The Bonneville Project

Recreating the Great Escape

Steve McQueen’s bike jump is an iconic movie moment, but is it as authentic as it looks? To find out, The Times recreated it. Watch the video here.

The 6000rpm Bonnie

A family holiday means I'm unable to work on the bike for a few days.

Rather than not update The Bonneville Project weblog, I've decided to post a link to a short video.

It's a 24-second film of a 1968 T120 Bonneville accelerating to 6000rpm.

To play the video, click the photo (above left).

It's a 4MB file, so may take a while to download on slower connections, but is well worth the wait.

I suggest setting the volume on your computer to ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM while it loads.

The sound this machine makes is awesome.

I watch - and more especially listen - to this film whenever I need inspiration to work on my bike.

The video is from The Bike Shed website. It belongs to Hugh Brown, one of Britain's best Bonneville restorers.

I'll be well impressed if I can turn my "Just To Show It Goes" bike into something that sounds like Hugh's.

Bikes and babies don't mix

It's been just over a year since I bought the Bonneville and I'm much further behind with the restoration than I ever intended.

There are numerous reasons for this - some more valid than others.

First, restoring a bike much more time consuming than I ever thought it would be. There are so many bits and it requires a steep learning curve.

Secondly, it's much more expensive too. And not made any easier by the fact that no single supplier seems to have ALL the parts you need when you need them.

Thirdly, I have spent a lot of time and money on the bike and haven't really got anything to show for it.

In other words, I have lots of shiny bits of metal lying around the place but nothing - so far - ressembling anything that looks like it might be a bike.

Finally, these days I'm more likely to be found up to my elbows in baby goo rather than bike grease.

My 18-month-old daughter - like the bike - is demanding much more of my time and money than I thought she ever would.

Recently, however, she's started nursery so I should now (hopefully) have more time to devote to the bike.

The aim is to get a rolling chassis, complete with painted and straightened frame, by October.

Then at least I'll have something to wheel round and hang her Christmas presents on...

To repair or replace?

This bike is never going to be as original as it was when it first came into my posession.

True, it had been mildly customised to satisfy the whim of its previous owner, but nothing was less than 35-years-old.

It still dripped oil and even smelled authentic.

Now, in putting the bike back on the road, some of that authenticity is going to be lost. Although I'm creating a rideable machine, I'm also in danger of destroying some of its spirit.

The speedometer gearbox is a case in point. Rather than refurbish the old gearbox, I discovered it was cheaper to buy a replacement.

So I ordered one - and very nice it looks too (click on photo (right) for a larger picture).

Except that the original bears the proud words "Smiths Motor Accessories Ltd, England." And then "Brit Pat 529397".

Smiths started as clock and watch business in mid-19th century London*.

The replacement gearbox has no words. There's nothing wrong with it - in fact, nobody would probably notice the lack of writing once it's on the bike.

But it has no history or pedigree. It's just not the real thing and was probably made in the Far East.

So, I've decided after all that I will have the old gearbox refurbished. It will take a little longer and cost a little more money but I believe it will be worth it.

The same goes for the numbers on the faded instrument dials. It's possible these days to have them reprinted with computer-aided accuracy.

But I prefer the originals and I'm keeping them.

*Smiths eventually became an aerospace-to-medical equipment maker. In January 2007, it agreed to sell its aerospace division to US giant General Electric (GE) for £2.5bn - see BBC online story.

First post in ages

This is my first post in ages - for more than two months in fact.

The project has taken a back seat over recent weeks.

First it fell victim to a heavy workload in the run-up to Christmas, then the festive season itself got in the way.

Finally, family commitments meant little time.

The way I feel right now, I'd quite like to give up my job for a few weeks and spend some 'quality time' with the bike, but that just isn't possible.

Even so, progress has been made in my absence.

That is because in early December I took the engine to Barnfields Classics to have a complete nut-and-bolt strip and rebuild.

Hardcore restorers will probably view this as cheating - and I can understand that many people will think I should have tackled the engine rebuild myself.

But I just don't have the expertise or the tools.

I admit that you have to start somewhere, but I also feel that working on a big twin without any prior experience would be tantamount to running before I can walk.

Or like a novice surgeon performing open-heart surgery.

Anyway, the engine should be finished soon and I'm looking forward to getting it back very much indeed.

Video clips and words

I've started making video clips as I continue to strip down various bits of the bike into their component parts.

It's easier than writing indecipherable notes, and will make reassembly easier, although I'll still take photos too.

Double-clicking on the picture above should start the video, although it's not exactly user-friendly.

Still, I'm trying to build a bike, not trying to be the next Steven Spielberg...

This clip shows the removal of the bearing and felt retainer from the rear sprocket and brake drum.

I wish I'd videoed the entire rear hub disassembly because putting it together again is going to be complicated!

