Triumph Motorcycles is a manufacturer of motorcycles based in Hinckley, in the United Kingdom.
History
The company's roots began in 1883 when Siegfried Bettmann moved to Coventry, England from Nuremberg, Germany. He sold bicycles but used the brand name Triumph rather than his own. He was joined by another Nuremburg engineer Maritz Schulte and they produced their own bicycles. When the internal combustion engine led to the first motorcycles they turned to motorcycle production.
In the 1920's Triumph purchased the former Hillman car factory in Coventry and produced a saloon car under the name of the Triumph Motor Company. Harry Ricardo produced an engine for their latest motorbike.
Triumph struggled to make a profit from cars. The bicycles and motorcycles as the Triumph Cycle Co were sold off. In 1936, Jack Sangster of Ariel purchased the motorcycle division, to form the Triumph Engineering Co Ltd largely led by ex-Ariel employees.
World War 2
Motorcycles were produced at Coventry until the Blitz during WWII when the town of Coventry was virtually destroyed. Tooling and machinery was recovered from the site of the devastation and production started back up at the new plant at Meriden in 1942.
Post War
Triumph were sold to their rivals BSA by Sangster in 1951. Sangster was to return as chairman of the BSA Group in 1956.
The Speed Twin designed by Edward Turner before the war was produced in large numbers after the war. Efforts to settle the lend-lease debts caused nearly 70% of Triumphs post war production to be shipped to the United States. To satisfy the American appetite for motorcycles suited to long distance riding, Turner increased the capacity of the Speed Twin to 650 cc. The new bike was named the Thunderbird, (a name Triumph would later license to Ford for use on a car), and only one year after it was introduced a hot rodder in Southern California mated the 650 Thunderbird with a twin Carb head originally intended for GP racing and named the new creation the Wonderbird. It went with a few gallons of Nitromethane to the dry lakes and Bonneville. That 650 cc motor, designed in 1939, held the world's absolute speed record for motorcycles from 1955 until 1970.
In 1959, the T120, a tuned double carburetored T110, came to be called the Bonneville.
In the 1960's, 60% of all output was exported, which along with the BSA's 80% exports made the group susceptible to the Japanese expansion. Triumph and BSa were aware of Honda's ability to make quality motorcycles but while they were only making smaller engined models the large engine market was safe. When the first large Honda four cylinder became known, Triumph and BSA were facing trouble. A 3 cylinder engined motorcycle was developed: the BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident
Collapse
When the BSA group collapsed under its debts, government help led to a merger with the Norton Villiers combine, only the Triumph name was to be retained in the new group name of Norton-Villiers-Triumph, NVT. Workers ar Meriden demonstrated against a move to Birmingham Small Heath, the BSA site and staged a sit in for two years eventually fomring a cooperative to make one model, the Triumph Bonneville for the USA market.
In 1983 the company folded completely and was liquidated, the Triumph name was bought by a property developer, the self-made millionaire John Bloor, and a new company, Triumph Motorcycles Limited (initially Bonneville Coventry Ltd), was formed.
Models
Pre-war
Post war
- T110 Tiger
- T120 Bonneville
- T150 Trident - badge engineered version of BSA Rocket 3
Post 1983
Reference
Speed Triple
Daytona 955i
Rocket 3
Tiger
External link
Internal Links
