Nice Details: Triumph Bonneville Hardtail Bobber

This bike is a 1978 Triumph Bonneville 850 on a 1966 frame. The execution looks fantastic, with colors, period style components, and an aggressive geometry. The seller states that it only has 200 shake-down miles on it since the build. Find it here on eBay in Nashville, Tennessee and don’t miss the video below.

1978 Triumph Bonneville 1966 Hardtail Frame Bobber Motorcycle For Sale Front

Check out the video below for the kickstart, idle, and fly-by:

The engine is equipped with a Boyer-Branson ignition and a Sparx regulator. The seller promises that the carbs will be polished before the sale, and detail shots show the cloth-covered wiring harness and the leather wire-ties.

1978 Triumph Bonneville 1966 Hardtail Frame Bobber Motorcycle For Sale Engine Left

Even though custom, a bike like this has broad appeal because of the vintage style and the attentive execution. It will be interesting to see how far this bike is bid, and what the builders think it is worth.

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23 comments

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  1. Ron Southan

    Cool, very cool.

  2. The color scheme is simple but really works for me. Good looking build & the only thing I’d worry about is a decibel meter. And Lucas bullet connectors.

  3. Absolute sacrilege!

    If there was supposed to be a Triumph “bobber”, Triumph would have made one!

    If you’re going to slash & hack on a motorcycle, go out & assault some old-raggedy-ass Harley.

    Regards.

  4. rick campbell

    Very nice. I love bobbers. Slam 105 what is great in this country we get to do what ever we want with our possessions.

  5. @ rick campbell:

    Another “…what is great in this country…” is that I can express my opinion of what I don’t like. You(& many others)like “bobbers”, I don’t. Taking the pure & stand-alone Triumph design, along w/its good handling characteristics & eliminating both to create a ‘hey-look-at-me-Harley-noise-maker’, IMO is not the way to go.

    Regards

  6. Slam105….get over it and just go ride!

  7. Gentlemen! If I may point out, the Brits did a lot of hacking and bobing and combining of all their makes. Remember cafe racers?

  8. Neat idea; but the proportions seem a bit off. It looks a little like it’s dragging its butt too much. Maybe with a black seat and a black tank…

  9. Ouch. I think both the value and rideability of that
    bike were reduced.

    Looks like a 22″ seat height.

  10. Nice bike. For years, I had a very similar 5 spd right side shift 750. I used to call it WW1 biplane technology for the street. Loud and primitive, the hardtail plus unrelenting vibrating torque made one appreciate life just by arriving at a destination in one piece. Metal fatigue and self loosening bolts are always a concern. At 65 mph the vibrating pegs will cause your feet to slip and float like they are covered in oil. Yikes, loved it!

  11. Looks cool to me. I really like the way the vertical twins, especially Triumphs, display out front like that. I might not want to ride it too far. Something about the angle of the exhaust. It does look cool just kinda sitting there. A short ride machine….maybe down to the local biker bar where all the guys and gals like to dress like pirates. It is certainly not the bike for those guys who like to dress like power rangers.
    This would make a neat bike for a shorter girl pirate too.
    It is true that the neat thing about all these gearhead machines is that everybody has an idea that they think works. Many times they are right.

  12. Philip Barrett

    I see sadly neglected, chopped & hacked Bonnies appearing on CL all the time. Maybe this builder took one of those sad cases and created this (IMO) beautiful machine?

    No harm, no foul.

  13. Reminds me of Hunter Thompson riding a BSA Lightning with the Hells Angels.

  14. Not a huge fan of these myself, but this one was nicely done; some very tasty detail work.

    I’d like to think that Philip Barrett has it right: maybe this builder put a bike back on the road that might have otherwise been lost.

    Oh, and Phil, next time you post a link like that, you gotta put a warning flag or something out for us. Something like: “MOVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN OUT OF THE ROOM” or “WEAR WELDING MASK BEFORE VIEWING” That bike was really, really bad…

  15. Philip Barrett

    @DavidR – LOL, I couldn’t believe that only the 2nd bike I clicked on proved my point to perfection.

  16. Don’t like ‘bobbers’ much myself, but to each their own. However, that being said, I think this one is great [insofar as the genre goes]. I mean really well done. Put a little more seat on it and stuff some steel wool up the pipes, and I can “see” this one. REALLY well done. Like the colours, like the stance. Nice package.

  17. So the guy who goes into the business of building these and selling them wholesale…is he the bobber jobber?

  18. If it’s stolen from the bobber jobber, is the thief called: the bobber jobber robber?

  19. If you catch the thief, can you:
    clobber the bobber jobber robber?

  20. Philip Barrett

    Actually, if he’s a really excellent bike builder you would have to;

    clobber the obber bobber jobber robber

  21. Does anyone know what this bike sold for or who built it?

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