Have not ridden this bike since 2020 according to the inspection sticker. So, gas in the tank is that old. This bike was restored from the ground up in 2012.
Although I know that the web is full of individuals who have no place else to show what they know, I like to think that most comments, no matter how critical are shared with good intentions. I also like to think that much of what is said in posts that may be taken negatively could be said face to face with a completely different interpretation. The wink of an eye, a smile, just knowing the person saying it makes a world of difference. I figure if someone took the time to watch an old geezer like me start up an old bike like the T120R, we probably have more in common than not. Plus, anyone who has ridden bikes for a long time and especially those who prefer vintage machines have met more than their share of "experts" who are willing to share all they know at the drop of a hat. 🙄But in many if not most cases, they also know quite a bit so listening to the long version is the price you have to pay to gain a little knowledge from them.😁
We used to have the T140 - not a very reliable motorbyke. However, she is like a crazy and charming girl. You never have planned to stay with her, but you can´t forget her. Your wifes background noise was great ! 🤣
Beautiful bike! - my 1st Bonnie was an identical '66. 'Loved it! (A bit hard, though, to observe the hard initial revving on a cold, unused for 3 yrs. engine.)
For those with the critical comments, I did not want to waste anyone's time with foolishness like freeing up the clutch, kicking the bike over to get oil to circulate, etc.. Just cuz the bike was cold, does not mean it was not prepped a bit. This was not intended to be an instructional video. It was simply a short vid meant entirely for entertainment purposes. Although it would appear that my wife upstaged me, big time. 🙂 Not sure I'd call what I did revving the nuts off it. You'll note the puff of smoke when she fired up. That's the fogging oil in the jugs burning off. I also later found that she had wet-sumped while sitting. I took her for a short spin around the yard and when I parked her back on the driveway, she started barfing oil out the breather. So, I think it is safe to say that the bottom end was "well lubed".😉 Later that week, I took her for a ride with an old friend. About 10 miles from home she died going thru a corner. Had zero electrical power. Turns out the AGM battery had given up the ghost on the ride. If I had points in the bike, it probably would have run until I shut it off. But the Pazon EI has a min voltage requirement, and it obviously was not met. In the investigation process I learned that AGM type batteries can fool the modern smart chargers and that is just what this one did. I put it on my newest Battery Tender and this time I watched the charger. It went thru the first two charge modes and into the 3rd in under a minute. Kinda gives the impression it is fully charged. Nope. Has 12 volts, but no amp capacity. Have a similar battery in a 65 BSA A65C and that brought the Bonnie back to life.
I was wondering if the charger was an Optimate? I have three of them out in the garage looking after the bikes. Never had an issue but interested in your experience. Good video by the way.
Those who say the newer Triumph Bonnevilles look exactly like the old ones should watch this. All the subtle differences add up to this, the original, being a thing a exquisite beauty, while the new ones are nice looking bikes.
I had a sea mist green / silver '67 TR6. I love how these bikes pull through 3rd gear. If they had wings they would fly. Yours is absolutely beautiful. The sound really took me back. Your wife could use a hand back there.. ;)
Stunning & uncommon view of the primary long header side, Rob! ~Obligements; From that last place resting State, of our 3 Blood Baptized Texans... Crockett, Bowie, & Travis. '68 Trophy Sports fully restored back in 2012 by Big D Cycle DU69160.
Always pull the clutch in when doing priming kicks, dual purpose, most importantly it frees the clutch plates,secondly, it is easier to do. And BTW, never rev a cold engine like that, especially after such a long time in storage.
Thanks for all the compliments. Seems the wife is still the star of the vid. I honestly did not know she was there until she yelled after the bag broke. By then, it was too late. As for pulling the clutch in for priming kicks, I doubt you'd get much priming accomplished with the clutch pulled in. I know I mentioned this before, but first order of business with a Triumph or BSA is to free the clutch. Since that's a given, why bore folks with the basics. The vid was about the wake-up. Not a how-to on starting Triumphs. And on my BSA, the clutch is NEVER stuck and I still go thru the routine just in case. Regards....
Sorry to say that your starting procedure is incorrect. My 67 Bonneville always started on the first or second kick. First I broke the clutch loose by one or kicks with the clutch lever pulled in. Next, I flooded the left carb, turned on the key and kicked. Never used the choke. She always fired! No insult intended! Been riding since 1960 and now 75 years of age!
