Parallel Twin
1967 Triumph Bonneville
MODEL LINE-UP The 1967 Triumph Bonneville T120 650 continued to be developed and refined in incremental steps, sometimes one forward and two back. Model designations carried over from late-1966, that is, the TT Special now had it’s own stand-alone model designation, the T120TT. This went along with the traditional T120R Road version, and the T120C …
1963 Triumph Bonneville
A WHOLE NEW MOTORCYCLE! The 1963 Triumph Bonneville was essentially a brand-new bike. Not quite designed from a clean slate, but nearly every part was new and/or improved. Gone were the days of adjusting the primary chain by loosening the gearbox then swiveling in its mounts, only to have to readjust the rear chain afterwards. …
1972 Triumph Bonneville
1972 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE CARRIES OVER Coming one year after the major redesign that came in 1971, and one year before the major redesign coming in 1973 (displacement bump to 750cc, shorter barrels, front disk brake, 5-speed and fresh styling), Triumph sort of ‘took a break’ for the 1972 model year. Few changes were made from …
1982 Triumph Bonneville
ABOVE: 1982 Triumph Bonneville T140E Electro, with electric start. This one has the optional 7-spoke cast aluminum “mag wheels”. MODEL DESIGNATIONS As the skies continued to darken at Triumph, the resourceful fellows at Meriden Co-op needed to come up with ever new ways to dress up the same old antiquated design. They had hit on …
2008 Triumph Bonneville
2008 Triumph Bonneville Background The 2008 Triumph Bonneville has a rich heritage. The classic Triumph Bonneville 1959-1983 was easily Triumph’s biggest name, then and now. After the death of the old Triumph (by this time the worker-owned Meriden Co-Op) in 1983, British developer-billionaire John Bloor bought the brand out of receivership with plans to reopen …
1983 Triumph Bonneville
ABOVE: 1983 Triumph Bonneville TSX, factory custom in Gypsy Red. 8-VALVE HEAD As close as they were to the brink of extinction, the optimists at the Meriden Co-operative still believed it could be turned around, and the only way was through product. Nothing like an entirely new DOHC 4-cylinder or the like, but maybe a …
2016 Triumph Thruxton
2016 TRIUMPH THRUXTON BACKGROUND By 2016, the Triumph Bonneville had grown from 800cc to 1200cc. And starting in 2016, the top of the Bonneville food chain was the Thruxton and the Thruxton R. While they had identical engines, now producing 96-horsepower, the Thruxton R sported better suspension, brakes and tires, giving it a handling advantage …
1964 Triumph Bonneville
SECOND YEAR CARRYOVER The 1964 Triumph Bonneville T120 650 was pretty much a carry-over from 1963 and at the same time a testament to the continuing process of refinement and development. Model designations were as before, with one important addition: the TT Special. Again, the T120R was the Road version, the T120C was the off-road/street …
1960 Triumph TR6
1960 TRIUMPH TR6 NOMENCLATURE 1960 is the first year when Triumph TR6’s received -“A” or -“B” suffixes. The TR6A became the Roadster with low pipes, and the TR6B retained its former identity as a dirt bike/desert racer/enduro/street scrambler with high pipes. 1960 Triumph TR6 engine & frame numbers came in two batches: the first being …
1957 Triumph TR6
NEW LOOK The 1957 Triumph TR6 debuted with a new tank badge that was prominent across the entire 1957 Triumph lineup. Called “The Mouth Organ” it was as striking chromed grille set between two horizontal chrome ‘eyebrows’. It really paid homage to the new flamboyant era of the late 1950’s & catered particularly, to the …
1968 Triumph TR6
1968 TRIUMPH TR6 NOMENCLATURE For years, every Triumph TR6 was referred to as a Triumph Trophy, but that was soon to change. For the first time, for the 1968 model year, the name “Trophy” was dropped. By the following year, the new name of Triumph Tiger would be adopted. Since the original Triumph T110 Tiger …
1972 Triumph TR6
1972 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS 1972 was the second year for the Oil-in-Frame. There were four models for 1972: TR6R (the standard Roadster with low pipes); TR6C (with high pipes running along the left side); TR6P (Police version); and TR6RV (a Roadster with optional 5-speed gearbox). Engine & frame numbers ran from JG033084 to …
1964 Triumph TR6
1964 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS While model years 1962 & 1963 saw only one model designation for all Triumph TR6s, the Triumph TR6S/S, 1964 saw a plethora of TR6 engine prefixes: TR6SS, TR6R, TR6C, TR6SC & TR6SR, and goes to show how the TR6 & Bonneville families had virtually taken over the Triumph lineup, …
2014 Triumph Bonneville
2014 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE STAYS TRUE TO ITS ROOTS The first Triumph Bonneville came out in 1959 and instantly became one of the fastest vehicles normal people could buy, on 2 or 4 wheels. The “Bonnie” became the stuff of legends, and a sign of being cool. Movie stars and rock stars alike loved their Triumph …
1973 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 …
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 …
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 …
Triumph Trophy
