THE SPORTY SIDE OF BONNEVILLE
A modern motorcycle manufacturer Triumph may well be, but there’s no doubt the British firm draws heavily on its original history for selected models. The Thruxton 1200R is one of them.
When early Triumphs were built in its Meriden factory between 1942 and 1983, the first Thruxton was a specifically designed, hand-built homologation special. Named after the famous Hampshire race circuit, the ‘Thruxton Bonneville’ model was made from 1965 to compete in the prestigious 500-mile endurance race. In the 1969 race, the Triumph filled the top three places.
When the first Triumph company ceased trading, it was brought back to life by the entrepreneur John Bloor in 1983. His new firm began building machines in Hinckley, Leicestershire, in 1991. The first batch of the second-generation Thruxton 900s started leaving the production line in 2004, the 68bhp air-cooled 360° parallel twins coming in an 865cc capacity. These café racers
