Secret treasure
It was at the Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show in February 2016 that I first saw this glistening, superbly restored Triumph Bonneville, but it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to do the research for this article, I realised quite how rare it is.
The unit construction T120C Competition Sports carrying the registration number of LKE 421B is now owned by West Country enthusiast Roger Chapman, and is just one of the 227 examples made by the Meriden factory between 1963 and 1965. In the USA, where it and all of its 226 siblings were sold by Triumph’s east coast distributor TriCor, it is now believed to be one of only three examples resident here in its land of original manufacture.
The Bonnie’s present owner, Roger, has a truly eclectic collection of motorcycles and if you’re a regular reader of the magazine you might recall my previous articles on his couple of Moto Guzzis – an Eldorado and a Mk.I Le Mans – along with an extremely unusual Triumph-engined Italjet Grifon.
The T120C was brought back from the States in 2003, when it was restored and then purchased by
