You've heard he saying before, 'Be Careful what you wish for...you may get it." Well, that may very well be the case for me. After talking big for about a year that I would like to find an old Triumph, dang if I didn't ended up finding one. A completely original, but not running, 1976 750 Bonneville. The only way I found it was that I found the one person in the world who hasn't heard of E-Bay or Craigslist.
It's spent the last 10 years of it's life hidden under a pile of trash in the back of an old Dodge van in North Knoxville, which is probably the biggest thing that saved it. It's all there, and even still has the little sticker on the frame that says made in England. It also has blue duct tape wrapped around the gaping rust holes in each exhaust. I used the old trick of taking a picture of it while it was wet so that it looks shiny, but the paint is well past the point of holding any gloss. It's a survivor, unmolested as some say. You can still see the hand done pin-striping on the tank, what hasn't been washed of by spilled brake fluid. Granted, it's one of the less desirable Oil in Frame models, but the tradeoff is it has disc brakes, and shifts on the left side, so maybe when (and not if) the day comes that I can actually ride it, I won't tear out the transmission stomping on the shift lever trying to stop. I plan on riding it, not making it a show bike. As they say, it's only original once.
So now I get to spend the winter days learning about such strange things as Whitworth fasteners and Positive Ground. One person graciously offered to end my misery before it began and give me what I paid for it. Who knows, at some point I'll probably wish I I took him up on that offer! I'll let you know when I get it running.
