600 – 1000cc
1968 Triumph Bonneville
1973 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE MODEL DESIGNATIONS 1973 was a big year for the new Oil-in-Frame Triumph Bonneville. Starting the model year with Engine #JH15366, the T120 Bonneville 650 soldiered on for another year (it would finally be dropped in 1976), side-by-side with the new T140 Bonneville 750, which started with Engine #JH15435. BELOW: This lovely bike …
1957 Matchless G11
1957 MATCHLESS G11 BACKGROUND Matchless entered the vertical twin race in 1949 with the 500cc G9 and its sister-bike, the AJS Model 20. Both shared the same basic engine, which was unique among British vertical twins because it had a center main bearing. This made for a much stronger, smoother engine. In late 1955 they …
1958 Triumph Thunderbird
1958 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: The 1958 Triumph Thunderbird 6T looked very similar to this 1958 Triumph T110 Tiger, with headlight nacelle and full fenders. We need good photos of a ’58 T-bird. If you own one, please send us pictures of YOUR BIKE! RACING WINS FOR TRIUMPH 1958 was a very good year for Triumph …
1960 Triumph Bonneville
ABOVE: 1960 Triumph Bonneville TR7/A Roadster w/down pipes. MODEL DESIGNATIONS The 1960 Triumph Bonneville was designated TR7 by Triumph Motorcycles in the US, to differentiate it from all the unsold 1959 T120s still in inventory (even though engine numbers still had the T120 prefix), and the TR6 Trophy-Bird, the Bonneville came as the TR7/A roadster …
1939 Brough Superior SS100
1939 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100 BACKGROUND The SS100 (SS stood for “Super Sports”) was built from the very best components available at the time from a wide range of suppliers. The engines that Brough selected for his 1924 through 1936 SS100s was the twin-cam KTOP V-twin built by JAP (named for the initials of its founder, …
1935 Brough Superior
THE 1935 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100 ALPINE GRAND SPORT Brough fitted the SS100 with full touring spec and named it the “Alpine Grand Sport” starting in 1925. That same year, Brough Superior Motorcycles introduced the Pendine Racing Model (named after the Pendine Sands where Malcolm Camplbel set several speed records on Brough Superior Motorcycles) which was …
1955 Ariel Square Four
1955 Ariel Square Four 1955 ARIEL SQUARE FOUR – NEW & IMPROVED The Square Four went through a major revision in 1953, with a new cylinder head and manifolds, prompting a new sub-model designation, Mark II, which ran from 1953 through Ariel’s final year, 1959. Prior to 1953, both cylinders on each side shared just …
1954 Triumph Thunderbird
1954 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: An early-1954 Triumph Thunderbird with rigid frame. BELOW: Partway through the 1954 model-year Triumph converted over to a swing-arm rear suspension setup, as seen on this ’54 T-Bird. 1954 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD’S ‘SISTER-BIKE’ The 1954 Triumph Tiger were “sister-bikes”, in that they were very similar in appearance. In this era of Triumph …
1971 BSA Rocket 3
1971 BSA Rocket 3 BIG CHANGES FOR THE 1971 BSA ROCKET 3 1971 was a watershed year for BSA and Triumph. The Big Twins (BSA A65 and Triumph Bonneville/TR6got all new frames, suspension, brakes, cycle gear and bodywork, a complete redesign with the exception of the engines, which carried over. The Triples got the same …
1952 Triumph Thunderbird
1952 Triumph Thunderbird This 1952 Triumph Thunderbird is similar to the 1950 T-Bird ridden by Marlon ABOVE: This lovely 1952 Triumph Thunderbird honors the 1953 film “The Wild One”, but Marlon Brando’s was black. This was a huge shot-in-the-arm for Triumph Motorcycles. To capitalize on it, they would come out with an all black 6T …
1926 Brough Superior SS80
1926 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS80 WAS AN EARLY BIKE Brough Superior was established by George Brough in Nottingham, England in 1924. He bucked convention and rather than mass-producing huge volumes of identical machines, he designed every bike to meet the exact specifications of the customers. The bikes were literally ‘fit’ to the riders’ size, weight, needs …
1938 Brough Superior SS100
1938 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS100 BACKGROUND The SS100 (SS stood for “Super Sports”) was built from the very best components available at the time from a wide range of suppliers. The engines that Brough selected for his 1924 through 1936 SS100s was the twin-cam KTOP V-twin built by JAP (named for the initials of its founder, …
1961 Matchless G12
