Triumph has opted to introduce new special-edition variants of its T120 and T100 motorcycles for 2020, instead of overhauling the entire line.
The new bikes will be called the Bud Ekins Bonneville T120 and the Bud Ekins Bonneville T100. They’re named after one of the most famous riders in US history; Ekins was there for the dawn of SoCal desert racing, he was a major player in the dealership scene, and he did a lot of movie stunt work. Despite his many heroics, he’s probably best-known these days for being the stunt rider who pulled off the over-the-fence jump at the end of The Great Escape (sorry to disappoint you, if you thought that was Steve McQueen). Later in his career, he did a lot of work with the CHiPS television show as well.
Ekins had a long association with Triumph over the years, and it’s this history that actually was the reason why his brother Dave is recognized as one of the founders of the Baja 1000; Bud didn’t want to do the scouting for the race on the newfangled Honda, because of his business with Triumph, so Dave Ekins went instead, and went down in history as a result. Just some random moto-trivia for you …
Anyway, back to business. The Bud Ekins versions of the Bonnevilles don’t appear to have any performance-enhancing upgrades. The only details we can find in the pressers are hyping special paint schemes, fancy LED indicators, black engine badges, bar end mirrors, that sort of thing.
The Bud Ekins models haven’t appeared on Triumph’s Canadian website yet, but we’d expect them to be here this year sometime. You can see some of the bikes’ trick finishes in the photos below.
GALLERY
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