MILITARY ROOTS Long before the first Triumph Trophy came out in 1948, Triumph Motorcycles were cutting their teeth in the dirt, gleaning off-road experience designing & building military motorcycles for the British Army in World War 2. The 1940 Triumph 3TW 350 twin was built to a War Ministry specification, it was a lightweight at …
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 …
Triumph Tiger
1939 Triumph Tiger 100, first year for this hot new model. Note Rigid frame & girder front suspension. A TIGER IS BORN The Triumph Tiger was the natural evolution of the constant & relentless quest for more & more power. The <a href=”https://www.classic-british-motorcycles.com/triumph-speed-twin.html”>Triumph Speed Twin</a> had literally changed the motorcycle world in 1938, and was …
1958 Triumph TR6
ABOVE: This 1958 Triumph TR6 Trophy features the optional twin high pipes, very popular in the US Market, which could replace the 2-into-1 side exhaust. 1958 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS 1958 Engine/Frame Numbers: 011861 to 019244 Production Dates: October 10, 1957 to June 25, 1958 ENGINE CHANGES Early Delta Heads were prone to cracking …
1956 Triumph TR6
ABOVE: 1956 Triumph TR6 Trophy w/2-into-1 “siamesed” high exhaust running along the left side. TR6 BY THE NUMBERS 1956 Engine/Frame numbers: 70199 to 82797 Production Dates: August 8, 1955 to July 27, 1956 1956 TRIUMPH TR6 – THE NEW KID IN TOWN Triumph Motorcycles were on a roll in the 1950’s, with one hit after …
1965 Triumph TR6
The 1965 Triumph TR6 is a beautiful, graceful machine. This, however is a 1964 TR6SS, very similar to the ’65, as no photo was available of a ’65. HELP!! Got a ’65 TR6? Send us pictures of your bike! 1965 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS There were four basic models of Triumph TR6 for 1965, …
1961 Triumph TR6
1961 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS Gone was the previous “A” & “B” designations introduced in 1960. The new nomenclature was TR6R for ‘Roadster’ with low pipes & TR6C for ‘Competition’, the enduro version with high pipes. All went by the model name “Triumph Trophy”. 1961 Triumph TR6 engine & frame numbers run from D8432 …
Triumph Tiger
1939 Triumph Tiger 100, first year for this hot new model. Note Rigid frame & girder front suspension. A TIGER IS BORN The Triumph Tiger was the natural evolution of the constant & relentless quest for more & more power. The <a href=”https://www.classic-british-motorcycles.com/triumph-speed-twin.html”>Triumph Speed Twin</a> had literally changed the motorcycle world in 1938, and was …
Matchless G9
MATCHLESS G9 BACKGROUND Like everyone else in the British motorcycle industry at the time, when Triumph rocked the world with their 1938 Speed Twin, the world’s first modern 500cc vertical twin, AMC (Associated Motor Cycles), parent company of Matchless, and AJS, developed a new 500 vertical twin for both brands. As always, there would be …
Matchless G12
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 to respond with their own 500cc …
Norton Model 7
NORTON MODEL 7 BACKGROUND Following Triumph’s lead, Norton, along with nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, entered the parallel twin race with its own new 500 twin in 1949. Known as the Model 7 and also the Model 7 Dominator, it was Norton’s first twin, and the first in the storied Dominator line. It was …
Norton Commando
ABOVE: 1974 Norton Commando 850 Roadster. BIRTH OF THE COMMANDO While the Commando was a direct descendant of the the Norton Atlas & the Dominator line before that, the Commando was definitely not evolutionary. It was revolutionary, a true game-changer. Not because of some amazing new engine, not because it was all that faster than …
Velocette KTT
VELOCETTE KTT BACKGROUND Velocette built the KTT expressly for racing, hence the “KTT” designation. “K” for Kammer, which is German for ‘cam’, which indicated an Overhead Cam (OHC) in Velocette’s parlance. The “TT” differentiated it from the other Velos in the K-series, TT denoting its purely racing intent. They were essentially factor racers which were …
Triumph Bonneville
ABOVE: This 1965 Triumph Bonneville represented Triumph and the Bonneville at its peak, and was one of the fastest bikes on the road in 1965. The Japanese hadn’t started building fast bikes yet, but they were coming. BONNEVILLE BACK-STORY While the first Bonneville hit the streets in 1959, the story hardly begins there. Triumph motorcycles …
Triumph 350 Twins
BACKGROUND OF TRIUMPH 350 TWINS Triumph rocked the world with the introduction of their seminal 1938 5T Speed Twin. Designed by the legendary Edward Turner, the first ‘modern’ parallel twin was copied by nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, but World War II intervened before any reached production. But when civilian production resumed in 1946, …
2021 Aprilia RS 660 [Model Overview]
The 2021 Aprilia RS 660: High technology and Stunning Looks at a Middleweight Price Contents Model Overview Specifications Features Photos Videos Links Aprilia Motorcycles says “If you want to go unnoticed, this is not the bike for you,” and as far as the 600cc sport bike segment goes, they could well be right. With its …
2021 Honda Rebel 500 [Model Overview]
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2021 KTM 890 Duke [Model Overview]
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2021 KTM 890 Duke R [Model Overview]
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