Triumph Bonneville Royals

Mike, Rockford, IL, USA.

I grew up in the UK about 20 miles from Triumph Meriden. I moved to the US in 1977.
I purchased my bike new in 1982 from P & G Cycle in South Beloit, IL, USA. Unfortunately I never felt it ran right due to the Bing carbs plus the clutch was always sticking and very difficult to free up before starting. P & G did their best to get it running right including redoing the head so it would run on unleaded gas. After a few years I gave up and put it in the corner of my workshop. I did get inspired a few years later and took it apart found the brake master cyclinders had gone bad, the clutch was completely stuck and a few other problems. I again lost interest.
Spring of 2014 I decided it was time to try to get the bike back together as it had sat for probably 15 years I put the bike on the lift, gathered all the parts and set to it.
For the carbs I did some investigating and after talking to Brandon at Steadfast Cycles I purchased a set of Keihin PWK's and a set of Dunstall replica silencers. For the clutch plates I bought a set made by Alto from The Bonneville Shop.
By early July 2014 amazingly the bike was back together, I found every part. I am now in the process of sorting out the jetting on the carbs but I have riddden the bike, which was a great thrill after all this time and encouraged me to get it running right. The new clutch seems to work great.
CLICK HERE to see some pictures of the reassembly.

Update November 7th 2014
After a lot of frustration I gave up on the Keihin carbs, I am the first to admit that carbs are my weak point. I decided to take the bike to Morrie's Place in Ringwood, IL and have him fit a set of Amal Mk2's. I now have the bike back but due to the fact that he had to put different air boxes on, the carbs are about 1/2" short of the air boxes. Once I have figured out how to link them up I will take it back for fine tuning.

Update May 15th 2015
I am happy to report that the Amal Mk2 carbs are sorted and the bike appears to be running better than it ever has. I need to put some more miles on it to make sure all is well. CLICK HERE to see the latest pix.

Update June 8th 2015
The bike started smoking from the right cylinder, when I checked the compression it was 90psi on the left cylinder and 60 on the right, so I decided to pull the engine and see what was going on. So far I have not found anything drastic, no scored bores, broken rings, etc. Went thru the head and it looked good so I lapped the valves and put it back together. I had the head redone a couple years after I bought the bike with titanium valves, high quality brass guides, etc so it would run on unleaded gas, so I know its all good. The pistons are OEM originals and the bores are within spec so I will hone the cylinders, put new rings in and see if that does the trick. I will compression test it before I put it back in the frame. At least I know the carbs are sorted.

Update August 19th 2015

My Royal died again. I was riding home from a friends house when it started losing power and smoking from the right exhaust, it had been smoking a bit from that side but I was hoping it just needed breaking in after the ring job. Called my son in law and he gave me a ride home where I got my van and picked up the bike yet again. On investigation I found the compression on the right cylider was down to 60psi and there was no compression on the left cylinder. When I removed the left spark plug and looked into the cylinder I could see there was a hole in the piston. That is the last straw, I am giving up on it for now, I have wasted too much time, money and effort, I have other bikes to ride. I'm sorry to say they are Japanese that are reliable.
I am seriously considering selling the bike so if anyone is interested please contact me. CLICK HERE to go to my contact page.

Update February 19th 2016

I wanted to let everyone know that I sold my Royal. I waited several months before making the final decision to see if I changed my mind and decided to fix it, I did not. After fighting with it since I bought it new in 1982 I was tired of all the money, time, frustration and effort that had gone into it and when the engine blew last fall that was the final straw. It has gone out of the country, well its on the way as it was picked up today February 9th. At the moment I cannot say who has purchased it or where it is going but the guy read about it on my Royal website and contacted me about buying it. He offered a satisfactory price, wired me the money and the deal was done.

Rest assured I will continue to maintain the Royal website, do research on the bikes and look for more owners. At the moment I am waiting to hear more from a guy in Scotland who is re-importing one from California. I have not deserted the marque as I still have my 1972 TR6C, 1973 TR5T and am currently overhauling the engine on my 1972 Trailblazer. Spring is not far away in the Midwest so I look forward to riding again soon........but not on a Bonneville Royal.

Keep me updated on your bikes.