Triumph teams up with Gibson guitars for DGR
Already a longtime supporter of the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, Triumph Motorcycles has partnered with guitar maker Gibson for this year’s fundraising ride for men’s mental health and prostate cancer awareness.
In what Triumph call the ‘1959 Legends Custom Collaboration’, the motorcycle manufacturer and guitar maker have each produced a one-of-a-kind creation that will be given to the highest fundraiser at this year’s Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) in May.
The Gibson ‘Les Paul Standard Reissue – 1959 Legends Custom Edition’ and ‘Triumph Bonneville T120 1959 Legends Custom Edition’ are both based on current products, but styling inspiration comes from the opposing company’s back catalogue, specifically the 1959 Bonneville T120 for the guitar and 1959 Les Paul Standard for the bike.
Triumph Bonneville T120 1959 Legends Custom Edition
For the 1959 Legends Custom Edition, there are no changes to the current Bonneville T120’s mechanical spec, but the fuel tank gets a unique ‘Iced Tea Burst’ finish inspired by the Gibson Les Paul’s Sunburst timber body, to which a Jet Black stripe on top with hand-painted white edging mimics the shape of a Gibson neck and headstock.
The saddle, finished in brown leather that’s designed to match a leather guitar case, features diamond stitching and an embroidered Triumph logo, as well as bespoke pockets for three guitar picks on the offside.
Electroformed ‘Triumph Gibson 1959 Legends’ badges in metallic gold are fitted to the front mudguard, side panels and fuel tank, with a bespoke alternator badge in gold added, too, while the fuel cap is laser-etched with the Gibson logo.
This unique motorcycle will come with a certificate of authenticity signed by Triumph CEO, Nick Bloor, and Brand President of Gibson Brands, Cesar Guekian.
Gibson Les Paul Standard Reissue – 1959 Legends Custom Edition
One of the most iconic guitars of all time, the Les Paul Standard has been faithfully reproduced in the style of the 1959 original by the Custom Shop, including the signature Sunburst body, but for the 1959 Legends Edition, the pickguard gets hand-painted coachlines inspired by the ’59 Bonneville’s engine finning.
There’s a Triumph script logo laser-etched into the lower pickup cover, with both upper and lower pickup surrounds hand-painted in Jet Black. An electroformed Triumph lozenge badge in gold features on the truss rod cover and the switch backplate gets a gold ‘Triumph Gibson 1959 Legends’ badge, in the same style as the one-off Bonneville’s alternator cover.
Like the custom Bonneville, the one-off Les Paul Standard is fully-functional and will come with a certificate of authenticity signed by Gibson’s Guekian and Triumph’s Bloor.
Since the DGR was founded in Australia in 2012, the annual event has raised more than US$31M for its charity partner Movember, and now takes place in more than 900 cities and 114 countries around the world.
Fundraising for the 2022 DGR got underway on 28 March, with this year’s ride scheduled for Sunday, 22 May.
To register for this year’s DGR, find a ride in your area, donate and get more information on the prizes, go to: gentlemansride.com