Description
Please Note: In response to customer requests, we are implementing an automatic bid bump: if your proxy bid meets or exceeds the reserve price, bidding will jump up to meet that price and you will see “Reserve price has been met” under the price. Please contact abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com if you have any questions!
Additional photos of this 1970 Triumph Bonneville T120RT are available here for your perusal.
In 1969, the AMA changed their rules for the Grand National Championship – previously, OHV motors were capped to 500cc for equivalency sake to compete with sidevalves up to 750cc. But that changed in the world of flat track, allowing 750cc OHV motors as long as at least 200 examples were built and offered to the public for homologation purposes.
But Triumph wasn’t interested in immediately meeting that rule with their Bonneville for flat track racing, as they had just debuted the all-new 750cc Trident and needed to keep some distinction between the models. Triumph’s East Coast US distributor (Tricor) knew what had to be done for competition’s sake, so they built (in conjunction with Sonny Routt) a 750cc conversion kit for the 650cc Bonnie. As noted in this excellent article by Terry MacDonald, the $200 kit included a cylinder block, piston, and rings – they took brand new bikes in the crate, removed the top end, and installed the race kit. “Incidentally the letter T was added to the engine number only – any addition of this letter to the frame would certainly indicate a forgery!”
A letter from the General Sales manager of Triumph USA (Page 1, Page 2) notes that “we are conducting a nationwide market test of a limited number of 750cc Bonneville models. Involved in this test will be a total number of 200 machines. Triumph East will market 125 such machines, and Triumph West will test market 75 machines. It is our desire to get the widest possible market coverage for these units; and, to this end, we will offer and allocate one 750cc Bonneville T120RT model to each of the top 125 dealers in sales volume during 1969.” Due to the experimental nature of the machine, each dealership was obligated to have buyers sign a liability waiver with their purchase. Per the seller, “the bike here for auction is one of those 200 converted bikes. Authentication verified through AMA, who maintains the original factory list of bikes modified.”
This example is VIN: AD38490, Engine #: T120RT AD38490.
The seller acquired it sixteen years ago from Baxter Cycle in Marne, Iowa in 2005. “Randy Baxter purchased the bike from the wife of the deceased owner during the estate settlement. After Randy decided to restore this rare limited quantity bike, he offered the bike to a repeat customer living in Maryland. The customer stated he would buy the bike but unexpected financial burdens caused him to back out of the deal. Randy called me, explained the situation and I purchased it for my Bonneville collection.”
The odometer shows 16 miles after the restoration, the original mileage is unknown.
The seller states that there are no cosmetic blemishes or mechanical issues.
He is letting it go as he is “79 years old and declining health issues force me to liquidate my collection. Health limitations prevent my riding the bike, but it is cranked at regular intervals.”
Currently located in Mount Airy, North Carolina, this Triumph is offered on a clean Iowa title. Have any Bonneville stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
Please Note: In response to customer requests, we are implementing an automatic bid bump: if your proxy bid meets or exceeds the reserve price, bidding will jump up to meet that price and you will see “Reserve price has been met” under the price. Please contact abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com if you have any questions!
