Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Member's Rides 2005 TBA

September 18, 2015 to most is just another day. To me it started out as a day to take off work to ponder my 56th birthday. Woke up poured a cup of coffee and got on the computer. I go to Craig’s list about every Saturday morning and look at guitars, motorcycles, and boats. Mostly to see what is of interest and dream. On this Friday nothing new in the guitar area so on to motorcycles. I was 6 bikes into the first page when she caught my eye.
2005 Triumph Bonneville America-Green-2843 miles-$3500.00. I look at the 5 pictures.
Honey come here and look at this? What do you think? If you like it, Buy it!!!
As I look up on the wall at a picture of me sitting on my father’s 1958 Triumph 650 in 1961 I e-mail the address listed telling the owner I live about an hour away and would like to see the bike and give him my cell number. Another cup of Joe, a quick shower and off to the credit union. No problem they say so I am waiting for a call. Then I find the bike on e-bay and a couple other sites. That evening I get on Craig’s list and send another e-mail. I am a serious buyer give me a call.
While we are waiting for the call I will give you a bit of background.
Got my first bike at the age of 14. It was a 1968 Bridgestone 175.
Bought a Honda 1977 CJ360 new, rode it till I joined the Air Force in 1979.
1984 and I am out of the military and on my 1979 KZ650.
In 1986 bought a Suzuki Madura 700.
Got married in 1988. Built a house in 1992 sold Madura to buy furniture.
In March of 1995 put down a $500.00 deposit on a new Sportster. April 1, 1995 my wife informed me she was pregnant with our first child. Told Harley dealer I was cancelling order. She told me the refund was nonrefundable, and asked why I was cancelling it just 2 weeks after ordering it. Told her my wife was pregnant. She gave me back the $500.00 and a kiss.
April 2015 my son is now 19 and my daughter is 14 and my wife tells me we need to start spending more time together and I need to buy a motorcycle. God I love her.
Across the street from my office moved in the new Indian Motorcycle Dealer who is also the Victory, Polaris, and Triumph dealer. I went in to look at the Thunderbird LT. Did not really like it. The tank is too wide. Sat on the America and liked the feel. Sat on the Chieftain and fell in love. Got home and made the Chieftain my background on the computer.
I loved the Chieftain, but it kept bugging me. Getting back on a bike after 23 years. Why do I want a 900 pound motorcycle and how am I going to swing those payments. The summer got busy and my dream didn’t get any close. Then summer was over and my birthday was here.
Saturday September 19th wait, wait, and wait. Did he sell it? E-bay is up to $2075.00 with a week left does he want to let it play out? 1:30 I get a call from Larry who is the owner. His son listed it for him and had just called giving him my number. I tell him I will be right there. 2:40 I am ringing the doorbell. 3:00 we close the deal with a yes sir and a handshake.
Went down and picked her up on September 23d. Rode her home. As I drove her through dusk and into darkness she is everything I hoped she would be. As I cruised down the road it crossed my mind how much I had missed this freedom. This 500 pound motorcycle feels just right to me and green is my favorite color. My only other wish. That my motorcycle jacket from 1992 in the back of the closet still fit.
http://s612.photobucket.com/user/Bobill5...?sort=3&o=0

Happy belated birthday Bill. Nice story & an even nicer bike... Enjoy :-)

Congratulations.....and welcome to the fold.
I understand where you're from on this.
At one point in my life I was homeless.... worked my way back over the years and vividly remember that feeling of finally being back on a bike thinking " this is where I belong".
May the sun always shine for you.... whatever the weather.
Al

Congrats, however we need some pics or it didn't happen...

Hey, you're wearing the same dress as me.
One of us should go home and change.
Al

that's a good story, I like it! welcome to the forum and congrats on your new love affair!

I am kinda new here. Posted the pics on my facebook then put link here. I may have to find another place to post pics if you cannot get to them. I will do some reading. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Sign up with photobucket and load your pictures there, from there you can copy the image code of the pic desired, paste the code after clicking "img" in the box on the posting edit page. If the internet gods smile upon you, your pics will appear in your posting. There are several, probably better, guidelines on here, but that's the jist of it.

ok photobucket seems to have done the trick.

Thanks

Great story, and great pics of your Dad's and your bike! Congratulations, Happy Birthday and welcome!

Here's the '58 in '61

Nice write up and good choice on the bike! Welcome to site.

Welcome to the Zoo.

Nice story Bill, cant beat a happy ending, and happy birthday..

Congrats, Great write up. Enjoy your new bike!!

