I recently returned from a long weekend spent in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The purpose of the trip was to attend a bachelor party, but, unbeknownst to us when we booked the rental house, the dates for our adventure coincided with Black Bike Week 2012. My brain is currently recovering from a large amount of alcohol and little sleep. It’s also recovering from the sight of an event filled almost entirely with Japanese sport bikes. Now, I have no problem with any motorcycle regardless of where it’s made, but the after spying the 150th-odd Hyabusa with an extended rear swingarm and LED lighting spotlighting the chassis, I grew a bit tired of the two-wheeled machines from the land of the rising sun.

Consider the bike above as my own personal palate cleanser then. What you are looking at is a 1971 Triumph Bonneville with a rebuilt motor and a black-out paint scheme that works quite well. This is exactly the type of bike I’m looking for if I decide to make the leap from autos-only to a world with the occasional two-wheeled jaunt. Sure, I could grab a brand-new Bonneville for not much more than the $7,000 asking price of this Huntington Beach-based example, but I’d be missing the experience of owning a true classic.

Check out the ad here.

[Source: Craigslist]