Triumph twins..

[Sir Limpsalot]

Like many of us of a "certain age" my formative years (motorcycling wise) were in the era when British twins ruled the roost. The best of the bunch were always the Triumphs.
Edward Turner may have been a difficult man to work for but he had an "eye" or natural instinct if you prefer what what would work (and sell).
Here, in more or less chronological order, are some of the machines that made Triumph great. I hope you enjoy 'em as much as I do.

A 1939 Tiger 100. Nearly 70 years old, looking good.
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A 1948 Speed Twin. Now has telescopic forks but retains the tank top instrument panel. In 1949 Triumph would fit the headlamp Nacelle that stayed on the range for ten years.

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The 500cc twins were a huge sucess, but customers (notably American customers) wanted more. So in 1949 Triumph debuted the Thunderbird. With typical Turner flourish they took three pre production bikes to Montlhery in France where they ran for 500 miles at a 90mph average.

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The machines were ridden from Coventry to the circuit and then home again by the riders concerned. Triumph did not own a van! Turner believed that motorcycles were above all serious transportation and if you needed to get your machine to (for example) a racetrack you rode it there. Simple.

This Thunderbird is a 1955 (or later) as it carries the swinging arm suspension introduced that year.

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Turner loved America and had it written into his contract that he could spend 6 months a year there. Here with Bill Johnson, boss of "JoMo" the Triumph distributors for the West Coast, and Rita Hayworth.

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Triumphs raced and won a huge variety of events. A young Mike Hailwood taking victory at the prestigious Thruxton 9 hour race with riding partner (Banbury) Dan Shorey, on a T110. Note the scrape marks on the underside of the exhausts.

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In 1956 a young Texas racer called Johnny Allen took a Thunderbird engined streamliner to 214 mph on the Bonneville salt flats. This achievement was honoured by Turner naming his new sports model the Bonneville. (These photo's from Darthrider, thanks mate.)

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For any who don't know, Dave/Darth was part of the team who restored the 'liner after it was all but destroyed in a fire in the National Motorcycle Museum here in the UK. Triumph fans the world over owe you one, Dave.

Triumphs were cool, and it was cool to ride one. Some got well paid to do just that.

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The T120 Bonneville was an instant hit, the first (1959) model using the Nacelle but from 1960 onwards using a chrome headlamp.

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Unit construction came along in 1963 and development continued with many improvements to handling and braking. Most of these were at the hands of Doug Hele who had joined Triumph from Nortons.
This 1969 model is about as good as the twins got. With only 47 miles on it from new this bike is probably now to precious to use. Shame.

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A riding buddy had a '69 , mine was a '70. Virtually identical apart from the paint job it was my first brand new machine. It cost £420 from London dealers Pride & Clarke. The Bonneville name still carried a certain "cache" but in truth the Superbike era was underway by then. The Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket3 were on sale at a whopping £614. The Commando more resonable at £457. Honda's CB750 was an eye watering £680! The twins had had their day and struggled on in production, gaining weight and losing power with every new model year.
Hinkley Triumph now make a range of twin cylinder machines too of course, firms like "Moto Twin" here in the UK do a huge range of tuning and customising parts for them.

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I can't help but wonder what Edward Turner would have thought of a world where we drive to work in cars and keep a motorcycle as a weekend toy though!
Si.

[arkline]

Simon,

Most excellent trip through Triumph time. There is something so classic, so timeless in the profile of these bikes. That Hinckley has designed and made a top seller of the retro look is testament to the absolute loveliness of these twins. It would be grand if they had a bit more oomph, but they've got the oomph bikes in the triples.

Turner himself was a genius who seems in later life to have suffered from hardening of the concepts. A lot of credit should go to Doug Hele. And then there's Bert Hopwood whose analysis of the crumping of the British motorcycle industry is full of interesting, if sometimes self-serving, observations. There seems to have been very little love lost between Turner and Hopwood.