Dad raced the bike on the flat tracks on the weekend. They did not buy a car till my brother was born in 63. I have a picture of my dad on it new. I will find it and post it.

Great story and pics! Got quite a few accessories on your '05.

2005 BA

Ya the gent I bought it from did not add anything.He thought it was stock other than the bags and backrest. I did not know. He bought it with 2500 miles on it.It had 2843 miles when I got it and the saddlebags were still in the box when I picked it up.

I compared it to some stock pictures. Best I can tell she has over $2800.00 in accessories.

I am probably going to sell the saddlebags and put on some hard lockable bags. If anyone has a good suggestion on a windshield I want to add one to knock the wind off my chest. Don't want a full screen, but something that works.

excellent pic. enjoy the '05

A Triumph Summer Screen with fork lowers from Fast Eddy. The wind will be off your face and chest with little or no buffeting, once you have the lower deflectors placed right. Also, you aren't pushing a jib sail as with the larger screens, a real plus on variable windy days.

Took my daughter Kate on her first real ride this weekend.
Went to grandma and grandpa's house.
We did little over 300 miles.
Kate said she had a numb butt when we got there, but she jumped right on the next morning.
Dad loved the bike.
She is wearing my fathers racing helmet from 1958 in the pics. My head is too fat for it.
She is 14.
The helmet will be my Avatar as soon as I figure out how to do that. Kate's First Ride

Cool story. Welcome aboard!

I have two daughters, a little older than fourteen though, who dont mind getting on behind their old man and going for a ride, it's nice feeling.

Damn...you're right...I hate that, when somebody else is right.
Al

I can't quite see,what's that on the clutch side handlebar grip of your '05? and what's that tank on your dad's '58?,it doesn't look like a standard Triumph tank.

I will ask my dad about the tank. I fell on black ice last winter and messed up my left wrist. That is the brace I wear when riding on the grip. Holding in the clutch seems to bother it. Guess I am bad to the bone lmao.
Kates First Ride Pics

That's probably what I need. I have De Quervain's syndrome in the tendons of my hands, the clutch hand is the worst.Had all the cortisone I can have.An operation is next,which I DON"T want.

Yep,it could be.
I thought it looked similar to the Jawa tank I had on my T110 Chop.
Also like a VLX Honda but of course it couldn't be in 1958!
They didn't make them until about 1992 I think.

That was a great story.The bike looks great,that's the colour and bike I had my eyes on,but there was somthing about the speedy that got my attention when I went to take one out.Welcome hope to read more..

God blessed Central Indiana with a beautiful day today November 15, 2015. There will not be too many more days that are in the mid 60's with a cool, but not cold breeze. Kate and I took a couple hours off to go out and enjoy it.

It was like being in church this Sunday.
Pictures from the Fort

Nice story and nice pics. That bike was meant to be yours.

Spring 2016 and she is cleaned, polished, and ready for summer. Kate and I went for a ride today and had a photo shoot. Added a Tour Pillion, Tourest Backrest, Chrome Levers, LED lights for console, and a clean and shine any gunny would pass. Got an Alley Cat screen from Eddy,but not on yet. I highly recommend the LED console lights from Eddy.

Spring Slide Show 2016

Garwood Green? I might buy into British Racing Green or Goodwin Green. 'Cept for a clerical error, 'Lookin' Good Hollywood'.

Actually, I believe Triumph denotes the color of Billy's bike as "Goodwood Green" and which I believe they named after the Goodwood Circuit road racing venue in England. This track is especially famous for vintage car and motorcycle racing.

(...btw, nice pics there Billy...looked like a great ride)

That Green is my favorite color on the Triumph, want to trade for my Red one?? LOL. Some day if I get some dents I will paint mine British Racing Green and hope it looks half as good as yours.

Thanks I just got lucky finding this bike. Took some pictures this weekend. Got my windscreen on. Think this is my configuration for the summer. Got some front brake work and new tires soon. Battleground Indiana

Memorial Day 2016 was a Great Day. Thanks to the members of the VFW Post in Covington Indiana for letting me get up close and personal for a few pictures. We talked about 15 minutes about Triumphs they had back in the day. They loved my America.

Perrysville Indiana-My home town population 510. My photos

Great pics Billy!

Got my mew bags on the bike and also the lower deflectors. love them both.

Good photo and very dramatic. Who's bags are those?

August 21, 2016 was a great day in Indiana. Mid 70s and everything is green and tall. Kate and I went for a ride today. Here are a few pictures of our day. Bill and Kate's Excellent Adventure

What lowers are you using?

