1971 Triumph Bonneville T120R Street Tracker

Here’s an interesting street tracker built on a Triumph Bonneville T120R. It’s got a rebuilt engine and transmission and an electronic ignition so it should be relatively reliable all things considered. One of the things I like most about this bike is the mix of modern aesthetic touches with its basic old-school sensibility. Most of this is centered around the handlebars, with the matte black finish and the aluminum/black grips, which go quite nicely with the glossy paint and chrome all over the rest of the bike. Yes, grippy rubber bits would be better on the bars from a functional standpoint, but it isn’t like this bike is a canyon carver given the low pipes. There’s more pics if you click through, but these were the ones I thought spoke best about this bike…

1972 Triumph Bonneville 650 Bobber

Up for auction on eBay right now is this Triumph Bonneville that is done up as a bobber. It is posted here because it looks like it would be easily converted into a pretty sweet cafe racer, and the seller claims the motor has been rebuilt from top to bottom. I’d like to see this bike fully converted with clip-ons, rear-sets, nicer exhaust, and cafe racer seat.

1972 Triumph TR6 Cafe Racer

Up on the auction block is this 1972 Triumph TR6, with a totally rebuilt 650cc engine. While not of concours-winning quality, this looks like a bike that could be ridden fairly often while not suffering for it. And it’s got all the necessary cafe bits. Needs breaking-in though…

1972 Triumph Tiger 650

For your perusal, a Triumph Tiger that would make either a great frame-up restoration, or the beginnings of a great cafe racer project. It is relatively clean with (claimed) numbers matching.

Since this is mostly a stock bike (that exhaust looks very JCW), there isn’t a lot to say about what has been done to it. Cosmetically, it is a clean starting point for anything that might be done to it. I look at it as kind of a blank slate; what you do with it is up to you…

(Click on the photos to go to eBay and see more pictures and the full description)

Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Here is a really clean build-up/restoration of a Yamaha XS650 into a cafe racer. So much about it is right, and just a few things need help (but they’re easy).

I think the overall look of the bike with the nice paint, fiberglass, and decals is really nice. It will stand out in a row of bikes at Alice’s Restaurant while not being over the top. That rear seat is particularly nice, and I like the way the CB500 tank looks on the bike. The red pin-striping/decals on the white bodywork is quite classy.

But here are two things that would change the bike radically on the cheap and easy: ditch the crazy square mirror, and get some clip-ons or clubmans. I know it is more comfortable to have the drag bars, but it is the one missing element for me. And the square mirror? Enough said…

This bike is only a little ways from my house, but finances dictate I stay away and concentrate on the SL350 cafe build-up I have coming up with my friend Paul at TheMotoWorld.com.