Amals with ticklers were as good as Lucas was bad! Had five Trumpets, loved every one. And yours doesn't have a HIDEOUS SEAM on the bottom of the gas tank either.
Nice bike with a beautiful sound. (All wives make the same sounds but I'm surprised yours didn't cover her ears when it fired up.) BTW- If I were to idle my 1977 Bonny on its side-stand I'd end with an oil splotch on my driveway due to it throwing some from my primary chaincase. But then again, I think my bike leans further than yours. 😊
The bonnie hasn't started in 3 years ....and when it does start you rev the nuts off of it !!!!, bloody hell are you mental !!!, treat the old girl with respect!!!......but she does sound bloody amazing 😊.
It seems that my wife was the hit of the vid. In my defense, my wife is Sicilian and as a result, very dramatic about things. If she nicks her finger, she screams like she cut off her arm. It's just how she's wired. She's also notorious for not thinking thru a problem and then suffering the consequences. So, when I heard her yell and the stuff hitting the ground, I figured, here we go again. But in this case, she was purely a victim of a shoddy product. The bottom of the bag let go. As for my dinner going in the bin, another one of her traits is that she is not vindictive with the ones she loves. She actually hates to see women doing destructive things like dumping their man's dinner because they were upset about something. She thinks it is childish and mean. Plus, as an Italian, she is just not capable of throwing perfectly good food that she prepared, into the trash. That's a good thing too, because she's one heluva cook.
If the bike was stoped for so long you should take the plugs off and kick a few times for the oil circulate and fhen put the plugs and make it work easy just at the iddle speed, what you did was very bad for the engine...
I try not to torture viewers with mundane stuff like kicking the engine over to prime it with oil. Plus this engine had sat so long that it had wet sumped. What you don't see in the vid is shortly after ending the vid, it puked about a pint of oil out the breather. Trust me, it was well lubricated.
@@robs3670 even worse for it. Your a bad owner. And I call bullshit. If you know these bikes. You know all the things that need to be done before there stored away and after they’ve sat before you restart them. 3 years sitting? Those Amals would be all gunked up just for starters.
Thanks, I'll tell her. She will be 70 in October so this should help her with that. If I get ambitious, maybe I'll make another short vid with a walk around. Or if we get a rainy day and I've got nothing to do, maybe I'll make a video with a slideshow of the rebuild and include a vid or two of it running. I think I made a vid when I started it for the first time.
You Yanks always make me laugh ,when try and start a big British Twin, when these bikes are cold , 1 petrol on 2 tickle the carbs until petrol comes out 3 Clutch in 2 kicks 4 Turn key on 5 Then a big kick , and off you go,
the wife with the broken grocery bag in the background was classic.
😂😂😂
Sad of me I know but I had to laugh at the dropped shopping bag too 😢😅😂❤
The whole thing is a classic!
Obviously Dad had more important things to do, lol.
Husband annoyed by the wife making noise...
Fires up the Bonneville!
Much Better!
He didn't even look when she shouted 😂
The wife indifference to a Triumph Bournville is palpable. Your bike being T120 understandably is centre stage , but your wife is the star. Love it.
Great bike, mate, and a real credit to you, but your missus was certainly the star of the show!!!
😂😂😂
Although I know that the web is full of individuals who have no place else to show what they know, I like to think that most comments, no matter how critical are shared with good intentions. I also like to think that much of what is said in posts that may be taken negatively could be said face to face with a completely different interpretation. The wink of an eye, a smile, just knowing the person saying it makes a world of difference. I figure if someone took the time to watch an old geezer like me start up an old bike like the T120R, we probably have more in common than not. Plus, anyone who has ridden bikes for a long time and especially those who prefer vintage machines have met more than their share of "experts" who are willing to share all they know at the drop of a hat. 🙄But in many if not most cases, they also know quite a bit so listening to the long version is the price you have to pay to gain a little knowledge from them.😁
I got to get another one, but I'm an old geezer also, got to get serious before time runs out.
a higher view. good on you... and the Triumph
Old Bonnevilles have best sounds of the motorbikes ever.
Too old for bikes now don't know how we survived we bought a bonny in d 70s an old one we were young and did we use it some machine great days 😂
LOL... wife struggling in the background......this guy is like "dammit ! not now woman, cant you see I'm playing with my motorcycle" classic!!