In regards to the bikes themselves...I do miss the time when the fuel tanks were seemingly seamless. The demands of mass production being what they are, I guess those days are long gone. But these examples show just how much care was given when building what was essentially "everyman's" transport.

Thanks a bunch.

[Deans BMW]

Thanks Si, what a treat. I remember the day that I bought my first newmotorcycle of "size". A brand new 1968 BSA Lightning from Barneys in St Petersburg, Fla. I loved that bike. I think that the Triumphs were more classic looking.

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/BSA%20Bikes/images/BSA%20A65.jpg

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/BSA%20Bikes/images/BSA%20Thunderbolt.jpg

[Spider-eyes]

My first "fast" motorcycle was a 1967 Triumph TT Special I got in 1976. Weird ignition (not a mag but a primitive electronic thing), no instruments, no tail/brake light, headlight run by the weirdo electrics; 11.5 to 1 (I think) compression.

It was about as basic as you could get but Lordy, was it fast! I rebuilt the whole thing, rode it for a year and traded it for a '74 Sportster. I thought that Sporty was the most modern thing in the world! The Sporty was my daily transportation (didn't even own a car) for the next eleven years and 80,000 miles. That's kind of shaky 'cuz I had to replace the speedo at around 30M.

Both TT and Sporty were right hand shift. I sold the Sporty in '88 to finish my Private Pilot training and did not get on a bike until this year when I got my R1150R.

I STILL try to shift with my danged right foot!!! I'm getting better, but I'm amazed at how old habits last! I would still like to find an older Triumph to keep as a play-bike. They're sweet machines.

[Boxerboy]

This is quite long, but if you're into older British bikes then make yourself a coffee and get comfy.
I hope y'all enjoy it.
http://www.webzeum.com/VintageFilms/Triumph/tabid/56/Default.aspx

Some may have seen this before.

[Tassie Devil]

Thanks Simon for a great set of pics of some beautiful British engineering.

You never fail to surprise.

Cheers,

JQ.

[DarthRider]

Excellent Simon, excellent!
What a great way to start the morning.
A '69 Bonnie, a '53 Studebaker, a '57 Chevy, a '68 XLCH Sporty...all great designs that will be just as fresh & beautiful in a hundred years as they are now, and were when new.
Thanks for the props on the restoration of the old Mangham-Allen-Wilson streamliner.
I've been screwing around with bikes for a long time but this was the high point of all that. Just an honor and privilege to have been involved.
The next time you go visit her at your National Motorcycle Museum, tell them to make sure their fire suppression system is turned "ON"! :icon_redface:

Very nice post...thanks.:eusa_clap:

[Sir Limpsalot]

Now, the tale I REALLY want to hear is about Dean's '68 Lightning. They were great lookers and (for the time) strong performers too.
So, Dean, how about it?
While we're at it, how did you get from BSA to BMW?
Was it like the "shaver guy" who liked the product so much he bought the company?
I feel we should be told, either here or start a new post if you'd rather....
Si.

[DarthRider]

The first time I met the late, great Jack Wilson of Big 'D' Cycle, and Mangham-Allen-Wilson streamliner fame (in 1969), I told him I was tired of Jap-Crap and wanted a Brit bike (I've always been real "smart" that way!), and was thinking of either a Triumph Bonneville or a BSA Lightning.
His response was swift and sure, "If you want to polish chrome & fix oil leaks, get a BSA. If you want to outrun BSA's, get a Triumph".
Having had several of each through the years...he was right!
Now the closest I have is Betty's 1959 MGA 1500...a freakin' 4-wheeled BSA.:icon_redface:
And the 1050 Speed Triple of course...not a "real" Triumph, but that's OK, it's better!

[Dallara]

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Well,

My biggest motorcycle mentor, Jack Connolly, used to say...

"It's up to you... But would you rather have a SMALL ARM or a TRIUMPH between your legs?"

Cheers!

Allan (Dallara)




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