An Officer and a Gentleman T140

 

Keith Turk

My T140 USA a few years ago ...

Yes, this is the same Triumph Bonneville from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman. Paramount Pictures made two bikes for the movie, both purchased from Dewey's Cycle Shop in Seattle. The "stunt" bike, with lower gearing and some other differences, is at Planet Hollywood; the other one belongs to Keith Turk. Keith Turk found the bike on eBay in 2002. A Hollywood prop designer had the bike in storage for many years before she sold it. Keith has always been into English sports cars, and he was looking for a motorcycle to go with his Austin Healey 100/4. The movie history was cool, but he bought it first as a Triumph and because it had almost no miles on it and had been stored in California, so it was essentially perfect. Honestly, it’s just not a great motorcycle. It’s from one of Triumph’s worst years. It’s kickstart only. The gearbox doesn’t snick, it snatches through the gears. It’s got a 4-inch over front end, which makes it less than comfortable to ride.  Pretty much everything about the bike is difficult. Keith bought it on a whim. He had enough money to do what he wanted, so he went out and bought this really cool Triumph. He has been without a bike since 1976, when he joined the Army. He put 1,500 miles on it the first year, and it mostly reminded him how much he really loved riding bikes. Then he bought some old Honda 550s, and he as been back riding ever since.

By Keith Turk via motorcyclistonline.com