We used to have the T140 - not a very reliable motorbyke. However, she is like a crazy and charming girl. You never have planned to stay with her, but you can´t forget her. Your wifes background noise was great ! 🤣
Beautiful bike! - my 1st Bonnie was an identical '66. 'Loved it! (A bit hard, though, to observe the hard initial revving on a cold, unused for 3 yrs. engine.)
I'm glad you were as indifferent to your wife's groceries as she was to your start up moment!
I had a '73 750 I built from a basket case. Torque about a low rpm gentle torquer with very nice easy going handling. I miss her.
Beautiful looking and sounding bike Rob
For those with the critical comments, I did not want to waste anyone's time with foolishness like freeing up the clutch, kicking the bike over to get oil to circulate, etc.. Just cuz the bike was cold, does not mean it was not prepped a bit. This was not intended to be an instructional video. It was simply a short vid meant entirely for entertainment purposes. Although it would appear that my wife upstaged me, big time. 🙂
Not sure I'd call what I did revving the nuts off it. You'll note the puff of smoke when she fired up. That's the fogging oil in the jugs burning off. I also later found that she had wet-sumped while sitting. I took her for a short spin around the yard and when I parked her back on the driveway, she started barfing oil out the breather. So, I think it is safe to say that the bottom end was "well lubed".😉
Later that week, I took her for a ride with an old friend. About 10 miles from home she died going thru a corner. Had zero electrical power. Turns out the AGM battery had given up the ghost on the ride. If I had points in the bike, it probably would have run until I shut it off. But the Pazon EI has a min voltage requirement, and it obviously was not met. In the investigation process I learned that AGM type batteries can fool the modern smart chargers and that is just what this one did. I put it on my newest Battery Tender and this time I watched the charger. It went thru the first two charge modes and into the 3rd in under a minute. Kinda gives the impression it is fully charged. Nope. Has 12 volts, but no amp capacity. Have a similar battery in a 65 BSA A65C and that brought the Bonnie back to life.
Thank you for the insights Rob. Everyone on the internet thinks they know better than everyone else.
I was wondering if the charger was an Optimate? I have three of them out in the garage looking after the bikes. Never had an issue but interested in your experience. Good video by the way.
@@bm7760 No. I have 3 Battery Tenders, one is brand new and will do 6 or 12v, a couple BT Juniors and a Battery Minder.
Those who say the newer Triumph Bonnevilles look exactly like the old ones should watch this. All the subtle differences add up to this, the original, being a thing a exquisite beauty, while the new ones are nice looking bikes.
I had a sea mist green / silver '67 TR6. I love how these bikes pull through 3rd gear. If they had wings they would fly.
Yours is absolutely beautiful. The sound really took me back. Your wife could use a hand back there.. ;)
That`s a beautiful example. Thanks for keeping it like that
possibly the best looking bike ever made
Stunning & uncommon view of the primary long header side, Rob!
~Obligements; From that last place resting State, of our 3 Blood Baptized Texans...
Crockett, Bowie, & Travis.
'68 Trophy Sports fully restored back in 2012 by Big D Cycle DU69160.
Great bike. Loved your wife in the background as well ;-)
Always pull the clutch in when doing priming kicks, dual purpose, most importantly it frees the clutch plates,secondly, it is easier to do. And BTW, never rev a cold engine like that, especially after such a long time in storage.
Thanks for all the compliments. Seems the wife is still the star of the vid. I honestly did not know she was there until she yelled after the bag broke. By then, it was too late. As for pulling the clutch in for priming kicks, I doubt you'd get much priming accomplished with the clutch pulled in. I know I mentioned this before, but first order of business with a Triumph or BSA is to free the clutch. Since that's a given, why bore folks with the basics. The vid was about the wake-up. Not a how-to on starting Triumphs. And on my BSA, the clutch is NEVER stuck and I still go thru the routine just in case.
Regards....
Lots of guys whack the throttle as they are coming down on the kick start stroke. Bad habit. Let the idle circuit do its job.
Sorry to say that your starting procedure is incorrect.
My 67 Bonneville always started on the first or second kick.
First I broke the clutch loose by one or kicks with the clutch lever pulled in.
Next, I flooded the left carb, turned on the key and kicked. Never used the choke.
She always fired!
No insult intended! Been riding since 1960 and now 75 years of age!
Beautiful bike. Great start up & what a sound. I struggle to kick a 350 nowadays😅
wonderful Bike Sound🔥
What a beautiful bike, thanks for sharing!
Amals with ticklers were as good as Lucas was bad! Had five Trumpets, loved every one. And yours doesn't have a HIDEOUS SEAM on the bottom of the gas tank either.
