Featured Does Anyone Know Anything About My Union Jack Bonnie?

Hi all, looking for some help from all you Bonnie experts. My bike, pictured, is a 2001 790cc Bonneville with waving Union Jacks on both sides of the tank. It was sold new by Jack Lilley Motorcycles to a Mr Greenway in September 2001. I am no expert but I have never seen another one like this in the months I have been perusing used and new Bonnies and trawling through images of Bonnies online I haven't been able to turn up a single picture of one. There is no indication on the bike or in any of the paperwork (the owner was meticulous and kept everything including a handwritten 'diary' of the few changes and services carried out since purchase)
I am interested to know why it was painted the way it is, and whether it is hand painted or a decal of some sort - There is no raised area to suggest that it's a decal or 'sticker' and the two sides, while seemingly very close don't look quite identical. Was it possibly a 'special' for the release of the new Bonnies in 2001? All information greatfully received.



I have to say that I was a little amused to discover that 19 years and just shy of eight thousand miles later I paid, including delivery, the same amount of quids as the original purchase price

 

If this was a decal then it must have been very carefully and heavily lacquered over and then cut back so that there is no sign of a join or edge to them. On the green area there is a nifty black shadow fading into the green. I would say that this was done, however it was done, in the factory at Hinckley. I have seen Daytona's etc. with official after market decals but these are on another level. I will take some close up photo's of the bike tomorrow to show the flags in detail.

 

Thanks @Alatamoc Nothing would make me think any less of this bike as she is superb. I am just interested to know whether this was a standard option or had a reason behind it like launching the model or as a Dealer advertising model. She has lived a very easy life being owned by the one fellow since she was new until, so I am told, he had to give up riding for health reasons, and has only done under 8,000 miles in her 19 years. Full history right down to receipts for spark plugs!

 

Interesting, @Don the Don I'd love to see photos maybe the fellow in question could provide some if he's reading this? I do note that there were nine Union Jack designs created by Paul Smith and, if I recall the nine T100's with those designs were displayed in Paul Smith shops although I could be wrong and, according to the internet two of these designs were taken by Triumph and put into production as limited editions of 50 of each T100 Bonnie which have numbered limited edition notation on the tank but those weren't produced until 2006 and were 865cc models.

 

2002 model Bonneville America? Not the same design as my 2001 bike but it does appear to be the same graphic as used on the 2002/03 Golden Jubilee edition Bonneville although in a different colour. According to the article, at least in the Golden Jubilee guise it wasn't a factory design but rather a kit that the dealer would fit. http://www.bike-urious.com/2003-triumph-bonneville-golden-jubilee/

Is there a definite border between the graphic and the base colour of the tank on your bike @Ron Ashurst giving it away as applied or is it seamless? On my bike there is no 'step' between the decal and the colour so, either it is a factory application or it has been very heavily lacquered and cut back to a perfect smooth finish.

 

Here are a couple of close up detail pics of my bike. These were sent to me when I was buying the bike as I haven't gotten around to taking any of my own today but I think they show how detailed the design is and how pristine the finish is. If you look at the photo of the top of the tank you can see that both sides are very close but are definitely not identical so it's not a graphic that has just been created and then flipped to provide the other side.

 

Hi Joe, unfortunately I bought the bike from a dealer who had bought it from the owner and I wouldn't like to intrude on him as I think it'd be a bit of an invasion of privacy. I was going to contact the original seller of the bike, Jack Lilley but I gather the company was taken over by The Lind Group in 2017 so I doubt the continuity that was there with the Lilley family remains. Of course, if any one happens to know a member of the Lilley family or is near Lind Triumph and would fancy making some enquiries that would be really cool

 

A few new pics of the tank. Man I love Bonnie's more every time I see them and they suit me just perfectly on the road too!

 

Hah! Sorry I didn't realise I was reflected in the tank although it does show off the brilliant replica Irvin jacket the wife surprised me with t'other day.... Perfect jacket for wearing on a Bonnie!

 

@Traveller that is the Golden Jubilee design that I mentioned in post #10 (with link to the article). Apparently it was a sticker kit that could be bought and fitted by dealers rather than a factory option.

I have dropped an email to Lind Triumph (Formerly Jack Lilley Triumph) in the hopes that someone there might know the origins of the paint job and whether it was factory created. I do wonder if it was some kind of launch special. The handwritten page of 'diary' information on the bike written by the original owner has the purchase date as February 2001 but, according to the receipt, he didn't actually get the bike until September 2001. The original owner was a Mr Greenway from London who owned the bike from new until 2017 and only put six thousand careful miles on her in that time so he must have really rated and cared for her.

 

Well, I have made some progress on finding out about the artwork. I found an email address among the receipts and other history documents that came with the bike which appeared to belong to the previous owner. Dropped a line and received a reply. In the reply the previous owner told me that there should have been a receipt amongst the paperwork which detailed a payment by the original owner of £500 for the artwork and finishing on the tank. So I now know that she didn't roll out of the factory with this scheme and it's a one off airbrush piece.