969 T120R's go for $3.500 to $5.500 depending upon the degree of restoration. I don't think you could get near that much for a '72.

If the bike is stock and complete, it will be worth more than if it is modified.

Let us know what you find out?

 

[Vincent WR400F]

I just bought a 1970 Triumph Bonneville the other day. Its probably 95% stock and should be pretty easy to restore.

Best of all it runs and rides really well. I grew up around Brit bikes as its what my dad competed on for years. In fact, I still have my dads 1956 TR-6 Triumph Hill climber that he competed on professionally.

The 1970 was what most folks consider to be the last good year of the Bonneville. Its when they were at their peak before the BSA corporate managers took over the operation and screwed up lots of things.

They put government mandated blinkers on them, different headlight mounts, etc...
Oil flow was said to be not as good with the oil in frame models also.

There are a couple of forums to check out for more info on these bikes

www.britbike.com is one of them that is pretty good.

Look on e-bay also as there are lots of different years of Triumphs on there as well as parts for sale. It will give you a good idea of what people are willing to pay for them.

Anyway, let me know what you end up deciding and if you have more questions. I have several Bonneville books with good info in them regarding restoration and desirability of different years.

 

[KWJams]

Yeah---ditto what they said,

Best thing about 1970 is when they went to SAE instead of Whitworth.

I would say if it has been modified / chopped then it would be worth no more than $850.00 running .

Original un-restored would be worth about $1,800.00 tops and cherry restored would be about $3,800.00 top.

 

[mx547]

i saw this bike a couple months ago at my neighbor's house. the bike owner was doing some work to my neighbor's truck. i just kinda glanced at it and mentioned that i wanted an old triumph. at the time, it wasn't for sale. this guy has since gotten in some legal problems (beating on wife) and needs money. he remembered me and asked my neighbor if i would be interested. i talked to him yesterday and he said that he was doing some work to it and it wasn't running. i told him that i wasn't interested unless i could see it run. he said that he would get it running and call me today (sunday) to come look at it. he never called. i guess he couldn't get it running...