In honor of the British and American contributions to the Fourth of July celebration I found this sweet Evel Knievel Themed Triumph Scrambler over on Yoshi’s Garage (which has some outstanding collections by the way so do yourself a a favor and go check them out).
Now get off the internet and go enjoy your day!
Charles Lathe sends in another beauty.
He writes:
Hey,
I’m attaching two photos of a Daytona I saw this morning at the Blue Ridge, motorcycle only, campground. I asked the fellow on it if he did the restoration himself or if he bought it that way. He said he did it himself and he has a dozen of them. His wife was with him on a nice 60’s Bonnie that I also got a couple of snaps of.
I told him we were on a new Bonneville and he said they also have a Triumph Rocket.
Regards, Chuck Lathe, North Carolina
Thanks Again Charles. That might have been the “British In The Blue Ridge” meet. Those folks really put those old bikes through their paces.
This bike is becoming something of a cult. It’s easily one of the top viewed posts on my blog and yes I DO love the bike.
Everyone has their own taste so take this with a grain of salt but I almost didn’t post this because I find it to be a bit too over produced for it’s own good. However, the riding shots alone are worth sitting through the over slick interview. Again… just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. Enjoy.
Thanks to Lee Thiessen for the pics!
I like that you left it a bit “gritty”. Nice build.
The before pic. Yeah I know that there’s some old school chopper fanatics out there who’d have left it alone but I think the Bobber look is a big improvement. Not to mention much more “rideable”. 2 cents..
And in it’s day it actually carried a similar reputation to today’s bike.
I bought a first year Speed Triple back in 1995. I remember a lot of friends saying that I’d be orphaned when the company would inevitably failed. Ha. They’ve sure come a long way since then!
Thanks again to Katherine Boyle at Bonhams for the great photo and background information! You bikes are always very well researched.
BONHAMS TO SELL THE 500,000TH TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLE AFTER ITS TOUR OF BRITAIN WITH ROSS NOBLE
PROCEEDS FROM SALE TO GO TO ‘RIDERS FOR HEALTH’ CHARITY
Bonhams are to sell Triumph Motorcycles’ 500,000th production bike since 1990 after comedian and keen biker, Ross Noble, took it on a tour of Britain. The uniquely liveried Speed Triple is estimated to fetch £5,000-7,000 when it is auctioned on Friday 1st July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Between 24-30th May, Ross rode the motorcycle on his ‘Sit Down Tour’, asking bike fans and Twitter followers to guide him on a trip to find the best of biking Britain. During the week he visited some of the finest biking routes in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as stopping off to visit two Triumph dealerships in Reading, Manchester and Newcastle.
Carrying VIN number 500,000 and sporting a one-off red, white and blue paint scheme, created using a brand new production technique, Ross’s Speed Triple is destined to become a collectors item.
Funds raised from the sale of the motorcycle will be going to the charity, Riders for Health. The charity provides motorcycle transport for health workers in Africa, thereby making it possible for millions of people to receive regular, reliable health care, often for the first time in their lives.
The re-emergence of Triumph has been one of British manufacturing industry’s relatively few success stories of recent times, an achievement all the more remarkable when one considers that the company has grown from nothing to rank alongside the best from Japan and Europe in only 20 years. In many market sectors Triumph’s offerings are recognised as the finest available and none more so than the iconic Speed Triple, which has regularly come out top in group tests of ‘factory street-fighters’ ever since its introduction in 1994. As one of Triumph’s most successful models, it was only fitting that a Speed Triple should be the landmark 500,000th motorcycle to roll off the production line since the Hinckley factory opened in 1990.
Ben Walker, Head of Bonhams Motorcycle Department, comments, “It is always a pleasure to be able to raise funds for the fantastic Riders for Health – in this case with the sale of an instant collectors’ motorcycle.”
http://www.bonhams.com/motorcycles
For further press information regarding the auction please contact Katherine Boyle on 0207 468 8363 or Katherine.boyle@bonhams.com / press@bonhams.com
For sale enquiries please contact Ben Walker on 08700 273616 or ben.walker@bonhams.com
For further information on Ross Noble’s tour, please contact St John White or David Price at Prova Public Relations on 01926 776 900 or email stjohnw@provapr.co.uk or davidp@provapr.co.uk.
About Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to http://www.bonhams.com (February 2010).
About Triumph
First established in 1902 and now based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, Triumph Motorcycles is the largest British-owned automotive manufacturer, producing around 50,000 bikes per year.
At the heart of Triumph’s philosophy is a commitment to developing truly unique motorcycles that offer a blend of distinctive design, intuitive handling and performance. The innovation and engineering passion that gave birth to the iconic Bonneville of the 60s has today created a broad range of bikes suited to all motorcycle riders, including the striking 2.3 litre Rocket III, the unmistakable Speed Triple and the SuperSports Daytona 675.
With an impressive 2011 product portfolio in place, including two brand new adventure bikes, and a strong future model development programme in place, Triumph is set to continue to enhance its status in the market place.
Triumph currently employs around 1,200 personnel worldwide and has offices in the UK, America, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Benelux, plus a network of independent distributors. Triumph has manufacturing facilities in Hinckley, Leicestershire and Chonburi, Thailand.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen pictures of the original so I’m not sure how close this one is exactly but she is a beauty either way.
From reader Bill Hornstein: Attached is .. my Triumph Speed Triple. It’s been my daily driver since 2007 and runs great. Also attached is a link to my ride home. Real time is about an hour.
Very cool video
Motorcycle Photo Of The Day 