1969 Triumph 650 Bonneville

Classic 70's Low Budget Chopper

One thing I like about customizing bikes is experimenting with the paint work. On this bike I had a particularly effective canvas in that the coffin tank had nice flat panels to work on. In the era of slogans such as "Keep on Trucking", the popularity of bell bottoms, and the continuing infatuation with reefer madness, subjects to paint were abundant. I had christened the emerging chopper "Klass" and cartooned Easy Rider biker comics wherever there was space. I think it came out rather well.

The rest of the bike's transformation was actually very simple. Other than the obvious extended front end and coffin tank, the only other changes worthy of noting were the replacement of both front and rear fenders, the handlebars, and the lighting. The frame remained unmolested. This

Restored: Walter and Bonnie.

turned out to be a very good thing when decades later, the bike was easily restored back to almost factory stock condition.

I never did get the opportunity to ride the bike, and that too was just as well. I once tried to ride a Ducati, but because of the shifter and brakes being reversed from what I was used to, I was constantly hitting the wrong lever for the action I desired. The Triumph also shifted on the right and I'm sure would have driven me crazy, or worse.

In all the bikes that I had, the relationship I had with this one was certainly the strangest. Although I had bought it, I never legally owned it, or rode it. I never even started it. However, I most definitely did have a lot of fun working on it. And for that reason alone, it was one of my favourite bikes ever.

As for Walter, he kept that bike for many years after; pushing and repairing more often than riding. Eventually he traded it in for a Sportster and the sale of the Triumph made back for him probably every penny he had ever put into it, and then some. His perseverance finally paid off.