1982 Triumph Bonneville

1982 Triumph Bonneville Background & History

By the time the 1982 Triumph Bonneville came out, Triumph the company was a year from bankruptcy, they just didn’t know it yet.  As the skies continued to darken at Triumph, the resourceful fellows at the Meriden Co-op needed to come up with ever new ways to dress up the same old antiquated design, now their only product, the Triumph Bonneville.  They’d watched as Norton turned out model after model by slapping different bodywork on their only product, the Norton Commando, and done so with great success.  Following suit Triumph had broke into the concept of Limited Edition Specials with the 1977 Triumph T140VJ Bonneville Silver Jubilee, which was a minor hit for the cash-strapped company.  They’d originally planned to build just 1,000 of these, all in the UK, but those crazy Yanks wanted in, so they built another 1,000+ for the US market.  Granted, these are small numbers compared to what the Japanese were doing at the time, but it was good news for cash-strapped Triumph.

The 1982 Triumph Bonneville was offered in more paint combos than ever before.  They offered two 'smoked' paint schemes, one in blue (Astral Blue), the other in red (Flame Red).

Special Editions of the 1982 Triumph Bonneville

They did it again in 1979 and 1980 with the Triumph T140D Bonneville Special, which didn’t sell nearly as well. In 1981, there was the Triumph Bonneville Executive (a touring model available with electric start (T140ES) or kickstart-only (T140E), and the T140AV (Anti-Vibration) intended and being evaluated for Police work. Now, for the 1982 Triumph Bonneville, the theme for their next ‘special’ bike fell into their laps. Prince Charles, Duke of Wales, and Lady Diane Spencer were wed and Triumph built yet another limited-edition motorcycle to commemorate it, the 1982 Triumph Bonneville T140LE Royal Wedding. The T140E (“E” for Environmental, kickstart-only), the T140ES (electric starter) and the Bonneville Executive were still in the model line-up for 1982, along with the TSX factory custom, and the 8-valve TSS.

Changes in the 1982 Triumph Bonneville

Very few changes were made to the basic Bonneville.  Lots of variants were spun off of, all of which were ‘appearance packages’ only, no significant mechanical changes or upgrades with the exception of the bold 8-valve TSS.  The model name of the ES (electric start) was now “Electro” which was declared boldly on the side covers.

There were no internal changes made to the 1982 Triumph Bonneville engine.

As Triumph continued to struggle to make ends meet, they were often unable to pay suppliers and those suppliers cut them off for parts.  That left Triumph scrambling to find other suppliers who were willing to work with them.  To make matters worse, Triumph was no longer a large-volume manufacturer, so their parts orders would be smaller and more sporadic.  Venders were no longer clambering for Triumph’s business.  Girling had stopped supplying shock absorbers because of nonpayment and partway through the 1982 model year, Triumph’s stockpile of Girling shocks ran dry.  Triumph turned to Marzocchi from Italy for all its shocks now.  Lockheed alloy brake calipers replaced cast iron units and the discs shrunk from 10 inches to 9.8.  Twin front discs, standard on the Executive, were now optional on all models.  Sintered Dulopad brake pads were used.

The same thing happened with Smiths instruments (gauges, or as the Brits call them ‘clocks’).  The venerated manufacturer who supplied the gauges for nearly every classic British motorcycle for 50 years would no longer send Triumph any of their products, due to nonpayment.  Once again, Italy held the answer.  Somewhere during the 1982 model year, Triumph ran out of Smiths gauges and from then on they would be supplied by Veglia from Italy.

This is the other smoked paint job, Smoked Flame Red.  Note the I-beam spokes of the Lester alloy wheels.  Later Morris mags don't look like that.

UK 1982 Triumph Bonnevilles got a 45-tooth rear sprocket to lower RPMs and relax the engine a bit.  This called for a shorter chain, 106 links instead of the standard 107.  US bikes retained the 47-tooth rear sprocket which helped acceleration.  Morris cast alloy wheels, which replace the Lester alloys in 1981, were now optional on all models and standard on the ES, the Executive, the Royal Wedding, the TSS and the TSX.  Strangely, American buyers still opted for wire-spoked wheels which were still optional on all models.

This is the UK-version of the 1982 Triumph Bonneville T140E.  The squarish 'bulldog' tank, seat contoured to match it, and low handlebars were the main features differentiating them from US-spec bikes.

1982 Triumph Bonneville Royal Wedding

The UK-version of the 1982 Triumph Bonneville LE Royal is drop-dead gorgeous!  The prettiest Bonneville of all time, in my humble opinion.  The blacked out engine against that silver frame and set off with that lucious chromed tank just takes my breath away.

By 1982, Triumph was on the ropes. They were unable to re-engineer 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 1982 Triumph Bonneville T140LE Royal Wedding, built to commemorate the British royal wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. Built in very low numbers, believed to be less than 1,000, the Royal Wedding was styled differently, depending on which market it was intended for. Why did they do it? Who knows? To build two different models of the same limited-edition special that was already being built in minuscule numbers doesn’t make much sense today looking back. But who knows what they were thinking at the time.  Clearly the UK version was much better looking, in retrospect they should have built them all like that.

The US-spec Royal Weddings looked pretty much like normal T140ESs with with mag wheels. But they got a model-specific black paint job with gold pinstriping and no kneepads, dual front disk brakes, and blacked out fork sliders and headlight brackets. Not much uniqueness for a “special”. The UK-version was by far the more handsome and “special”-looking.

This is what the US version of the 1982 Triumph Bonneville LE Royal Wedding looked like.  Downright homely when compared to the gorgeous UK version.

1982 Triumph Bonneville Specifications

---

1982 Triumph Bonneville Books

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

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

Hope you're enjoying my website.  Glad you're here, take some time to look around.  I'm just getting started though, with lots of great content, pictures and specs on literally hundreds of classic British motorcycles left to go.  It is my goal to cover every year of every make, and every model of British bike.  You can join me in my quest.  If you have a classic Brit bike, take and/or send me some great photos of it along with a description.  Email coming soon.  More pages coming soon.  Please be patient, and hold on to your hat.  Thank you for visiting ClassicBritishMotorcycles.net.

Copyright 2024 by ClassicBritishMotorcycles.net.  All rights reserved.

---

---

Whitworth Tools for sale

---

---

2025 Classic Motorcycle Calendars are here!

---

---