1961 Matchless G12 650 Twin 1961 MATCHLESS G12 BACKGROUND Just prior to World War II, Triumph rocked the world with their seminal 500 Speed Twin, but the world had to wait for the war to end before the rest of the industry would have a chance to catch up. At war’s end, BSA was first …
Ariel Square Four
ARIEL SQUARE FOUR BACKGROUND The Square Four engine was originally designed in 1928 by Edward Turner, the man who later came up with the vertical twin for Triumph. In original form, it started out as a 500cc and was quickly expanded to 601cc. The Square Four was essentially two 2-cylinder engines, each with traverse (across-the-frame) …
1960 Matchless G12
1960 Matchless G12 650 Twin 1960 MATCHLESS G12 BACKGROUND Just prior to World War II, Triumph rocked the world with their seminal 500 Speed Twin, but the world had to wait for the war to end before the rest of the industry would have a chance to catch up. At war’s end, BSA was first …
1939 Brough Superior SS80
1939 BROUGH SUPERIOR SS80 The “SS” in the name stands for “Super Sports”, and the SS80 was George Brough’s earliest design, dating back to 1920, several years before production actually began. Like its big brother the SS100 which Brough guaranteed would do 100 mph straight off the showroom floor, the SS80 was guaranteed to make …
1965 Matchless G12CSR
1965 Matchless G12CSR 650 Twin 1965 MATCHLESS G12CSR – A BRIEF HISTORY Matchless built their first vertical twin in 1949, the 500cc G9. In 1956, they punched it out to 600cc and named it the G12 (seen here). In 1959 they punched it out again to 650cc and called it the G15. In 1963 there …
1964 Matchless G12
1964 Matchless G12 650 Monarch Twin 1964 MATCHLESS G12 BACKGROUND Just prior to World War II, Triumph rocked the world with their seminal 500 Speed Twin, but the world had to wait for the war to end before the rest of the industry would have a chance to catch up. At war’s end, BSA was …
1963 Matchless G12CS
1963 Matchless G12CS 1963 MATCHLESS G12CS – A BRIEF HISTORY In 1963 there were four models offered of the G12. There was the Standard, De Lux, the CS (Competition Sport) and the CSR (Competition Sport, Road). They all were 646cc vertical twins with the 4-speed AMC gear box, Lucas magneto ignition. The CS and CSR …
1966 Matchless G12
1966 Matchless G12 1966 MATCHLESS G12 BACKGROND In the 1950s, Matchless and AJS were the diamonds in AMC’s (Associated Motor Cycles) crown, but by the 1960s, their fortunes had turned for the worst. Matchless had launched the G12 and AJS Model 31 650 twins in 1958, with high hopes for big sales in the US …
BSA A7
ABOVE: This 1952 BSA A7 featured plunger rear suspension, the transition between earlier rigid frames & the swing arm frames to arrive in 1954. BIRTH OF THE BSA A7 By the onset of World War II, BSA was one of, if not THE largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. They were making great success of …
Norton Commando SS
THE NORTON COMMANDO SS WAS A STREET SCRAMBLER Today, the differences between types of bikes within a given brand can differ completely. Today, standard roadsters, touring bikes, sport bikes and adventure bikes are laid out totally different from one another, with different frames, suspension, wheels, brakes, everything. They’re optimized for their primary mission and highly …
BSA A10
THE HORSEPOWER RACE IS ON The BSA A10 was the inevitable result of the relentless drive for more & more horsepower. Driven mostly by the performance-hungry US market (which also happened to be the largest by far), every British motorcycle maker scrambled to build a 500cc vertical twin after the war, in the mold of …
1958 Ariel Huntmaster
1958 Ariel Huntmaster 1958 ARIEL HUNTMASTER BACKGROUND Ariel was owned by the Sangster family, failed a few times, then ended up in the hands of young Jack Sangster. Ariel was his entry into the British motorcycle industry, something that would have profound effects on it. He did so well selling single-cylinder Red Hunters, that he …
1949 Vincent Rapide
1949 Vincent Rapide 1949 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent built its reputation on it’s robust 499cc Comet single. Prior to the war, they figured out that if they doubled it, they could create a 998cc V-twin and the series A Vincent Rapide was born. Few were built prior to World War 2, which curtailed all civilian …
1956 Triumph Blackbird
1956 Triumph Blackbird ABOVE: The 1956 Triumph Blackbird was essentially a 6T Thunderbird painted black. This earned it the name “Blackbird”. STUCK WITH THE IRON HEAD The 1956 Thunderbird retained its old cast iron head and all its overheating problems, while the new alloy “Delta head” debuted on the Triumph Tiger T110 and the new …
1971 BSA A70 Lightning
1971 BSA A70 Lightning 1971 BSA A70 LIGHTNING IS BORN BSA wanted to enlarge their 650 twin to a 750 to compete in the open class in AMA Class C racing. But the rules required that the races bikes be based on an actual production bike that the public could buy. The magic number was …
