A Triumph Bonneville T120 tribute to the musician Elvis Presley has been auctioned in the US for over £15,000.
Featuring a design dedicated to the ‘King of Rock and Roll’, the special edition Bonneville was commissioned as part of a collaboration between Triumph and Elvis Presley Enterprises, and hand-painted by the artist J Daar.
The $20,000, or around £16,000, the bike (which was sold with a design-matched Gibson Les Paul guitar) fetched at auction is being donated to the Presley Charitable Foundation, which works in aid of homeless people.
Paul Stroud, Triumph Motorcycles Chief Commercial Officer, said: "This lot has clearly been a huge hit with Elvis and motorcycle fans, raising a fantastic figure for good causes.
"The T120 and the Gibson guitar look, featuring custom designs by J Daar, look so distinctive and they are a wonderful tribute to the legend."
Dana Carpenter, Executive Vice President of Entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, added: "We are excited to partner with an iconic brand like Triumph to bring this one-of-a-kind custom Bonneville T120 to life while benefiting one of Elvis' favorite charities. The added generosity of our friends at Gibson for contributing a matching custom Les Paul guitar, strengthens the legacy of generosity and community that Elvis Presley stood for."
The 2024 Triumph Bonneville T120 is in some ways the perfect bike for an Elvis tribute, not least because of Presley’s use of a red and silver Triumph Bonneville T120 TT Desert Sled motorcycle in the 1968 comedy western Stay Away Joe.
Additionally, the 2024 bike’s relatively old-school liquid-cooled engine is combined with old-school cartridge forks and affirmatively retro styling, with a chrome finish on everything from the rounded shroud of the singular headlamp to the wire wheels, and even the exposed engine and exhaust. Aesthetically, it certainly fits the bill for celebrating a legend of the mid-20th century.
The bodywork is where this particular Bonneville stands out, with the tank featuring a design with multiple unmistakable Elvis silhouettes of some poses easily associable with the performer, and all in colours that match those of the bike in the aforementioned Stay Away Joe.
Using the 2024 Bonneville T120 as a base, the bike relies on that liquid-cooled parallel twin-cylinder engine to produce 79bhp, transferred to the rear wheel through a six-speed gearbox. There’s also a steel double cradle frame and dual 300mm front stoppers.
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