Speaking of Bonneville....

[Dusty]

A friend of mine, Johnny allen, passed away 10 years ago from cancer.  Back in the mid 50's he raced Triumphs at Bonneville.  He was the pilot, and 3 other racers did most of the design and construction of the bike.  The Bike was a streamliner, and was first called the "Devils Arrow".  Later when the Triumph factory saw what was going on, the guy's got a lot of factory backing.  The name was changed to the "Texas Ceegar".  Johnny went on to run this single engine 650cc bike to 215 MPH.  This was in 1956,57.  When this record was set, Triumph came out with the Triumph "Bonneville"  
Some years ago the owner, Stormy Maghnun (sp) sold the bike to a Triumph collector in England that had a large museum.  A year ago This month, the museum caught fire, and the Streamliner was ruined.  Some guy's in Ft. Worth, (Ed Mabry & crew), got the bike back over here to Texas, and commenced to rebuild it.  The body shell was fiberglas, and of course it was completly burned up....But here is a miracle.  Someone had forethought, back in 1956, to store the old molds up in the rafters of a warehouse in Dallas.  The molds were still in excellent shape, and were used to build the new body shell.  After the Engine, transmission and frame was restored, the bike was reassembled, and this past week it returned to the Salt Flats.  Ed Mabry and his crew did a fantastic job on the restoration.  The bike wasn't raced, but it was fired up, and apparently was surrounded by fans every day it was displayed.  

The weekend of Oct 1-3, it will be on display at the "Lake O' The Pines", Motorcycle event near Jefferson Texas, which is in the East Texas Longview, area.  For anyone wanting to see it, this will be the last display in the USA, before being returned to the owner in England.  

For more information, you can type in {Save our Streamliner} in your browser.  

Johnny and I met through Ham Radio, although I worked in a Triumph shop in Albany GA. during  this historic time, and knew of him, it wasn't until years that we actually met.

I feel sure Burt Munro and Johnny Allen knew each other, as they were at Bonneville, at the same time, doing the same thing......

[Cword]

Or Click Here ...
http://www.saveourstreamliner.com/

[Dusty]

Hey thanks Mike....I still haven't learned how to do all the fancy computer stuff..... :oops:

[av8]

A friend of mine, Johnny allen . . . raced Triumphs at Bonneville . . .

I feel sure Burt Munro and Johnny Allen knew each other, as they were at Bonneville, at the same time, doing the same thing......

I'd bet they did, Benny. The motorcycle-racing community was close-knit and everyone involved was aware of what everyone else was up to.

Triumphs dominated their classes in the '50s and '60s. A friend and fellow race-club (sportsman scrambles, TT, and desert) member, Dale Martin, built a Class C 200cc Tiger Cub motor for his dad's streamliner that held the record in that class until the class was eventually eliminated. Dale's dad, Bill Martin, was a Triumph-Aerial dealer in Burbank, California, and built a 'liner from a small drop-tank -- P-51 as I recall.  During Speed Week in 1959 Martin set a Class C record of 139.83 mph, with a best pass of 149.315 mph, running out the back-door at well over 150 -- with a 12.5 cid, normally aspirated pushrod single on pump gas!

Dale is still actively involved in LSR motorcycle racing, as a SCTA steward and as a racer with 11 Bonneville and El Mirage records, running -- what else-- pushrod Triumphs!

Mike Bishop

[purplepickup]

Great story Benny and Mike your input is very interesting as usual   I really enjoy reading about this kind of stuff.  I'm glad the stories like these are being preserved and passed on.

I had a Triumph Bonneville and always wondered how it got it's name.