Triumph Motorcycles
Triumph Motorcycles: In the Beginnning
Like most British motorcycle companies of the era, Triumph Motorcycles started out making bicycles. Formed by Siegfried Bettmann (a German, not a Brit) in 1883 as a bicycle maker, by 1902 the company was building motorcycles. It quickly established a reputation for quality and performance. By the onset of World War I, it was well enough established to provide 30,000 motorcycles to the British Army, where they earned the respect of British troops for their reliability in the field, prompting the nickname ‘Trusty Triumph’. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Triumph motorcycles continued to develop better and more powerful machines, all of them single-cylinders.
There have been Triumph motorcycles since 1902. This 1925 Triumph Model W was fairly typical for the times, among Triumph and their contemporaries. A flathead (side valve) single with rigid frame and bicycle-style forks.
When Big Singles Ruled
By the mid-1930s, virtually the entire British motorcycle industry had settled into one basic engine design that was more or less universal (other than a few V-twins relegated to sidecar duty). With few exceptions, everyone was building pushrod-operated (OHV) air-cooled singles with small bores and long strokes (undersquare). Triumph motorcycles (all singles) were similar to their contemporaries, competitive, but not dominant.
By this time, engine displacement and performance were approaching their practical limits at about 500cc and 25 horsepower. Anything more on either number induced wicked engine vibration. Lots of things were tried, but nothing could counteract the forces of that one big, heavy piston flying around the cylinder at high speed.
The Triumph motorcycle that started it all: the 1938 500cc Triumph Speed Twin. Soon nearly every other Brit bike maker followed suit with their own 500 twins. This is the 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin.
Triumph Motorcycles Introduces the Vertical Twin
Triumph approached the vibration problem from a whole new direction. Engine designer Edward Turner, who also designed the early Ariel Square Four, came up with the parallel, or vertical twin (these two terms are used interchangeably), which used two smaller pistons making up 500cc, rising and falling together on a 360-degree crankshaft, but firing alternately. The crank rode on just two main bearings, just like the big singles, which saved on tooling costs. The new 500cc twin was brought to market as the 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin. It was an instant hit. Unfortunately, World War II started just a year later and civilian production didnʼt resume until 1946. But when it did, Speed Twins were selling as fast as Triumph could build them. Joining them in 1939 was a new, hotter version of the 500 twin. With higher compression, a bigger carburetor and wilder cams, the 500cc Triumph T100 Tiger was the hottest thing going at the time.
In 1950, Triumph introduced its first 650 twin, the 6T Thunderbird. This is a 1950 Triumph 6T Thunderbird. Note the headlight nacelle.
More Power, Scotty!
But in the motorcycle business, ‘too much is never enough’. Whatʼs more, following the war America was the biggest market for Triumph motorcycles, and Americans wanted more power and lots of it. During the next 20 years or so, Triumph built its reputation on fielding fast, great handling, handsome machines that could beat just about anything on the street. To accommodate this growing trend, Triumph Motorcycles added displacement and horsepower. In 1950, it bored and stroked the 500 twin out to 649cc, creating the first Triumph 650, the 1950 6T Thunderbird. Another instant hit, but before long, more power was needed. It applied the ‘Tiger treatment’ (higher compression, bigger carbs and hotter cams) to the new 650 to create the more powerful 1954 Triumph T110 Tiger.Triumph Motorcycle Naming Conventions
In Triumph parlance, these alpha-numeric designations are supposed to reference the top speed of the bike. Thus, in theory, a 500cc T100 Tiger was good for 100mph, and so the larger, faster 650cc version, the T110 Tiger, must then be able to hit 110, hence the T110 moniker. (It was the most honest, by the way, with a recorded to speed of 109 mph.) The Bonneville came later and was faster still, so it became the T120. When Triumph punched out the Bonneville to 750cc in 1973, it became the T140. Could it really do 140mph? Most certainly not. Since the Trident triple was Triumph’s fastest bike, clearly it had to be a T150, and in its final year, the redesigned 1975 Triumph Trident became the T160. How many people hit 160 miles per hour on their classic Trident? The official top speed of both the T150 and T160 is 120 mph. However, this naming convention worked for Triumph, and for the buying public, although most of them referred to their Triumphs by their sexy-sounding model names, such as Bonneville, Tiger or Trident. Very few used the alpha-numeric designations to describe their bikes.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the fastest bike on the road was the Triumph Tiger. Tuning secrets learned in racing were applied to the pedestrian 6T Thunderbird engine to give them more power and introduce a new bike to Triumph's growing line: the 650cc 1954 Triumph T110 Tiger. This is a1955 Triumph T110 Tiger. Note the stodgy, 'old man-styling' (ie: full fenders and the old-fashioned headlight nacelle from the Thunderbird line.)
