1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal

1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal Background & History

The 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal was a true limited-edition with only 300 built in two years (1981 and 1982).  By 1981, Triumph was on the ropes. They were unable to re-engineer and thus modernize their bikes they way they needed to, or even produce enough units to make a profit, due to their severe financial constraints. It was thought that lower-volume, higher-profit “special models” might save the day. Several were proposed and a few were tried. Most fizzled in the marketplace. One such effort was the T140LE Royal Wedding, built to commemorate the British royal wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. Built in such low numbers, the Royal Wedding couldn’t possibly have turned around the fortunes of the company.

To mark Britain’s most famous wedding, that of HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, Triumph created in 1981 their most exclusive model to date, the Bonneville Royal Limited Edition. Only 300 of these bikes were produced for the world market and they were offered in either European or American specification.

The UK-version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal was a gorgeous machine!  Blacked out engine, wheels and components against the silver frame and chrome tank.

3 Versions of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal

This minuscule number of bikes was broken into three editions.  125 units were built for the UK market and are, by far, the best-looking and most unique of the bunch.  The US edition didn’t look much different than normal Bonnevilles, and that could’t have helped sales of what was supposed to be a  premium bike, but they only needed to sell 125 of them.  The final edition was built specifically for TMA (Triumph Motorcycles America) and were very much like the other plain-Jane US edition with Morris mag wheels, and only 50 were built.  In the end, the 1981-82 Triumph Bonneville Royal didn’t do much for Triumph’s bottom line, or to prolong Triumph’s final demise, now less than a year off.  But they were some nice-looking machines, especially the UK edition.  They’re certainly rare, but as collectibles they have never really commanded high auction prices.  In other words, these amazing, gorgeous, historic, very limited-edition bikes can still be stolen at ridiculously low prices, compared to how cool they are.  Then you’ll just have to wait for the market to catch up.  Good luck and good hunting.

UK-Version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal

You can instantly see just how different the UK-spec 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal Wedding is from the US version. And it’s a much more handsome bike for it. First off, the entire engine is blacked out, with only a few bright highlights. Then the frame was painted in silver. The fork sliders, headlight  and turn signals are blacked out. The Lester mag wheels with dual front disks and that delicious chromed tank round out the package. Even more rare than the US versions, the UK-spec Royals are more sought after by collectors, and one of my favorite Triumphs of all time. 

What Makes a UK-Version 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal?

What made the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal limited-edition special so 'special'?  Here's a list:

* Blacked-out T140ES engine side engine covers w/polished cooling fins on head

* Silver frame instead of black

* Twin front disc brakes without chrome caliper covers

* Rear disc brake without chrome caliper cover

* Chromed fuel tank with painted black flashed, pinstriped in gold

* Plain "Triumph" tank emblems

* Extended side covers with "Royal; Limited Edition" decals

* Italian-made 4-US gal fuel tank w/flip-up filler cap

* UK-spec handlebars

* Marzocchi Strada "Upside-Down Shocks" w/remote reservoir

* Numbered Certificate of Ownership

* Royal Wedding model handbook

* Only 125 units built to UK-spec

All 3 versions of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal used Marzocchi Strada 'upside-down shocks with remote reservoirs, seen here.

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UK-Version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal

You can instantly see just how different the UK-spec Royal Wedding is from the US version. And it’s a much more handsome bike for it.  Instead of the UK's unique color treatments, the US-version looked much more like a regular Bonneville.  They came with a black frame, polished T140ES engine and polished outer cases, US-spec teardrop tank painted black with white pinstriping, Marzocchi Strada 'upside-down' shocks with remote reservoir, and either Morris or Lester mag wheels or as an option Radaelli wire wheels.  Standard side covers were used, the cylinder heads were unpainted, and the fork sliders, headlight and turn signals remained in bright finish.  As such, the US-version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal limited-edition special didn't look to special.  It looked more or less like any other black Bonneville.  Of course there were only 125 units to sell and some were purchased in the UK, and never made it across the pond.

The US-version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal was much less striking than it's UK counterpart with black frame and polished engine, just like normal Bonnevilles.  Wire wheels were optional on the UK and TMA versions.

Unique Features of the US-1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal

The unique features of the US-version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal included:

* Frame, 2.5-gal US fuel tank & standard side covers all painted black

* Truncated front fender, chrome; chromed rear fender

* Polished T140ES engine, outer cases and cylinder head.  Black painted barrels

*Marzocchi Strada 'upside-down' shock absorbers

* Dual front disc brakes without chrome caliper covers

* Bright-finish on fork sliders, headlight & turn signals

* Rubber fork gaitors

* Certificate of Ownership & Royal Wedding model handbook

* Available in all markets (ie: US, UK and export)

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TMA-Version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal

Initially, US dealers didn’t expect ‘tarted-up special’ celebrating an English royal wedding to sell very well.  But when they saw how popular they were they changed their tune. By this time, however, the initial run of the most popular UK-spec bikes was over, so TMA (Triumph Motorcycles America) couldn’t order them the same say.  The best they could do at this late date was to special order a modified version of the US-spec bikes, which weren’t nearly as distinctive and unique as the UK-spec machines.  This final run for TMA was made up of just 50 machines. They came with black frames (standard Triumph fare), a blacked-out engine with polished outer covers, a standard US-spec 3-gallon fuel tank painted black with white pinstripes, standard side covers with “Royal; Limited Edition” decals, blacked-out headlight, fork sliders and turn signals, and either Morris or Lester mag wheels.  Most were Lesters, distinguished by their single polished rib on each of its seven spokes, where as the Morris mags had two such ribs per spoke, which formed an H-beam structurally.  

ABOVE & BELOW: The TMA-version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal was slightly more 'dressy' than the US version with it's blacked-out engine cases, headlight & brackets, turn signals and fork sliders.

TMA-Version 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal Features

The distinctive/unique features of the TMA (Triumph Motorcycles America)-version of the 1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal are as follows:

* Black-painted frame (standard)

* Blacked out T140ES engine with polished out cases

* Twin front disc brakes without chromed caliper covers

* Standard side covers with "Royal; Limited Edition" decals

* 3-gal US-spec fuel tank (twist on gas cap), black w/white pinstripes

* Blacked-out headlight, turn signals and fork sliders

* Morris or Lester mag wheels

*Marzocchi Strada "Upside-Down Shocks" w/remote reservoir

ABOVE & BELOW: Note that the TMA version had blacked-out engine cases and cylinder head (with polished fins).  The US version had a bright aluminum finish on the entire engine including the head.  

1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal Specifications

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1981 Triumph Bonneville Royal Books

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More Triumph Bonneville Pages

1959 T120 Bonneville
1960 T120A & T120B Bonneville
1961 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1962 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1963 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1964 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1965 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1966 T120R & T120C Bonneville & TT Special
1967 T120R & T120C Bonneville & TT Special
1968 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1969 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1970 T120R & T120C Bonneville
1971 T120 Bonneville
1972 T120 Bonneville
1973 T140V Bonneville
1974 T140V Bonneville
1975 T140V Bonneville
1976 T140V Bonneville
1977 T140V Bonneville
1977 T140J Silver Jubilee
1978 T140E Bonneville
1979 T140E Bonneville
1979 T140D Bonneville Special
1980 T140E & T140ES Bonneville
1981 T140E & T140ES Bonneville
1981 T140LE Royal Wedding
1982 T140E & T140ES Bonneville
1982 T140LE Royal Wedding
1983 T140E & T140ES Bonneville
1983 TSS Bonneville
1983 TSX Bonneville

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