While scanning the web for info on the bike, I ran across the website of a company that makes T shirts from Vintage ads – for Chevy, Dodge, Ducati – even Triumph. SO, I went to look at the Triumph ads and ran across this gem from 1968. Understand that the 500 was considered a “girl’s bike” – I suppose the 650 Bonneville was for the guys. That sort of thing is long gone, but … the phrase “The best of both worlds” holds special meaning for T people. Emma even thinks the model looks like me … I’m flattered …but … I dunno …

Click to see the whole ad!

Amazing what a little paint and a week of cleanup can do! This is whatI’ve accomplished with a couple rattlecans of lacquer – I plan to pay someone for a nice paint job later – but this will do for now.
I’ve bid and won on a seat, factory shop manual, and some other things that are yet on the way … It still needs a battery and a pair of tires – and I need to rig up a stoplight and headlight assembly. One thing – in 1970, Triumphs did not come with Turn Signals – if I want them, I have to fabricate the mounts, wiring and such!

But … it IS getting closer to the fun!

click to enlarge (enlarged pix is 240k!)

As usual – click to enlarge …

On Saturday July 12th I got up at 1:30am.
I started coffee, took a shower, and then hopped into a rented pickup, headed up to Baltimore to pick up Andrea and Jahnna. I’d told them about buying an old Triumph when Emma and I ran in them Dallas. We’d all gone to Dallas for the UFMCC World Conference, and Andrea had volunteered to ride along with me to New Hampshire when I drove up to get the bike. This pleased Emma greatly (she worries about me – isn’t love grand!).
Anywho – they live near Camden Yard, so after they jumped in, we left Baltimore at 3AM and headed north! The drive went well ’til we hit a traffic backup for the Triborough bridge in New York city. Ugh (and I though DC drivers were agressive and rude)!!
Once past NYC the drive again went really well. We were making marvelous time, it was a glorious sunny day and the views were beautiful! There were a lot of folks out riding bikes – tho a lot more rode without helmets that we’d expect!
We stopped on the edge of Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts around 9:30 for a pit stop and to call ahead and tell Greg we were way ahead of schedule –
but we just got their voicemail and decided to call again when we were closer!
We got to Lowell a bit after 11 and called again – and Greg was out running errands – so we left our cellphone number and decided to take a look around Lowell. I was excited – I mean, there’s the Merrimack River from the Tom Rush song, and I knew Lowell was Jack Kerouac’s hometown (!) – but Andrea and Jahnna didn’t know about them – tho they did think it was a beautiful place!

We got a call back from Greg who was surprised we were so close already – so we ended the brief sightseeing trip and headed on to his place in the town of Merrimack. All went really well, he was a friendly guy and we talked bikes for a while, and I trade some cash for the bike and a box of parts. After we finished loading the bike I asked Greg for suggestions on a good restaraunt where we could get lobster for lunch – and he recommended a little place called “The Lobster Boat”. Off we went – and very soon we were enjoying a wonderful meal. Our waitress recommended an appetizer: Lobster Fingers – and they were fabulous – strips of lobster in a tempura-style batter and quick fried – yumm! The real joy of lunch wasn’t the lobster (tho it was good) – we’d all ordered a sampler plate with lobster, scallops and shrimp – and the scallops !!! Absolutely tender melt-in-your-mouth scallops – I’ve never eatten such great scallops!
I’d almost drive there again just for that meal! Almost …

But far too soon, it was time to get back into the truck and head South …
we made a wrong turn somewhere and wound up jogging into Boston and then through Cambridge before we made our way back to the right part of 95 South,
but even that was interesting. We hit traffic again as we neared New York city.
It was just past twilight as we passed the Meadowlands, and it started raining … hard! Yuck! Well, it was raining on and off as we continued through New Jersey,
– and somewhere in Delaware I decided to take a break. I’d been driving all day and I knew I had an hour and a half worth of driving after I dropped them off in Baltimore… so it was time for a nap. We stopped at a rest stop and took did a pit stop and I laid my head against the passenger backrest. I must have gone to sleep instantly – the next thing I knew we were in the tunnel in Baltimore! Andrea drove us to their home, they unpacked, and I headed back to Virginia.
I made good time too – after the long drive up and back, I was home just after midnight …
… and I’ve got this great souvenir from the trip!

After a long month of reading and shopping and searching through the classifieds and many other sources, I’ve bought a motorcycle! Not what I first started off at, but perhaps a better purchase overall. I’ve put money down on a project bike, a "parts bike" – a 1970 Triumph Trophy 500 – aka T100C. Its very much like the first Triumph I had in school … a bike I rode to Myrtle Beach one very long Labor Day weekend. The bike I’m getting needs a battery, paint, better tires and some finessing to get it running – but its a great start for a 33 year old bike (Manufactured date Feb 1970).
I have visions of cleaning it up and stripping it down like some of the leaned down bikes
on this site … – like a 500cc version of this one

A gorgeous 69 Trophy 500 I saw online (Click to see more)

click to enlarge

With all this rain we have had in the past month, the rare warm and sunny days have triggered memories of days long gone, days when I rode a British bike everywhere. Now in my riding days (70-76), Triumphs were still in production, and parts were almost available – there were 4 or 5 dealers in the Baltimore Washington area, and Triumph distribution was just north of Baltimore! Since those days, a lot has changed. BSA went out of business in 72, Triumph finally failed in the 80s (tho they’ve “come back” with new designs), and old British iron has become even rarer. So to humour my dreams, I’ve done a lot of web searches and – I’ve developed an interest in old thumpers – one of the big British singles. Something about those old BSA Victor Specials is appealing.
I’ve got a decent shed now to keep it out of the rain and snow, got the tools to manage it, I even have alternate transportation (the car) for the majority of my time, the bike would be for fun only … Now, all I need to do is find one somewhat locally. Or perhaps an older Triumph 500 or 750 twin of the early 70s – one with the shifter where it belongs! The picture above is my old Tiger 750 (single carb). After an unfortunate tussle with the side of a pickup truck, the original frame was tweaked and I located a ’67 650 frame to put it all in. I put on a lightweight rear fender, removed or trimmed the sidecovers, and even found an old aluminium BSA gas tank to save more weight. I kept the front chrome fender for looks … I sold it off to get into sports cars – as I couldn’t afford both … and was trying to “settle down”! Ah, who knew …

Link to read more about the older Triumph bikes