Triumph parts numbers

Arghhhh!!! Having just taken delivery of a Triumph Replacement Parts catalogue, I now discover that ordering replacement components is going to be rather time-consuming.

For one thing, there are so many parts that need replacing.

The situation is complicated because in 1973, Triumph introduced a new numbering system which superceded the system in existence in 1968/69.

Thus I am going to have to convert a whole load of alphanumeric numbers into the new system so I can be sure I am ordering the right components.

To save a big headache, I'll do this as I go along.

The old alpha-numeric numbers convert as follows:

OLD SYSTEM                    NEW SYSTEM

D-XXXX (four digits)           60-XXXX
E-XXXX (four digits)           70-XXXX
E-XXXXX (five digits)          71-XXXX
F-XXXX (four digits)           82-XXXX
F-XXXXX (five digits)          83-XXXX
H-XXXX (four digits)           97-XXXX
S-XXXXX (four digits)          21-XXXX
T-XXXX (four digits)            51-XXXX
W-XXXX (four digits)           37-XXXX

It should be fairly straightforward and somewhat frustrating, but it will all be worth it as the new bits and bobs arrive bright and shiny in the post.

Let's hope so, anyway!

Complicated serial numbers...

After being in possession of the bike for almost a week, I suddenly realised something wasn't quite right.

The bike's serial number NC##### suggests it was built in October 1969.

Triumph's numbering system used a two-letter prefix - the first letter (N) indicating the month (October) and the second letter (C) the year (1969).

All well and good. Until I realised that the registration plate - prefixed with the letter G - meant the bike was first registered between August 1968 and August 1969.

This led to a somewhat sleepless night trying to reconcile how a G-plate could appear on a bike that hadn't yet rolled out the factory.

Fortunately, I think I've just stumbled across the answer.

According to the British Spares website, the NC##### serial number is apparently based on Triumph's MODEL year, not the CALENDAR year.

And the model year ran from August of the previous year to July of the current year.

So the T120 1969 model was manufactured from August 1968 to July 1969.

This means the bike is actually a year older than first thought, being made in October 1968, rather than October 1969.

So despite the apparent anomaly, it's definitely a 1969 Bonneville which is good - I was beginning to wonder whether I'd bought a ringer!

Apparently, if we ever get round to it, there is also a two- digit number inside a circle cast into the rockerbox area between the inlet valves.

This will show the year of manufacture, which will be the year prior to the model year.

In which case, the number should be 68. At least I think so - those Triumph number crunchers certainly liked to make life complicated...

My first autojumble

Monstrously hot weather ensured a good turnout at the Battlesbridge autojumble in Essex today.

This was my first autojumble and I was rather shocked to find that the entry fee was £5 - just to look around.

True, the admission price was waived for riders arriving on classic bikes, but a £5 entry fee is hardly a good way of attracting new people to the cause.

High street shops don't charge potential customers to browse, so why should people be expected to pay to look around a few dozen stalls selling bits of rusting metal?

Nevertheless, one man's junk is another man's jewellery (or something like that) and I was able to purchase two important books.

The first book was the Haynes Triumph 650 & 750 Twins Owners Workshop Manual. Originally published in 1973 with a cover price of £1.50, it cost me the princely sum of £5.

The second book was Instruction Manual No 17 for Triumph Twin Cylinder Models "B" range. Apparently it is important for me to have one of these books, even though it cost a whopping £15.

While at the autojumble, I spoke to the people at the Triumph Owners' Motorcycle Club stand.

Not actually being a Triumph owner is no barrier to joining the club and the people on the stand said they would welcome me as an associate member.

I'm not sure whether becoming an associate member will be of any benefit - the club rep couldn't say where I might find a 1969 Bonneville, other than the usual classified ads. I think I'll hang fire before deciding whether to sign up.

I also spoke at length to a couple of bikers who arrived at the autojumble on their single-cylinder Vincent Comets.

I really like the Vincents, especially the twins, but they are prohibitively expensive. One day I hope to have one, but for now it will have to wait.

Barnfields Classics

This afternoon I explained the Bonneville Project to John at Barnfields Classics, during a visit to his workshop in Essex.

John restores Triumph and BSA motorcycles, including T120 Bonnevilles. It's good to have someone so knowledgeable less than 30 mins drive away.

Some of the Barnfields bikes are US imports, others are UK specification Bonnies. John says he will keep an eye out for a 1969 T120, but it could take a bit of time to track one down.

Going down the dealer route to source a bike can be more expensive, but for a novice it is less risky than buying 'blind' privately or from Ebay.

Depending on condition, I'm prepared to pay up to £3000 on the bike, although obviously a lot less if it is a complete basket case.

Meanwhile, I will continue looking for a 1969 T120 bike myself.

If you have an unrestored 1969 Bonneville lurking in the back of your garage and you want to sell, let me know - I'll probably snap your hand off! You can email me here.