Triumph traces their roots all the way back to 1883, taking the name “Triumph” in 1896 and building their first motorcycle in 1902. In 1983, Triumph did file bankruptcy, but was bought (before the bankruptcy was completed) by John Bloor. John Bloor hired Les Harris to continue building Bonneville’s under the Triumph name to keep Triumph in continuous production.
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I was unaware that Les Harris continued building Bonneville's from 1983 through the early 1990's when production picked up with the newer bikes. Is there any production numbers to share on the number of bikes Bonneville's produced from 1983-1989? All my HD friends always put down the brand saying the were not "continuous" and I would love to have that information to share. Great letter and clearly you are an expert on Triumph history!