More Power...Again!
This was soon followed up by yet a faster version in 1956 called the TR6 Trophy, sporting a new alloy cylinder head called the ‘Delta Head’ that offered improved cooling and flowed better for even more power. The TR6 not only had a more powerful engine, but it was stripped down for off-road or desert racing, although street versions still had lights. The TR6 had a smaller, shapelier ʻteardropʼ tank and bodywork, better seats and trim and slim fenders, compared to the Thunderbirds and Tigers with their stodgy headlight nacelles and full-valance mudguards. During this time, Triumphs were not only winning in the showroom, they were dominating road racing, off-road scrambles and particularly desert racing, which evolved into motocross.
The 1956 Triumph TR6 introduced the alloy Delta Head and even more power.
Triumph Bonneville is Born
Regardless, more power was needed. So, in 1959, Triumph Motorcycles reworked the Delta Head accommodate two carburetors and created a whole new bike, the 1959 T120 Bonneville. At the time, nearly every twin was running a single carb. It looks like an obvious improvement now, but it was revolutionary at the time and boosted the Bonnevilleʼs image even more than its actual performance. The twin carbs helped mostly at high RPMs but didnʼt do as well in traffic, and they proved fussy to tune. But, who cared? The public perception was that the new 650 Bonneville was THE fastest thing around, on two or four wheels.
Despite being the baddest motorcycle on the planet in 1959, the Bonneville launched with the stodgy headlight nacelle and full-valance fenders from the plebian Thunderbird. That and the orange and cream paint scheme made it look dull. Instead of styling it like the bad ass it was, they made it look like an old man’s bike. However, it didn’t take Triumph long to catch on. By 1960, they were styled just like the svelte TR6.
Clunky Styling
But Triumph, usually a styling leader, totally missed the mark when styling the 1959 Bonneville. It came clad in the clunky ʻold-manʼ bodywork from the Thunderbird and Tiger, with its old-fashioned headlight nacelle and massive full-valance mudguards, all in an odd 2-tone paint job of orange and cream. The most ʻmachoʼ bike on the planet at the time, performance-wise, looked like an old fuddy-duddy. Many a buyer had the dealers install the more attractive TR6 bodywork on their new Bonnevilles before picking them up. However, Triumph wasted no time in correcting that gaffe. From 1960 on, the Bonneville was styled like the TR6, but with its own unique paint scheme, which changed every model year.
Note the racier styling of this 1962 Triumph Bonneville. This was the last year before the switch to new unit-construction.
Triumph Motorcycles go Unit Construction
The next major change in the Triumph lineage started in 1959 with the new 350 and 500 Triumph twins. It spread to the 650 line in 1963 with the adoption of ‘unit construction’. Triumph 650 twins built prior to this are called ‘pre-unit’ or ‘non-unit’ bikes, which signifies that the engine, the primary chain case, and the gearbox were all separate components that were bolted together with a system of brackets. In 1963, all of these components were incorporated in one integrated casing (in two halves), as one ‘unit’, hence the name ‘unit construction’. This allowed for a lighter, more compact engine package that was easier and cheaper to assemble, had fewer maintenance and repair problems, was quieter, cleaner and stronger. Strong enough hopefully to withstand the next wave of horsepower enhancements.
LEFT: Through 1962, pre-unit twins had separate engines, primary cases and gearboxes. RIGHT: From 1963 on, unit-construction twins incorporated everything into one 'unitized' casing, hence the name 'unit construction'.