1963 Royal Enfield Interceptor
1963 Royal Enfield Interceptor 1963 ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR BACKGROUND Royal Enfield hopped up its 692cc Constellation and created a new model, the 700 Interceptor in 1960, for sale in the US and Canada markets only (on England). They’d just lost their contract to rebadge Constellations with Indian Motorcycle regalia then selling them in the US …
1962 BSA A65
1962 BSA A65 1962 BSA A65 – NEW UNIT TWIN After 15 years of great success with their pre-unit twins, the 500cc A7 and the 650cc A10, BSA had a real challenge ahead of them. How do you follow up a ‘home run’ like the A7 & A10? They had proven themselves to be not …
1964 Triumph Thunderbird
1964 Triumph Thunderbird 1964 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD AS A COMMUTER? When the 6T Thunderbird launched in 1950, it was the first Triumph 650 (up from the 500cc 5T Speed Twin, and was the largest British-made parallel twin at the time. As such, it was a true hot rod in its day. However, the rest of the …
1958 BSA A10
1958 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1958 BSA A10 BACKGROUND BSA’s A10 was the 650 version in it’s twin cylinder heavyweight line. The 500cc version was called the A7. Following Triumph‘s success with its seminal 500 Speed Twin, after the war, BSA and most of the rest of the British motorcycle industry followed with their …
1956 Triumph Thunderbird
1956 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: This 1956 Triumph Thunderbird wearing black livery was nicknamed “Blackbird” by the public and it stuck. STUCK WITH THE IRON HEAD The 1956 Triumph Thunderbird retained its old cast iron head and all its overheating problems, while the new alloy “Delta head” debuted on the Triumph Tiger T110 and the new …
1966 Norton Atlas
1966 Norton Atlas 1966 NORTON ATLAS HISTORY The story starts not with a Norton at all, but with the 1938 Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the world’s first “modern” vertical twin. The rest of the British motorcycle industry went nuts and rushed to field their own 500 twins. But WWII got in the way, putting things …
1970 Royal Enfield Interceptor
1970 Royal Enfield Interceptor 1970 ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR BACKGROUND Royal Enfield hopped up its 692cc Constellation and created a new model, the 700 Interceptor in 1960, for sale in the US and Canada markets only (on England). They’d just lost their contract to rebadge Constellations with Indian Motorcycle regalia then selling them in the US …
1957 Triumph Thunderbird
1957 Triumph Thunderbird 1957 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD IS THE COOKING VERSION The 1957 Triumph Thunderbird was fast becoming the ‘ugly sister’ to the hot new Triumph TR6 and the already red-hot Triumph Tiger T110. With its full fenders, headlight nacelle and milder tuning, the 6T was really the basic commuter of the Triumph 650 line. In …
1951 Ariel Square Four
1951 Ariel Square Four 1951 ARIEL SQUARE FOUR BACKGROUND The original Ariel Square Four was created by legendary engine designer, Edward Turner in 1930. In its original form, it displaced 500cc and had four cylinders arranged in a ‘square’. It was unusual in that it had two crankshafts, one behind the other, each with two …
1962 Triumph TR6
1962 Triumph TR6 1962 TRIUMPH TR6 NOMENCLATURE Of course, this is tFor the 1962 model year the only Triumph TR6 produced was the Triumph TR6 S/S Trophy. Gone were the “C” & “R” designations, leaving the TR6 to become very much a Triumph Bonneville without the second carb. 1962 Triumph TR6 S/S engine & frame …
1967 BSA A65
1967 BSA A65 1967 BSA A65 LIGHTNING 1967 BSA A65 LIGHTNING The 650 Lightning was BSA’s top-line bike, and meant to do battle with the market-dominating Triumph Bonneville and had twin carbs just like the Bonnie. The Lightning was certainly fast enough and handled well. It just never had the styling to compete with the …
1966 Triumph TR6
1966 Triumph TR6 1966 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS For the 1966 model year, the model lineup were TR6, TR6R, TR6SR, TR6SS, TR6C & TR6SC, all called “Trophy”. Engine & Frame Numbers ran from DU24876 to DU43161, with build dates running from August 6, 1965 to July 8, 1966. The TR6C was essentially a standard …
1932 Ariel Square Four
1932 Aerial Square Four 1932 ARIEL SQUARE FOUR GROWS TO 600cc The first production Ariel Square Four was the 1931 Model 4F and it displaced 500cc. For the 1932 model year, the bore was increased by 5mm, pushing displacement up to 601cc to accommodate the growing sidecar market in the UK. In its new form, …
