Philip's 1979 T140E
Click here to see a HUGE picture of this bike [1mb]
I know you guys (and gals) have a passion for motorcycles and occasionally you feature customers' bikes in your bulletins. I've bought a lot of parts from you for the Norton I'm rebuilding for my daughter. I've bought a few parts from you for my 1979 Bonneville too. I've had about 35 motorcycles including Triumphs, BMWs, Moto Guzzi, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and even Harley Davidson (not my style). Most were short-term relationships. My '79 Bonnie is a whole different story.
I bought this brand new in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I only had it for a year or so, then sold it to a friend when I moved to Phoenix in 1980. I did have a couple of other bikes during my nine years in Phoenix, but frankly, it's too dang hot there to ride most of the year. I moved from Phoenix to New Mexico in 1989. In 1995 I heard from my old friend in Baton Rouge and learned he had not been riding the bike at all, and it had been sitting out in the weather in south Louisiana for several years.
We made a deal for me to buy the bike back. Another friend happened to be headed out west with a trailer and he had room to pick the Bonneville up and bring it to New Mexico. I got the bike with a seized engine and just about every part of the bike that could rust had at least surface rust. The chrome parts were all pitted and the aluminum fork legs, wheel hubs, engine side covers, etc. were badly oxidized.
After a couple of years, I started the resto-mod project. Some parts were sand-blasted then powder-coated. Most of the aluminum parts were brought back to life with sanding, then polishing, and lots of elbow grease. Big D Cycles (the original, not the resurrected company) built a hot-rod motor for me. I wanted a 2 into 1 with the pipe on the left-hand side. There were several companies making 2 into 1 systems, but they all had the pipe on the right-hand side of the bike. I had used one of those on a different Bonneville and the rear caliper kept getting too hot from the right-side muffler and the brake would bind. Unity Equipe in the UK built me a one-off two into one exhaust system. I drew pictures of what I wanted and sent them to the UK and they made exactly what I wanted.
Anyway, I rode the bike for a few years, then sold it again. Don't ask me why. The next owner was in the US Air Force and flew C-130 cargo planes. He took the bike to his station in Japan and rode the bike all over the country. Then, when he was reassigned back in the states, he emailed me and asked if I wanted to buy the bike back. Well, of course.
Since I got it back this time, I had the fenders chopped, added the LED rear lights, bar-end mirrors, and velocity stacks replaced the OEM air box. The custom paint was done by another friend who restores retired Can-Am race cars.
Sort of a unique bike with a unique history. It's a blast to ride this on our mountain roads around central and northern New Mexico.
I'll never sell it again . . .
Phillip
