The 1954 Triumph Thunderbird was about to go through some major changes. 1955 would a big year at Triumph, in general. Finally the archaic rigid frame and troublesome sprung rear hub would be ditched for a proper swing arm frame. Not a moment too soon, either. AMC, Royal Enfield and the BSA Gold Star were already running swing arms and Norton was about to introduce the swingarm-equipped Dominator with the legendary Featherbed Frame. Triumph had some catching up to do, something new for Triumph. They were usually leading the way. This would prove to be a year of change for the Triumph motorcycle line. However, this was 1954 and so the trusty Thunderbird soldiered on with its ancient rigid frame and sprung rear hub.
Also in 1954, Triumph released a hopped-up version of the T-Bird, the T110 Tiger, which would change the Thunderbird's role in the company forever.
ABOVE & BELOW: Early 1954 Triumph Thunderbirds retained the rigid frame and classic styling. Little had changed, looks-wise, since 1950. That was about to change.
Performance also got a big shot in the arm for the 1954 Triumph Thunderbird. Spurred on by the development of the high-performance 650cc T110 Tiger, which was itself spun off of the Thunderbird, both bikes benefitted by the improvements. All Triumph 650 engines got a stiffened crankshaft with increased shaft diameters, larger connecting rods and a new crankcase with larger 1-1/8″ MS11 ball race on the timing side. Revisions to the primary cases were made to accommodate the new Lucas RM14 3-lead alternator.
With the introduction of the red-hot T110 Tiger in 1954, the 6T Thunderbird was no longer the top model. Starting with the 1954 Triumph Thunderbird, it became relegated to what the Brits call a “cooking model”, or basic commuter, as well as sidecar duty, pretty much from then on for the rest of its career. Until the arrival of the Triumph TR6 in 1956, then the Bonneville in 1959, the Tiger T110 was the hottest model Triumph had, churning out 42hp and easily breaking “the ton” (100mph). This all led to overheating problems in the T110 that didn’t affect the Thunderbird as much, because of its lower performance. The changes that were made to the T110 to solve its problems trickled down to the rest of the line, including the 6T Thunderbird.
The sprung rear hub gave a small amount of suspension travel, but at the cost of instability. It was a poor compromise, at best. However, help was on the way! The new swing arm frame launched in the 1955 model year, relegating the sprung hub to history.
The 1954 Triumph T110 Tiger got the new swing arm frame, but retained the styling of the Thunderbird, with it's full fenders and headlight nacelle. Until the TR6 came out in 1956, the T110 Tiger was Triumph's fastest bike, and one of the fastest motorcycles on the market.
Engine type Displacement Bore & Stroke Compression Carburetor Ignition Engine output Primary drive Primary sprockets Clutch Gearbox Ratios, overall: 1st, bottom 2nd 3rd 4th, top Final drive Final drive sprockets Frame Type Suspension, front Suspension, rear Brake, front Brake, rear Tire, front Tire, rear Wheelbase Seat Height Ground Clearance Fuel capacity Dry weight |
Air-cooled OHV vertical twin, non-unit 649cc / 40.0 ci 71mm X 82mm / 2.79″ X 3.23″ 8.5:1 (US & export); 7.0:1 (UK) 1-SU Type MC2 Lucas magneto 34 bhp @ 6500 rpm 1/2″ X .335″ X 5/16″ chain, 70 links 24T X 43T Multi-plate, wet 4-speed constant mesh, right foot shift — 11.9:1 8.25:1 5.81:1 4.88 5/8″ X .400″ X 3/8″ chain, 101 links 18T X 46T Brazed lug, rigid Telescopic fork, hydraulic damping Swing arm, 2 Girling dampers 8″ SLS drum 7″ SLS drum 3.25″ X 19″ 3.50″ X 19″ 55.75″ / 141 cm 31″ / 77.5 cm 5″ / 12.7 cm 3 Imp gal (US); 4 Imp gal (UK & export) 395 lbs / 179 kg |
1950 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1951 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1952 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1953 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1954 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1955 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1956 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1957 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1958 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1959 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1960 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1961 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1962 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1963 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1964 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
1965 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
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