Memphis Shades Extended Lowers. 78 the year I graduated HS
Memphis Shades Lowers

I bought my 2005 Goodwood Green America brand new from a dealership in Chattanooga Tennessee. I've had her nearly 11 years now, with 74,000 miles on the odometer. The only 2 real problems that I've had with the bike, is the starter pinion boss was found with a tiny crack on the top. Apparently a common problem with these engines. I did a repair on mine, and still holding up, but still get a "metal to metal" sound often when I start. The other problem I still have after throwing over $300 at it. The engine spits and sputters on acceleration, and I can't seem to locate the problem. Carbs cleaned several times, tank cleaned, fuel filters clean, CDI replaced, pick up coil replaced, all no help.
You can expect the sprague clutch to go out around 60-65k. I use Bike-Bandit for my parts. They are MUCH more reliable than the dealership that's only 13 miles from my house...I still have my original clutch, but have had to replace the clutch cable once. Would I do it again knowing what I know now? Probably not, but she has been a really good bike with only one real serious flaw, and there's a kit for that!!!

A couple months ago I did some maintenance and upgrades. Here is a short gallery of the changes. Maintenance and Upgrades

Now you need some Picket Fence or Eyebrow tank badges to edge closer to your retro motif.

Bike bandit sells them, eyebrows and the pickets, but not under OEM America/Spdy parts, 'cause they never came from the factory with them.. Try 2001 Bonneville OEM fuel tank parts. You have to buy the badges separately, L and R, along with the L/R rubber backings. BikeBandit is still cheaper than the scalpers on EBay. Your existing fasteners fit nicely, so don't buy them.
Edit:I couldn't find the pickets on B.Bandit so I googled the part #s and got this as available:
http://triumphparts.calmoto.com/p/Triumph__Bonneville/Badge--Fuel-Tank-LH-LH/43496487/T3900077.html

http://triumphparts.calmoto.com/p/Triump...6/T3900076.html

Either the price went up or CalMoto is overcharging (no surprize there). Call B.Bandit with the part #s and let them find them for a price comparo.

Congrats! On getting the bike. I can't wait to start enjoying mine.

Old Flames, My first year back in the saddle.

So I find myself on a Southwest flight from Indianapolis to Baltimore and am thinking it would be a good time to write about my first year back on a motorcycle. Last year Emma told me I needed to buy another motorcycle. I took off my birthday, September 18th last year and low and behold on Craigslist I find a 2005 Triumph America. The bike just appealed to me, beckoned me, so the next day I drove to Indianapolis from Lafayette and bought it on the spot. I have already written about that adventure, so let’s move on.

October, November, and December of 2015 gave me some good riding weather. My daughter Kate got to go on her first motorcycle ride and jumps at the chance to go whenever Emma is not in the mood.

Now I got a beautiful bike, but even with only 2800 miles on her she needed some attention.
• The Bridgestone tires were original and even though they looked OK they were hard and rode like crap.
• The front rotor was warped? Strange with the low mileage on the bike.
• I had a bent brake handle and a ding in the right lower shroud.
• I did not like the original saddle bags, even though they were still in the box when I picked up the bike.
• The rear shocks seemed hard. It was probably the tires, but adjusting them did not make much difference to me.
• The original pillion seat was not built for comfort.
• The backrest gave her no support.
• I wanted to bring the handlebars back a bit.
• That damn little rubber speedo support on the fender was broke.

Over the winter I found a pair of OEM chrome levers on e-bay for $40.00. YES

I ordered a Triumph touring pillion from Pure-Triumph.

I found a backrest made by Tourrest that gives Emma the support she wants.

I ordered a couple stickers, t-shirt, Memphis Shades Alley Cat followed shortly by Memphis shades lowers from our own Fast Eddy Sports.

I really liked the America, but for this to end up being “the bike” I had to make sure my wife was as comfy as possible. She has been through a lot the past few years health wise due to a drunk driver pulling out it front of her in 2011. Before children we both loved to ride and I want her to get as much pleasure out of riding as I do.

By June we had done enough miles to know the America was the right bike. I also decided that this was going to be a bike that I am going to keep for a long time. Through life we all make compromises of what we want and what we need. Not this time. With this one thing, this motorcycle, I was going to do what I want. (As long as my wife says it is OK.)

First thing to go were the saddle bags. I wanted hard lockable bags. I decided to go old school and got BB Reproductions. My dad had these bags on his 1958 Triumph T110. I love these bags. I had to get some wider spacers to keep them off the shocks, but they are great bags.