For a few seconds there I thought you were going to give your wife a couple of kicks lol... Good stuff thanks for posting...
Lovely old bike mate.
What a great looking bike!
Nice bike with a beautiful sound. (All wives make the same sounds but I'm surprised yours didn't cover her ears when it fired up.) BTW- If I were to idle my 1977 Bonny on its side-stand I'd end with an oil splotch on my driveway due to it throwing some from my primary chaincase. But then again, I think my bike leans further than yours. 😊
My favorite year, I used to have one. I want yours👍
Engine sounds very good , is in good tune
awesome sound 😁😁
Lovely. I have the same year. Salute from England.
Thanks. Restoring this bike convinced me that LSD was developed in the Engineering Dept. at Triumph. But that makes the bike all that more loveable.
@@robs3670 Lol, sounds about right.
Also a 66 here enjoyed your wake up start
beautiful
Looking great
Wonderful ! 👌👌
"Bonneville" une icône!
The bonnie hasn't started in 3 years ....and when it does start you rev the nuts off of it !!!!, bloody hell are you mental !!!, treat the old girl with respect!!!......but she does sound bloody amazing 😊.
I HAVE A 1956 650cc TROPHY Bird IVE Had it 42 yrs 😁OUR ROADS ARE Bloody TERRIBLE Massive POT HOLES ETC 😳NICE Bike M8 KEEP Rocking And Rolling g
Waiting for ypu to do the "ton up" ;-)
I think we all know why he hasn't ridden that beauty in 3 years, get on that baby and ride like the wind and don't look back!!! 😢
What a sound
let`s time stop when boys on the bikes
Справился.
Old Gas? Sir, that's no way to talk about your wife.
Most beautiful bike ever made IMO
I admire your sense of priority sir, but I bet you paid dearly for being so cool. I take it that was your dinner that ended up in the bin.
It seems that my wife was the hit of the vid. In my defense, my wife is Sicilian and as a result, very dramatic about things. If she nicks her finger, she screams like she cut off her arm. It's just how she's wired. She's also notorious for not thinking thru a problem and then suffering the consequences. So, when I heard her yell and the stuff hitting the ground, I figured, here we go again. But in this case, she was purely a victim of a shoddy product. The bottom of the bag let go.
As for my dinner going in the bin, another one of her traits is that she is not vindictive with the ones she loves. She actually hates to see women doing destructive things like dumping their man's dinner because they were upset about something. She thinks it is childish and mean. Plus, as an Italian, she is just not capable of throwing perfectly good food that she prepared, into the trash. That's a good thing too, because she's one heluva cook.
It sounds like music
0:52 LOL
1.54 Beautiful 😜💕
If the bike was stoped for so long you should take the plugs off and kick a few times for the oil circulate and fhen put the plugs and make it work easy just at the iddle speed, what you did was very bad for the engine...
I try not to torture viewers with mundane stuff like kicking the engine over to prime it with oil. Plus this engine had sat so long that it had wet sumped. What you don't see in the vid is shortly after ending the vid, it puked about a pint of oil out the breather. Trust me, it was well lubricated.
@@robs3670 even worse for it. Your a bad owner. And I call bullshit. If you know these bikes. You know all the things that need to be done before there stored away and after they’ve sat before you restart them. 3 years sitting? Those Amals would be all gunked up just for starters.
0:53
Your wife must really love you to let you do that whilst she's doing groceries
🥱😢😵💫🤕 That poor engine is revved up like that from cold after a long storage.
rob im in my 30s can i buy that from you and ride it everyday?
Shame no camera walk around , lovely looking wife
Thanks, I'll tell her. She will be 70 in October so this should help her with that. If I get ambitious, maybe I'll make another short vid with a walk around. Or if we get a rainy day and I've got nothing to do, maybe I'll make a video with a slideshow of the rebuild and include a vid or two of it running. I think I made a vid when I started it for the first time.
Maybe not let the wife out next time you're making a video? I would have said to her: "How Dare You interrupt my Video!!"
thank god for electric start.
you should help your wife sir
They ain't that hard to start............Fact
You Yanks always make me laugh ,when try and start a big British Twin, when these bikes are cold , 1 petrol on
2 tickle the carbs until petrol comes out
3 Clutch in 2 kicks
4 Turn key on
5 Then a big kick , and off you go,
Beautiful bike sounds amazing 2