Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Today in motorcycle history, January 21, 1983




    


  



                                  T140V AEA34393.  

  Black clouds line the horizon. The Meriden Cooperative build their final T140 Bonneville.






  The debt-ridden Meriden Cooperative briefly flirted with buying the bankrupt Hesketh Motorcycles, and even went so far as to badge one for a marketing trial. Despite also touting a 900cc prototype water-cooled twin at the 1983 National Exhibition Show to attract outside investment, Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd would claim bankruptcy on August 23, 1983.


  In 1984 the T140 production rights were licensed by the new owner of Triumph, John Bloor, to Devon-based engineer Les Harris who produced 1,300 complete motorcycles at his Newton Abbot factory between 1985 and 1988 when the license was not renewed. For the rest of eternity these bikes will be referred to as "Harris Twins".










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