I ordered Triumph stick on logos through Fast Eddy Sports and they look great on the bags. I also ordered the clear turn indicator lenses. The lenses made a dramatic difference in the look of the bike. This was an easy job.

After this I went to the local Triumph dealer and ordered new tires. After reading a number of forums I decided to go with Avons. At the same time I ordered the lower front shroud. It had to ship from England. Great 6 weeks. I was not going to pull the front wheel twice so I put up the Bridgestones for a couple more months.

Now this is when things got interesting. I had put a list together of what I wanted to do. I highlighted what I needed when I pulled the wheels, and showed the list to Emma. She asked what the other stuff was and I told her it was stuff I wanted to order eventually. She told me to order it all.
The order-Fast Eddy Sports.
• A maintenance manual.
• Floating front brake rotor.
• New brake pads front and back
• 19 tooth front chain sprocket
• Hagon 2810 300mm shocks
• Rivco handlebar risers
• Wide Mirrors
• Avon Grips
• Mustang Bib
• Chrome clutch cable bracket and boot
• Switchblade foot pegs for the front and mini floorboards for the passenger.
• That damn chrome speedo cable ring for the front finder

I decided I would do the wrenching myself. I invested in the tools needed. Some I had. As I was waiting for the front shroud to come in (8 weeks) everything from FES arrived. I pulled the tires and took them in to the dealer. It took me about a week to get everything done. It would have been much quicker if I was not so OCD about cleaning.
I really enjoyed wrenching on the bike. The America is a great bike for a do it yourself kinda guy. Everything I installed on the bike did exactly what I wanted and I am very happy with how it turned out. The 19 tooth sprocket took some getting used to. The best way I can describe this upgrade is to think of the 5 speed tranny as a 4 speed transmission with an overdrive gear. Between the shocks and tires the ride is OMG better. Braking is better and smooth. All the bobbles I added were of good quality. The biggest surprise and improvement to me was one of the simplest upgrades. The Avon grips make throttle control so much easier.

Since I upgraded the backrest over the winter and had the original pad I built the bracket from this site that mounts to the pillion for a driver backrest. I really liked it, but my wife did not so it is no longer on the bike.

In September I went to the Kentucky Rally and met JR, Charlie, Jessica, and Paul. This was definitely the highlight of the year. You can read about that under the Rally tab. The bike performed wonderfully. The original seat with the backrest I built was great. I did a total of 1466 miles with 556 of those being the Sunday ride home.

Since my wife did not like the driver backrest I ordered a Mustang seat with a removable backrest that is waiting for me to install when I get home. Why? The original seat with the backrest I made gave me a solid base. Without the backrest I do not feel planted. The Mustang seat has a defined saddle and the backrest is easily removable. I am sure there will be pictures of this, and yes FES.
I ordered a oil and filter kit from Eddy and that is sitting at home. That project will be done soon.

Over the winter I plan to add the Firestarter and Stage 1 modification from TTP. At that point I will be done.

Many people over the years have contributed to this website and have been key in some of the mods and decisions I have made. Wade and Eddy have been kind enough to help me over the phone with advice. I have ordered every item I could from Fast Eddy Sports. He is one of us and deserves our support. Any issues that came up he made right. His knowledge on these bikes is invaluable.

I know I am fortunate to have the ability to spend the money as I do on this motorcycle. I also know I have worked many long days for years to get to this point of my life. This bike is wonderful for the two lane back roads I love to travel and an occasional rally to meet new and old friends.
The leaves are changing and the temperature is dropping. Soon winter will be among us in the north and our Triumphs will be sitting silently in the garage. Many of us will turn to this site to hear what everyone is doing, thinking, and planning for the coming year. I hope to see many of you on two wheels this coming year. I really enjoy having like minded people to share my obsession with. God Bless.

Wow the bike looks great! Love those saddle bags. I'm going to have to check out that rally trip you wrote about.

Thank you. I just sent a request to join.

e-mail I got from Andy at BBR

Hi Bill,

Thanks for sending your photos to BBR, we apologize for the delay but we're a small business and only update the BBReproduction.com website a few times a year.
Anyway, we recently did just that and placed your photo online. Thanks for submitting it, it's a beautiful bike, we liked it so much we added it to our "letters" section.
You can see your bike at the following link, just scroll to the bottom of the page. http://bbreproductions.com/photos.htm
And you'll find we used your note here as well. http://bbreproductions.com/letter.htm

Thanks for the kind words,
Andy
BB Reproductions

It is a delicate matter having two ladies in the same room. I think I have my hands full. Stable Mates 2005 America &2015 Rocket 3 Touring