Hold onto your hats folks! We've got another team-up special edition bike from the team at Triumph Motorcycles but this time it's a very special one-off for the annual Distinguished Gentleman's Ride.
This time, Triumph has teamed up with guitar specialist Gibson for what they're calling the 1959 Legends Collaboration - a one-off bike and guitar combo set to find their way into the garage of the top fundraiser of the 2022 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.
Taking joint inspiration from the brand’s shared historical significance of the year 1959, Triumph and Gibson have taken inspiration from the 1959 Les Paul Standard and equally iconic 1959 Bonneville T120 for the collaboration.
Created to support The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in its global charity efforts for men’s mental health, prostate cancer awareness and fundraising, the 1959 Legends custom edition Les Paul Standard Reissue and Bonneville T120 feature a host of beautiful hand-detailed custom touches, designed and applied in Triumph’s factory workshop
Inspired by the shared 1959 history and the enduring connection between music and motorcycle culture from the birth of rock and roll to the teenage café racer and beyond, Gibson and Triumph set out to create a unique custom edition to highlight and support the incredibly important fundraising aims and passion of The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.
Reflecting the passion that Gibson and Triumph designers share for beautiful design,
precision, performance and world-class craftsmanship, the 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue and Bonneville T120 were chosen to be hand-customised by Triumph’s world-leading design team at the Triumph factory workshop in Hinckley, the global HQ and home of Triumph.
Unlike the Gibson, which is as close to a clone in every way you can imagine to the real deal (of which only 650 were ever made), Triumph couldn’t just bring back an original 1959 Bonneville T120 for a one-off. Instead, the Hinkley firm has taken the modern interpretation - the 2022 Bonneville T120 - and given it a host of special features to make it stand out.
Chief among these is the paint scheme, with both the Bonneville and the Les Paul sharing the same iconic sunburst inspired paint scheme. There are, of course, the usual plaques in commemoration of the collaboration, but topping it all off is the unique saddle on the Bonneville. Hidden away at the rear of the bike is a set of three guitar picks with each nestled within its own sleeve built into the leather seat.
The 1959 Legends guitar and motorcycle will together be offered as the highest fundraiser reward for the 2022 ride and ship out with signed documentation from the CEOs of both Triumph and Gibson certifying their authenticity.
The 2022 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride represents a major milestone in Triumph’s sponsorship, marking nine years of support, with over 100,000 riders in over 900 cities across the world, raising over $31million USD for men’s mental health and prostate cancer awareness. The 2022 event is set to ride out on Sunday, May 22nd with events confirmed across New Zealand.