Triumph Motorcycles' Heyday
The 1960s were Triumph Motorcycleʼs heyday, and the Bonneville and TR6 led the way. Faster than just about any other motorcycles on the road and quicker than most cars, the Bonneville took on a mystique and an icon-status that was bigger than life. If you wanted to be cool back in 1965, you rode a Bonneville. Sales were peaking, and every year Triumph made improvements and refinements to all their bikes, so that by 1970, the Triumph 650 twin, both Bonneville and TR6, had probably reached their zenith. A half-a-world-away, Japan had just entered the heavyweight, high-performance motorcycle game in a very big way, a major financial and technical achievement that immediately produced results like the Honda 750 Four and Kawasakiʼs insane 500cc Mach III two-stroke triple. And they were just getting started. At this same time, the entire British motorcycle industry was going belly up. BSA, who in 1960 was the worldʼs largest producer of motorcycles and one of the biggest multi-national corporations of any kind, by 1970 was broke. Bad management, an unfriendly socialist government and changing times would have likely done them in anyway. However, BSA’s arrogance and hubris finished the company off. All during the 1960s, as Triumph was breaking sales records every year, parent company BSA should have been celebrating, but instead they actually resented Triumphʼs success and often worked against Triumph out of some perverse sense of company pride. Back in Britain, BSAs were still popular enough, but in the all-important US market, BSAʼs sales were down, and its sales star, Triumph, was getting far less support than it should have, all things considered. In the end, all that bad behaviour came home to roost. BSA was soon finished, survived by Triumph Motorcycles.
This 1965 T120R Bonneville represents Triumph and the Bonneville at their peak. They had virtually no competition at this point... but the Japanese were coming. By 1965, the first Honda ‘Black Bomber’ DOHC 450s were reaching US shores, offering up the first real challenge to the Bonnieʼs dominance.
Changes Coming to Triumph Motorcycles
However, by this time, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki were flooding the market with cheap, reliable bikes that were getting faster and better every year. By 1970, Honda was building more bikes in one month than the entire British motorcycle industry built in a year. The poor Brits just couldnʼt compete, and they werenʼt willing to change. Of course, they were perpetually strapped for cash, so big changes werenʼt necessarily an option. However, itʼs clear that the Brits intended to continue building the same Triumphs, BSAs and Nortons they always had, in pretty much the same way, just improving them year-by-year. Meanwhile, the Japanese were embracing all the latest manufacturing techniques, anything that would increase production volume. And their bikes were getting faster every year, and bigger. The final death blow was the introduction of the seminal 1969 Honda CB750 Four. Triumph and BSA managed to beat the mighty Honda to market by a few months with their own multi-cylinder super bikes, the Triumph 750 Trident and the BSA 750 Rocket 3, both with three cylinders.
It should be mentioned that during the 1960s and 70s, the Japanese government, and Japanese banks were subsidized their industries that exported products to build their economy, including the motorcycle industry. Honda and the rest benefitted big time from the subsidies and a very favorable exchange rate, which made all Japanese products cheaper in the US. The opposite was true for the Brits. The Socialist Party government at the time was hostile toward business and industry, offered them no support and the exchange rate between the British pound and the US dollar made British products more expensive in the US.
When first introduced, the 1969 Triumph T150 Trident and BSA Rocket 3 both came with ungainly ‘shoebox’ gas tanks and ‘ray gun’ mufflers, also known as ‘Flash Gordons’. Who would style a bike like this? The geniuses at BSA hired an automotive supplier called Ogle to create this masterpiece. By late 1969, they were adopting normal Bonneville-derived bodywork.
Trident Triple
Back in 1962, just having moved from Matchless to Triumph, Bert Hopwood came up with the idea of coupling three BSA/Triumph 250 singles into a 750cc triple, and by 1965 they were testing the prototype. Triumph wanted to introduce the bike in 1966 as a 1967 model, to be named the T150 Trident, a move that would have changed history. It would have beat the Honda to market by two full years and established itself as THE superbike. The first mainstream 3-cylinder, and the first multi-cylinder production bike. It could have changed the world’s perception of what a British motorcycle was. But proud BSA, unwilling to give that much credit to Triumph, dragged its feet until the Triumph engineers could come up with a BSA version of the new bike. And BSA wouldn’t settle for rebadging the Trident, which would have been the smart move. It wanted a unique version with a different-looking engine.
