Remember the ’60s friends…? Remember those days in the ashram… days of peace, universal brotherhood and unbridled shagging? Of course you don’t. Some of you weren’t born then; and those of you that were had all sorts of concoctions from the addled Dr Timothy Leary to ensure that all the good bits somehow later erased themselves.

The erasing happened sometime in the seventies. It wasn’t just the chemicals at work. Marriage, mortgage, and a couple of cave rats to feed and educate managed to wipe the days of free love, nude-ins and other useful practices like intoning “omm”, completely from the memory.

So you won’t have remembered that the legendary Triumph Bonneville was born in 1959, grew to become an icon in the 60s, and then faded away like tie-dyed jeans. You won’t even remember that you had one… once… at about the time of your first great shag-fest at Bredbo. Remember? No…

That’s why The Dirk is reminding you about it now. And that’s why Triumph is doing its bit to assist in taking us all back to that misty happy place of ‘once, long, long ago’.

To celebrate 50 years since the Bonneville first appeared at The Earl’s Court Show in London in 1959, Triumph is releasing a limited edition anniverary model of its classic ‘Bonnie’.

Based on the standard Bonneville T100, the T100 50th Anniversary Bonneville comes with a special 60s two-tone retro paint scheme of Meriden Blue and Exotic Orange, complemented with hand painted gold pinstripes and anniversay logos. According to the guff, “the livery echoes the ‘Tangerine Dream’ design that proved such a talking point on the 1959 originals”. (Someone came up with that without their hand on their wad, if you can believe it.)

Other features of the T100 50th Anniversary include a special seat with white piping, a gold Triumph logo, 50th Anniversary logos on the side panels and a chromed cam cover. Otherwise, things down below are 2009 T100 fare: an 865cc parallel twin, producing 68PS (50kW) at 7,500rpm, and peak torque of 69Nm at 5,800rpm.

Nice touches are the twin peashooter exhausts - now with a more mellow back-beat than the edgy beat of the original.

There’s a tubular steel frame chassis, 41mm telescopic forks, chromed twin rear shocks and twin-piston calipers operating on front and rear discs to give the new Bonnie modern road manners. (Ever had speed-wobble on an old Bonnie? Now there’s something guaranteed to fill the leathers…)

Paying homage to the cubic capacity of the original Bonnie, only 650 of the anniversary model will be produced. This will put you in an exclusive club friends, but you’ll need to get in quick if you’re thinking of bagging one (and reliving some misspent days).

And the name… Bonneville… in case you’ve also forgotten that. Yup, Triumph named its new model in 1959 to commemorate breaking the motorcycle speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

When we know more we’ll fill you in friends. The Dirk.

Brief specifications:

Engine: DOHC air-cooled parallel twin
Capacity: 865cc
Bore x Stroke: 90mm x 68mm
Power: 68ps (50kW) @ 7500rpm
Torque: 69Nm @ 5800rpm
Fuel System: Multipoint electronic sequential fuel injection
Gearbox: Five-speed
Clutch: Wet multi-plate
Fuel tank capacity: 16 litres
Frame: Tubular steel cradle
Swingarm: Twin-sided, tubular steel
Price: TBA

GALLERY » 2009 Triumph Bonneville T100