Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, the motorcycle was reborn was viewed by many as the height of fashion and style, as modern bikes became more than simple point-to-point transportation. The thrill of the racetrack could easily be harnessed for the road, with British manufacturers such as BSA, Norton, and Triumph freely offering street-legal takes on their grand prix-winning bikes. Rival Italian marques such as Ducati, Gilera, Moto Guzzi, and MV Agusta would do likewise, as British bikes set the benchmark for performance at the time.

After Triumph had introduced the Bonneville with its Edward Turner-designed engine in 1959—so named for the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where the British marque had laid claim to numerous motorcycle speed records and to honor the fearless Johnny Allen—the company returned with the TT Special, made from 1963 to 1967 and offered exclusively in the US market. The model was made at the behest of Johnson Motors Inc., the official Western States distributor for Triumph. Intended to appeal to TT Scramble and flat track riders, the Bonneville T120-based bike was a ready-to-race production machine that stripped away basic comforts for an intoxicating riding experience. Triumph openly marketed this machine as “the best motorcycles in the world” at the time.

Compared to the street bike, the TT Special was streamlined as Triumph engineers removed the battery and carrier, exhaust silencer, headlight, horn, passenger foot pegs, speedometer, and taillight assembly. The first bikes were some 15 pounds lighter than the standard Bonneville of the era. The TT Special retained the same 649-cc overhead valve, parallel-twin, four-stroke engine paired with a four-speed gearbox—though tweaked for more power—uprated for a 54 horsepower return. An instant hit and victorious competitor in US-based TT races and flat track events, the TT Special was also the bike of choice for Evel Knievel’s fountain jump stunt attempt at Caesar’s Palace on New Year’s Eve 1967.

The six bikes offered here represent the breadth of the TT Special’s four-year production run. Beginning with the earliest bike in the group, the 1963 model (frame number: T120 DU3258) sports an Alaskan White tank with the race number “63”. The 1964 bike (frame number: T120C DU15616), with its copper- and cream-coloured tank with “64” race number, offers selected major changes from the older motorcycle, including a revised cylinder head design, new forks with external springs, magnetic tachometer by Smiths, and aluminium-alloy body panels. The 1965 Triumph (frame number: T120C DU15616) offers a Pacific Blue and silver tank with “65” race number and improves on the older bike with new pistons, down swept TT-style exhaust pipes, folding foot pegs, and removal of the centre stand as standard.

The 1966 example (frame number: T120TT DU39400), seen with its Alaskan White fuel tank featuring Grenadier Red stripes and “66” race number, is built around a largely revised frame with 62-degree head angle, pancake-type air filter, revised gearing for sprockets, slimline 2.5-gallon fuel tank, and aluminium-alloy body panels. Two 1967 bikes complete the collection: the first, frame number T120TT DU61377, is striking with its Aubergine and Alaskan White fuel tank and race number “67”, further complemented by Hepolite pistons, revised inlet camshaft, and polished stainless steel body panels. The other 1967 model, frame number T120TT DU45836, wears a copper-colour fuel tank and race number “67”.

The bikes present in restored condition, with the work understood to have been overseen by the Michigan-based authority on Triumph bikes, Bill Hoard. Representing a golden era for Triumph in the United States, rare factory-made racing bikes, and desirable British motorcycles in general, this ready-made collection of historically significant TT Specials will appeal to any serious collector, and complement any 2- or 4-wheeled collection.