LEFT: The Triumph Trident engine had vertical cylinders. RIGHT: The BSA Rocket 3’s cylinders slant forward 12 degrees. This required new bottom end cases and covers, on otherwise identical engines.
While the Trident had vertical cylinders, the new BSA Rocket 3 was to have its cylinders canted slightly forward (at 12 degrees) with different outer covers that looked more ‘BSA-like’. These changes required entirely new engine castings which increased costs and delayed introduction until 1968 (as a 1969 model), just weeks before Honda’s game-changing CB750 hit the market. While both Triples were fast, when introduced they were both hideous wretches. Clever BSA had hired an automotive firm called Ogle to style the bikes. They decided that boxy gas tanks and mufflers that looked like Flash Gordon’s ray gun would make them look modern. The looks were a joke, and by 1970 they’d restyled the Trident to look more like the handsome Bonnevilles. Once they worked the bugs out, the Trident was a great machine: fast, good handling, comfortable to ride and oh so handsome.
They were actually a little quicker than a CB750 and easily out-handled them. However, because of the currency exchange rate at the time, the Trident cost more than the CB750, and the Honda came with an electric starter, a 5-speed gearbox and a front disc brake. And best of all, the Honda started every time; the lights always worked; it was totally reliable and never, ever leaked oil. The poor Trident was hopelessly outclassed.
The ultimate Triumph Triple didn’t start out as a Triumph. The 1973 Triumph X-75 Hurricane was originally intended to be a BSA. Hence the BSA Rocket 3 engine and frame. But BSA folded in 1972, and Triumph inherited the project. Some quick restyling and voila! Alas, it lasted just one year with barely 1,000 built.
BSA Bungling
All British bikes, including Triumph’s entire lineup, were suddenly outclassed. The Bonneville already making around 50 horsepower, couldnʼt be pushed much further without suffering extreme vibration and reliability problems. Parent company BSA, in its infinite wisdom, became famous during this period for their total ineptness and stupidity. For the 1971 model year, BSA spent millions developing new frames for BSA and Triumph 650 twins. Saddled with antiquated engines, oil leakage problems, vibration problems, sketchy electrics and a growing reputation for poor reliability, BSA put its money into a new frame (which was already one of the industryʼs best), not new engines or better electrics. These new frames carried their oil inside the backbone of the frame itself, rather than in a separate oil tank. Because of this, 1971-and-later Triumph and BSA 650 and 750 twins are called ‘Oil-in-Frame’, ‘Oil-Bearing’ or ‘Oilers’ for short. However, BSA’s brain trust never tested the new frames, and Triumphʼs engines wouldnʼt fit in the new frame on the assembly line. The rear rocker box needed to be removed, the engine installed, then the rocker box reinstalled, all on a moving assembly line.
The 1971 Triumph T120 Bonneville was a very handsome machine, yet when they came out, they were actually reviled by traditionalists for their looks.
New Oil-in-Frame Bonneville
The new Oiler 650s werenʼt warmly received in 1971, although they were handsome machines. Triumph had updated their looks considerably, bringing them closer to the mainstream while still retaining their British character and that ‘Triumph’ look. In 1973, they were punched out to 750cc, and the T120 became the T140 Bonneville, while the TR6 became the TR7. 1973 also brought a much-needed 5-speed gearbox and front disc brake. By this time, most of the Oilersʼ earlier problems had been sorted out, and they were becoming very nice bikes to ride, as long as you didnʼt press them too hard.
The Trident benefitted from most of the new running gear from the Bonneville/TR6 line, and all the new bodywork but not the oil-bearing frame. And in 1973, when the twins got 5-speeds and a front disc brake, the Trident got them also. While all Triumph twin production was shut off for most of the 1974 model year, due to the Meriden worker takeover, Trident production had always been on the same line as the Rocket 3, in BSA’s Small Heath factory, so Trident production, albeit small, continued unabated. Redesigned in its final year, 1975, it became the T160 Trident and now had forward-leaning cylinders like the old Rocket 3, and at long last an electric starter. It didn’t help. Trident production ended in 1975. Total combined Trident and Rocket 3 production over its entire 7-year lifespan totalled about 27,000 bikes. By comparison, Honda built over 250,000 Goldwings in its first seven years of production.
