The true spirit of Bonneville lies with the garage mechanics across the globe, who spend their winters turning wrenches and planning their record attempt. I doubt there is a better illustration of this than RIchard Krczal’s 1971 Triumph Bonneville.
From the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s Triumph powered streamliners owned the salt at Bonneville so it’s not surprising that they used the Bonneville name for their most popular line of motorcycles.
Continuing the connection between Triumph motorcycles and Bonneville is this beautiful example, running in both the Push Rod Sidecar Gas and Push Rod Sidecar Nitro categories.
Like many of the Bonneville competitors Richard caught salt fever after coming to the salt as a spectator. All it took was one visit to the salt and Richard was back in 2011 with the Triumph for a record attempt in the sidecar class.
Hailing from British Columbia, Richard and his wife might not have traveled the farthest (that distinction has to go to BMR Ferguson Racing who came all the way from Australia) but hauling you classic Triumph sidecar in the back of a pickup for a thousand miles has a certain romantic appeal to it that pulling a toy hauler behind a motorhome doesn’t
When I first ran into RIchard he was in his tidy little pit area, Bonneville’s ubiquitous blue tarp and white E-Z UP, looking slightly harried as he worked to get his bike ready to go through its tech inspection.
Even with the typically hectic Bonneville prep Richard took a few minutes and talked with me about his bike, his goals and his plans for next year.
(disclaimer: it’s a bit off the cuff and in a couple of places it’s difficult to hear but I think it’s still worth a listen).
That wraps up our Bonneville Speed Week coverage. Like all the competitors I talked to we’re already planning next year’s Bonneville trip.
If you missed any of our previous coverage click the links and catch up on all our exclusive Speed Week coverage:
Bonneville Profile: Blown Gas Couple Z28
Bonneville Profile: 1949 DeSoto
For more about Speed Week and Bonneville check out: