1974 Triumph Bonneville

1974 Triumph Bonneville Background & History

The 1974 Triumph Bonneville was built in very low numbers. It was a very odd year in Triumph Bonneville history. Angry workers hearing of the impending shutdown of the Triumph plant at Meriden, England, shut it down themselves in protest, in October 1973 just as production was being switched from 1973 models to making 1974s. This affected not just Triumph Bonneville production but also Triumph TR6, TR7 and Daytona (Triumph Tridents were produced at BSA's Small Heath plant, side-by-side with BSA Rocket 3s). Production didn’t resume again until 1975, so very few 1974 Triumph Bonnevilles were ever produced.

The 1974 Triumph Bonneville Almost Didn't Happen!

The British motorcycle industry was on top of the world in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1960, BSA was by far the largest producer of motorcycles in the world, and was also one of the world’s biggest multinational corporations of any kind. BSA made not just motorcycles, but cars, trucks, buses, military vehicles, farm and construction equipment, they even had a steel mill. And yet by 1972, BSA was broke and out of business. But prior to their final demise, BSA attempted a merger with the only other brand still sanding in Britain, Norton-Villiers. And BSA owned Triumph. In the middle of the merger, BSA folded up its tent, the merger went forward without them, and NortonNorton ended up owning its longtime rival, Triumph.

The 750cc 1974 Triumph Bonneville T140 was painted in Cherokee Red over Cold White with Gold pin striping in between.

Their first move was to announce to the workers at Triumph’s storied Meriden plant that they would be closing down and moving all Triumph production over to Norton’s own factories. The Triumph workers revolted and locked themselves in the factory, not allowing anything to enter or leave. This occurred in October of 1973. Production for the 1973 model year had just ended and the changeover to the 1974 model year, and 1974 production had just barely begun with the strike occurred. It lasted into 1975, so very few 1974 Triumph Bonnevilles were produced.

The 650cc 1974 Triumph Bonneville T120 was painted Purple over Cold White with Gold pin striping.

The workers demanded that Norton sell them the factory and the Triumph brand and that’s just what happened.  In 1975 when all the smoke cleared, the workers had formed a worker-owned entity called the Meriden Co-Op and they resumed production, late in the year, of the 1975 Bonneville.

However, the workers weren’t sitting on their hands during the strike.  A new US law was requiring all motorcycles sold in America to shift on the left side, starting with the 1976 model year.  They devised a clever way to accomplish that without completely altering the engine package.  It was brilliant, and while ungainly in appearance compared to elegant Triumph engines of the 1960s, it worked.  Now a short shifter stuck out of the middle of the primary chain cover, a little too far forward to look right, but it was the only place where it could go.  But, that’s another story.

The 1974 Triumph Bonneville T120 looked identical to its big brother, the T140, other than paint color and model call-outs on the side covers.

1974 Triumph Bonneville Changes were Few

However, the 1974 Triumph Bonneville model year did begin officially with Engine #GJ55101, but since so few bikes were actually built, the usual rash of mid-year revisions never happened. As the result, one of the very few changes made to the engine were new rocker boxes with two extra bolts on each inspection covers. The slimline tank grew from 2-1/2 US gallons to 3.6 US gallons. Other than minor detail changes here and there, the only other significant difference from the previous model year was the color schemes, now Cherokee Red over Cold White with Gold pinstriping for the 750cc T140RV, and Purple over Cold White on T120Vs. Again, the fenders were chromed and only the tank was painted.

Few changes were made to the 1974 Triumph Bonneville engine.

A Tale of Two Bonnevilles

When displacement jumped to 750cc with the 1973 Triumph Bonneville Triumph kept its trusty 650 Bonneville in service for a few more years was the ‘entry level Bonnie’, and retained it’s model designation of T120V against the 750’s designation of T140RV. The “V” signifies a 5-speed gearbox, now standard on all big twins and triples. The “R” meant “Roadster” which was unnecessary now that the Roadster was the only style of Bonneville offered. In prior years, a street scrambler with high side pipes was sold also, and designated T120C as opposed to T120R.

The 1974 Triumph Bonneville 650 engine looked just like the 750 engine.  Only the closest examination could differentiate them.

The 1973 T120V got the benefit of the 5-speed gearbox but retained the front conical drum brake from the 1971-72 bikes, however the 1973 Triumph Bonneville did receive the front disk brake like the T140s. The 650 was a slow-seller since it wasn’t priced enough less than the 750s to make it work the sacrifice in power. The 650s were dropped in 1976.

This was a double-page spread in a British motorcycle magazine at the time, advertising the 1974 Triumph Bonneville 650.  It probably sold better in England than it did in the US.  Note how UK-spec bikes came with low handlebars and the squarish 'Euro tank'.

1974 Triumph Bonneville Specifications

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Triumph Bonneville Books

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More Triumph Bonneville Pages

1959 T120 Bonneville

1960 T120 Bonneville

1961 T120 Bonneville

1962 T120 Bonneville

1963 T120 Bonneville

1964 T120 Bonneville

1965 T120 Bonneville

1966 T120 Bonneville

1967 T120 Bonneville

1968 T120 Bonneville

1969 T120 Bonneville

1970 T120 Bonneville

1971 T120 Bonneville

1972 T120 Bonneville

1973 T140 Bonneville

1974 T140 Bonneville

1975 T140 Bonneville

1976 T140 Bonneville

1977 T140 Bonneville

1977 T140J Silver Jubilee

1978 T140 Bonneville

1979 T140 Bonneville

1980 T140 Bonneville

1981 T140 Bonneville

1982 T140 Bonneville

1983 T140 Bonneville

1983 TSS Bonneville

1983 TSX Bonneville

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