The 1983 Triumph T140W TSS was the last bike built by Triumph in the Meriden factory. It used a Westlake-developed 8-valve head and lots of other tricks to produce 58hp at 6500rpm. Because of its forged crankshaft, it was also smoother than any Triumph twin before it. Another stunning achievement for the scrappy Brits. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Only 438 were built.
The End Draws Near
As BSA imploded in 1972, it merged with Norton-Villiers, so Norton now owned Triumph. Norton wanted to close down Triumphʼs legendary Meriden plant and move Triumph production to Nortonʼs factory at Donington Park. In 1974, the workers rebelled, blockading themselves in the factory, keeping any bikes from leaving. (There are practically no ʼ74 Bonnevilles or TR7s.) Norton relented in 1975, allowing the workers to buy the company and form the Meriden Co-op. It never had enough capital to make the venture work and struggled along, producing fewer and fewer Bonnevilles every year (now the only model it produced), and some rather interesting ‘specials’, until it finally gave up the ghost in 1983. BSA built its last motorcycle in 1972, and the last Norton Commando rolled off the line in 1975. Triumph was the last one still standing. In 1983 the beleaguered co-op built the last Bonneville... almost.
Triumph Motorcycles Return from the Grave
After the fall, a rich British developer bought what remained of the company and reintroduced the Triumph Motorcycle brand to the world in 1990 as a totally new, modern high-performance bike and the retro-styled Bonneville in 2001. These modern Triumphs are built in a state-of-the-art factory in Hinkley, England. Hence, all old-school bikes that were built in Triumphʼs old Meriden plant are called ‘Meriden Triumphs’, and the modern bikes are called ‘Hinkley Triumphs’. The modern Bonneville is still a parallel twin, but now the crank pins are set at 270 degrees instead of 360, and they have DOHC and 4-valves-per-cylinder. The first Hinkley Bonneville in 2001 was an 800, but itʼs grown over the years to its present displacement of 1200cc. Triumph also produces a wide range of mainstream bikes of every sort and is, today, a major force in the modern motorcycle industry.
This 2008 Triumph Bonneville America has all the modern features: Electronic Fuel Injection, DOHC w/8 valves, disc brakes, etc. but still manages to retain the looks of a classic Bonnie. They started out at 800cc, but have grown over the years to 1200cc. The modern Triumph company makes a full line of world-class motorcycles today, almost singlehandedly redeeming the reputation of British motorcycle manufacture.
Triumph Motorcycles by Model
Triumph Speed Twin
Triumph Tiger
Triumph Thunderbird
Triumph Speed Twin
Triumph TR5
Triumph TR6
Triumph Bonneville
Triumph Trident
Triumph Twenty One
Triumph 3T
Triumph Tiger
Triumph Thunderbird
Triumph Speed Twin
Triumph TR5
Triumph TR6
Triumph Bonneville
Triumph Trident
Triumph Twenty One
Triumph 3T
Triumph Motorcycle Books
 |
"The Complete Book of Classic & Modern Triumph Motorcycles, 1937 to Today" |
 |
"Triumph: The Art of the Motorcycle" Definitive story of Triumph, with forward by Triumph CEO Nick Bloor. Illustrated. |
 |
"Triumph Motorcycles in America" Triumph's dominance of the US motorcycle market, lively text, hundreds of historic images. |
 |
"Triumph Motorcycles, from Speed Twin to Bonneville" Detailed anthology of all classic Triumph motorcycles, illustrated. |
Hope you're enjoying my website. Glad you're here, take some time to look around. I'm just getting started though, with lots of great content, pictures and specs on literally hundreds of classic British motorcycles left to go. It is my goal to cover every year of every make, and every model of British bike. You can join me in my quest. If you have a classic Brit bike, take and/or send me some great photos of it along with a description. Email coming soon. More pages coming soon. Please be patient, and hold on to your hat. Thank you for visiting ClassicBritishMotorcycles.net.
Copyright 2024 by ClassicBritishMotorcycles.net. All rights reserved.
