'Bloor's Triumphs stay together much better than the Meriden offerings, probably can dispatch the 'accessories for keeping things gathered'. (How did I do for a yank?)' True enough, but many years in between of course. Thanks for the welcome everyone. So, talking of Meriden, my Bonnie is not my first Triumph. That was a 1975 registered, but 1973 built, 500cc Daytona. It was one of the 250 or so bikes locked in at Meriden by the workers, who staged a sit in against the factory closure. After 18 months or so, the then government Trade Minister, Tony Benn, helped them create the first 'Workers Co-operative' business. Their first task was to release the locked in bikes. Slocombes? of Neasden, north London bought most of them. They were all US spec bikes with wider bars and small tanks (I wonder if that was styling or if our 'merican friends are not too good at steering and never go further than a gallon of gas ). Whatever, you chose the one you wanted from a batch of bikes that were new but didn't look it and paid the man £625. Anyone know where it is - LLB721P. (images to follow). Fast forward to 2000 and I was feeling a bit more flush than when I needed to sell that Daytona, so I started looking for it. DVLA would tell me little, but did have it on the system as a 650cc. So it had been converted to look like a Bonnie probably as they were much more valuable. Then I read a newspaper article about John Bloor. About how he first bought the brands, then kept a trickle of production with a dealer (Harris?) in the south west somewhere, until he built a factory, sources all manner of bits and went into production of the new range. I knew nothing about it, but the article was history leading to the 'new' Bonneville. Marking his desire to have a range of classic styled bikes - without the oil on floor designs - . So I thought, well, I was helping the guys at Meriden back in '75, why not help the guys at Hinckley in 2000. So I bought one, sight unseen!! 'Ere tis...
And here is the Daytona. What on earth was I thinking putting that screen and spotlights on? The rear rack was also 'aftermarket'.
Thanks bikerman. That screen was a true piece of s...t. Once, I had ridden to my, long gone now, parents house in Worthing from where we lived in north Buckinghamshire. On the way home I went up the M1 and the wind caused a violent vibration that forced me to slow done in a rush! It was one of few screens available back then. It soon came off after that!! By comparison. The little screen on the Bonnie is brilliant
Halfway between Kingman and the Hoover Dam. Do you know where 'Rosie's Cafe' is located on Hwy 93? I am 10 miles east of there in the mountains of 'White Hills'.
@unclescratch, I don't recall Rosie's Cafe but Googled it and see it's permanently closed. But I've ridden right by there at least a couple of dozen times on rides to the Laughlin River Run and to Las Vegas for Vegas Bike Fest and just to ride to Vegas. So we've ridden within 10 miles of your place on many occasions! What a small world we live in.
Outstanding ! And FYI, rumor says: 'Terribles' out of Vegas purchased Rosie's, and we have seen the remodeling going on over the last month or so. Perhaps on your next ride by I'll meet you there for a break.
That sounds great! I'll check in here and there to see if Rosie's reopens. Or if you find out and think of it, shoot me a PM. It would be fun to meet up there. I'm trying to picture exactly where Rosie's is. If it's where I'm thinking, it's on the west side of 93. Is that right? I'm not sure when we'll be resume motorcycle trips again due to COVID but I'm sure that one of the first places that will be high on our list is Vegas! We love that ride and spending a couple of nights in Sin City.
The last merchant on the east side of Hwy 93 before Nevada is "Last Stop', a tourist trap kinda place that I personally don't patronize. Rosies was just 1/4 mile before that on the opposite side of the highway.
See @nigel whitehead : This is what usually happens on here... You ask for advice concerning brake-fluid... ...and what you get is a gourmet recipe featuring olive-oil!
Seeing your pics of the Daytona takes me back a bit! When I was a lad one of my mates down the youth club also bought one of the "locked in" Daytonas, he got it all cleaned up and was the envy of all our crew owning the biggest bike out of our mob at the time but his joy was not to last as it turned out to be a "Friday afternoon bike" and was horrendously unreliable! To be fair this wasn't helped by being owned by an 18 year old herbert as none of us had much mechanical knowledge and even less mechanical sympathy but it spent far more time in the shop than it ever did on the road, shame as it was a gorgeous looking bike.
I was a bit older than your friend, twenty four, when I bought that Daytona. They were all a bit ‘Friday afternoon’ really. After all, they were 1973 built bikes made in a factory NVT was trying to close down! Meriden. Mine was reliable though once sorted after purchase. But marriage, babies, mortgage, broke etc forced the sale of it. At the same price I paid for it- £625!!
